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Liberia: Pictures from Out of the Rubble

Charles and Mabel met when they were both fighting for the same rebel group. Now they live in an abandoned government compound with 20 of Mabel's former fighters. Image by Andre Lambertson. Liberia, 2007.

29-year old Mabel was the commander of a group of girl soldiers during the war. Her name was Rebel Bill. Image by Andre Lambertson. Liberia, 2007.

Mabel was caught in a bomb blast in Monrovia when she was 8 months pregnant with Franklin, leaving him disabled. Image by Andre Lambertson. Liberia, 2007.

Roseline, one of Mabel's former fighters, adjusts Mabel's head dress before they go to church. Image by Andre Lambertson. Liberia, 2007.

Savio Village is a transit home for boys, who have been separated from their families. Most of the boys only stay in the center a few weeks, but some have been there for years waiting for their families to be found. Image by Andre Lambertson. Liberia, 2007.

Chico was deported from Staten Island back to Liberia in 2005. Now he spends his days in the video parlor in Paynesville, a slum of Monrovia. Image by Andre Lambertson. Liberia, 2007.

Junior's family left him and his older brother Archie behind to take care of the house when they left for America. Image by Andre Lambertson. Liberia, 2007.

When Junior's family left they told him they'd send money back every month. They never have. Junior teaches elementary school and dreams about the day he can come to America. Image by Andre Lambertson. Liberia, 2007.

Pulitzer Center grantee Andre Lambertson and Ruthie Ackerman, for their project "Scars and Stripes: Liberian Youth after The War," travel from Park Hill community in Staten Island to the slums of Monrovia, Liberia's capital. They examine the process of reintegrating and rehabilitating Liberian youth after the war, on both sides of the ocean.