Poor economies of Liberia and Sierra Leonean since the end of civil wars have made it almost impossible for hundreds of thousands of ex-combatants to make a living, despite the large rehabilitation and reintegration programs run by the UN at the end of the conflicts.

Many, whose fighting days left them ostracized from communities, and with no education or skills, have found their way to small scale mining sites. In a collaboration with New Narratives, Anthony Stephens of Power TV/FM traveled to these often illegal and dangerous sites in Liberia and Sierra Leone to meet ex-combatants with a Sierra Leonean reporter Diana Coker.