"T.S." started fighting in 1992 after rebels raided his village, killed both his parents, and abducted him. The rebels told him that his "new job was to fight for freedom in Sierra Leone." Typically, they would carry out attacks at daybreak. "The big man" (unit commander) would inject the younger boys with cocaine or have them ingest gunpowder, which also acts as a stimulant, before such raids. After the raids, which often lasted an entire day, they were given "blue boats," a narcotic that would make them sleep for many hours. During the period that the rebels were in control, T.S. left his faction and found his way to a safehouse for ex-combatants. However, because he suffered from nightmares and was "urinating the bed," other ex-combatants teased and beat him, so he left and joined rebel forces again. This happened twice before he returned and signed an agreement to never again take up arms. T.S. wants to learn any trade that he can.