THE FIGHT TO FORGIVE

From Child Soldiers to Peacebuilders 

 

For tens of thousands of child soldiers, the end of Liberia’s brutal civil war was just the beginning of a new fight—a struggle to rebuild their shattered lives and find their place in communities ravaged by a war that children were forced to fight.   Today, a fragile peace exists in post-conflict Liberia, and after years of trauma and isolation, young ex-combatants are determined to help build a peaceful future for their developing nation.

 

In THE FIGHT TO FORGIVE, we meet six Liberian former child soldiers who are training as grassroots peacebuilders and re-entering their villages with a new mission of peace and reconciliation.  Having traded their weapons for soccer balls, cameras, and storytelling circles, these young Liberians embark on a remarkable journey out of war. 

 

With unprecedented access to young ex-combatants and their former commander, the film follows the group for five years of life after war.  During their peacebuilder training program, the former child soldiers confess past atrocities, confront their former general, become peer counselors and photographers, and re-connect with their communities.  The young peacebuilders discover that their healing and Liberia’s future depend on one final personal battle—the fight to forgive themselves and the adults who forced them to kill. 

 

Woven from their stories and artful photographic reflections of post-conflict life, THE FIGHT TO FORGIVE teaches us that peace is possible, even in the most traumatized and divided regions of the world.

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