Chapter 12

COMMENTS BY RESPONDENTS AND INTERVIEWERS

Some comments from the open-ended questions, and from notes made by interviewers, provide further insights into the views, feelings and concerns of demobilised soldiers which may be useful in assisting those already demobilised as well as in preparing future demobilisation and reintegration programmes.

Comments by respondents

I would like to see more change in the SANDF ... please speed up transformation.



I feel displaced in our community - I lost my family because I could no longer support them.



We have nowhere to grieve.



Most are sent back home without getting employment ... this is one way of encouraging crime, because no-one can allow himself to sleep with an empty stomach. More especially after spending years fighting for liberation.



Discrimination is everywhere, not only in the SANDF.



I would like to go back [to the SANDF], if I get my rank back.



Maybe this [survey] will ultimately help us, as some people are so stressed about what happened.



I am seriously interested in furthering my studies ... I need viable financial support.



There is no place to send our grievances.



I would like to be employed, but there are no opportunities.



I can barely support myself.



They must make jobs ... they must help us.



I feel that the government should do more for the freedom fighters and for those who lost breadwinners in the struggle.



I’m feeling disillusioned because there is no strong proof that I will be able to find work with the skills I have.



If I finish training at the Service Corps, I would like to thank all the generals, Chief of the Military and also the Minister of Defence.



I cannot manage without a job.



I need more training.



We were not properly trained to be able to get employment somewhere after demobilisation.



It took years to find alternative employment.



Is it possible to be reinstated in the SANDF?



I would like the SANDF to give further training skills before, or after contracts expire.



I am very interested in improving my skills.



I am worried about my children’s education.



We are suffering.



I would like to return to the defence force.



We need more skills development training.



If everybody can be trained, we won’t have so much crime.



Our government is not doing enough for the people, like getting them jobs, houses and amenities.



The idea of the SANDF Service Corps is a very good thing.



I have moved on now and I never go back and I am happy where I am.



People need jobs.



Nobody is doing anything about our problems.



The Service Corps was good for me, but nobody cares about our complaints.



Unfortunately I am not fit for work, my health gets worse every day.



I wish we could start integration again.



In exile we could live even if we didn’t have any money.



Something must be done to change the unemployment rate.



I have not received my course qualification certificates from the SANDF ... If I had received all of my certificates, I think I would be employed.



I am not happy with the way life is for me. I cannot support my family and I am finding it very difficult. I am desperately looking for a job.



I sill want the SANDF to re-employ me, because what they taught me is not a skill that I can use in civilian life. As a paratrooper there is nothing I can do here in civilian life.



I am worried about what I am going to live on ... I need work.



We are job hungry ... try your best [to help us].



I am now looking forward to working at one of the big firms in South Africa. I hope that what I have learned will contribute something to all my fellow South Africans.

Comments by interviewers

People look down on him for being rejected by the military.



Since I have been working with these people, it is hurting to hear what they have to say about their lives.



My respondent used to love the army, but because of past bad experiences, he now would settle to join the traffic department.



Something has to be done to address their problems.



Nobody thinks about the veterans.



He has lost hope in the search for employment, but I discouraged him from turning to crime.



They have no platform to discuss their ideas.



He would go back to the army if given a second chance.



He wishes the government could offer some bursaries for his children to be educated, or at least provide them with some skills.



The government should provide social security for unemployed soldiers.



He is willing to go back to the army as he believes he was a good officer.



They have a lot of regret and disappointment.



Nobody looked after them after they left the SANDF.



She is interested in a number of projects, but is still looking for funding.



More people need to be provided with marketable skills.



He has no skills that can make him employable.



He has lost hope — he still has an interest in the army, but will settle for anything.



He hopes that one day he will find a job.



She is frustrated and hopes for change.



They need a platform to express their frustrations.



He is eager to continue with his studies, but has no funds.



He is worried about what the future holds for him.



He needs an opportunity to realise his potential.



He feels that because he served the country he should be looked after, or compensated.



He was only trained to be a soldier.



SANDF courses were inadequate to prepare soldiers for jobs outside the military.

General comments

Comments made both by respondents and interviewers suggest that some former soldiers have moved on with their lives, have settled down, found a job, or are studying. However, a large number of demobilised soldiers are clearly unhappy, are unemployed and finding it extremely difficult to support themselves and their families. The constant plea is for jobs, so that they can ensure their economic survival. Other themes which emerged from the open-ended responses are:

the need for a forum in which demobilised soldiers can express themselves; and



a desperate need for skills enhancement and training to prepare former combatants for employment in civilian life.