Claiming Identity
Eli 23.8 is writing about identity in his master's thesis.
Specifically, original DDR programs (Disarmament, Demobilization, Reintegration) focused on the economic side of reintegration. It was assumed that social identity would follow if an economic identity was established, but this turned out not to be true. Identity doesn't work that way.
Being in war forces you to assume a new identity. It's not possible to be the person you were before. And after war, you can't just go back to being who you were, because that person doesn't exist anymore. Neither identity is you.
The problem is that you can't reintegrate into a peaceful society without shedding the identity you created in war.
Even in countries without civil war, it can be extraordinarily difficult to reclaim your identity after serving in the military. I've had friends who left the military and never reclaimed a separate identity, even decades later. They never reintegrated into society, not really.
You would think this would be a powerful incentive to stop sending people to war. Sadly, it hasn't worked out that way.
His thesis is due April 29 and I'm hoping he'll allow me to share it with you. I've read sections and it's a real attempt to contribute something significant to the field.
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