The Real Stories

As I sat down to as is custom to think about my next blog, I felt reluctant to touch on the security situation in Sri Lanka as perhaps would have been expected, because I felt that enough seems to be said about it without the need for me to elucidate further.

I reflected on a conversation that I had with an old friend of mine who had called from the States to find out ‘whether I was ok?’, since she had heard the situation in Sri Lanka was really bad.  For a moment I lost track of the conversation and assumed that she was talking about how bad Sri Lanka had played on the first day of the first cricket test against England before I realised she was talking about the recent spate of bomb attacks and security situation.

I think the sad fact is that increasingly one becomes desensitised to these unusual occurrences as they become part of every day life.  The mere fact that there are more police and army on the streets of Colombo, more checkpoints, more stop and searches has really not done much to dent people’s enthusiasm to shop or go out to eat, two of the favourite past times in Colombo. 

Whether it is the incredible resilience of people who have seen the highs and lows of this now 24 year old conflict or whether, it is apathy or weariness, one thing is for certain, people will not change their routine.

‘Why should I change?’ remarks Thushan, a manger who works in one of the most security conscious parts of Colombo, the fort, close to Colombo Port, the President’s Office, the World Trade Centre. ‘I can’t change my routine.  It means that those intent on disruption have won.  It takes me longer to get to work because of the security risk, but that’s the price we pay’

Of course those in the north and east would perhaps feel that they have gotten the raw end of the deal with increased security concerns preventing them from free movement.

There is no clear explanations to situations like this.  It is obvious that the losers in all of this are the civilians not only in places like Colombo and the North and East but also elsewhere in the country.

People often say that the south and the west of Sri Lanka are unconcerned with the conflict.  Perhaps not directly but indirectly, issues of poverty and lack of investment also mean that the south (mainly) suffers from malnutrition and extreme poverty.  Vital resources are either diverted for the defence budget or to support re-election campaigns.

In my travels around the country I have been amazed at how many times I have come across the direct contradiction to the assumption that Sri Lanka is a middle income country ‘except in the north and east’

It is this misnomer mainly given by donor governments and development agencies that has meant Sri Lanka for a long time to come will continue to receive skewed funding.

In the meantime, Murali, perhaps one of the greatest cricket players in the world, has taken his world record 709^th text wicket and Sri Lanka have comprehensively romped home to defeat England in Kandy (ironically the last stand of the Sinhalese King against the British colonial rulers).  For a brief period, all of Sri Lanka (without exception) in that quirky and unique Sri Lankan manner (when it comes to cricket) would have united to rejoice this achievement in some way.  Murali (and the cricket team) to some extent represent what Sri Lanka can be: united in all ethnicities and religions where you are judged and rewarded on your merit, your diplomacy and what you can deliver on the field, not who you are or what ethnicity you represent.

Staring into Uncertainty

Steven Covey once wrote that ‘A week is the normal lens that gives us the most manageable perspective’.  What he meant was that a week is a sizeable period in which one can plan and schedule the week and get a better idea of what is to come.  However looking back at the week that has gone by, it seems that the week  is a long time during which a lot can happen.

As people within the humanitarian community worldwide grasped the reality of the old definition of globalisation ‘when the west sneezes, the east catches the cold’, as details of the  Chad Orphans case unfolded, on Friday the 2^nd of November, the humanitarian community within Sri Lanka braced itself  fearing the worst as news broke that the political leader of the LTTE had been killed  by Sri Lankan Airforce attacks.

Whatever the outcome of the case in Chad, the repercussions will be felt for a long time to come.  Firstly the already negative perceptions for humanitarian organisations will not be improved one bit.  The events in Chad will only serve to reinforce the suspicion that humanitarian agencies (particularly those based in Europe and the States) have a hidden agenda with regards to the developing world.  The sheer arrogance and naivety with which members of ‘Zoe’s Ark’ went about the ‘adoption of orphans’  is nothing short of an intelligently challenged  mindset towards those less fortunate than us.  The fact that it was done to those members of society with the weakest voice, the children, is reprehensible.  Robbing a nation of children rather than empowering and educating them in order for them to build their own country smells like the old colonial stench that was present in the 18^th, 19^th and beginning of the 20^th century.

The fact that these were done by so called volunteers casts a serious shadow on the nature of humanitarian and charity work.   It is important for observers to differentiate between those engaged in humanitarian work delivering a real product and service and those engaged purely as a way of redemption of their past sins.  Volunteers are always a part and parcel of the existence of non profit organisations however this should not exempt them from their responsibilities towards the communities that they serve.  Humility is always the key when dealing with people who are less fortunate than those bringing the help.  To think otherwise is to tread a very narrow line.  Here in Sri Lanka, especially after the tsunami, one has often witnessed the emergence of similar ‘mummy & daddy’ (as they are fondly called) organisations with a lot of good will and very little else.  Whilst good will is important, it can only go so far before inexperience and immaturity give rise to serious mistakes.  There is no denying that in Sri Lanka, a lot of good has been done by these agencies, as the lack of procedures and overheads has often meant that post tsunami reconstruction has been faster than established humanitarian organisations.  However what has been noticed is that these same agencies have often not followed  procedures or standards and there is very little means to hold them accountable for mistakes, particularly in the long run and in particular a lot of them have also originated out of a faith background with no impartiality towards other religions and cultures.  Hence prostelisation has been on the rise and what this has meant for those of us who are in for the long haul, there is often a double challenge when doing our work.  Are you converting people to your religion?  Why are you helping us?

If this was not enough to worry us in Sri Lanka, the death of Tamilselvam cast a shadow of uncertainty into the future of Sri Lanka.  As the news broke, text messages were sent across displaying security notices and warnings to remain vigilant.  The immediate thought was that retaliation from the LTTE might be deadly and swift.  Security checks were tightened in Colombo as the President urged civilians to be vigilant.  ‘What does it matter?  Peace needs to be obtained whereby there is not only an absence of war, but is about people living in this absence of fear within one nation’ reminisced Madumanthi, a social worker based out of Matara in the south of Sri Lanka.  Whilst her thoughts might be unique for someone out of the south, there is increasingly a sense amongst people out of the north and east, that the solution for Sri Lanka’s problems does not rest in a military solution.  This is an increasing silent minority and in fact can be evident from the muted public response to the death of the LTTE leader.  Whether this is weariness from a conflict that has sapped the physical, financial, intellectual and moral energy of a nation or the realisation that injustices of the past need to be corrected, only time will tell.  However what is certain for the near future and if all analysts are correct, there will be a tough time ahead.  Within the humanitarian community, it is probably business as usual, but probably with more security consciousness as well as the expectation of a greatere number of displaced people.  As one colleague from another organisartion mentioned ‘ We will probably go back to the way we were operating pre 2002’.  If this is the case, then this would be a sad reversal of the fortunes of a country that experienced great joy and sorrow over the last 5 years.

Whatever happens, the incidents of last week will undoubtavle thorw challenges to our work.  These can either be problems or these can be opportunities.  It depends on how you see the glass.

A New Concept for Peace

        

There is an old saying in Malay ‘When you grow, grow like rice for as rice grows, it bends forward, do not grow like grass, for as grass grows, it grows straight’.  The essence of this saying is that humility is key to development.    Being part of a reconstruction process of a country devastated by natural and man made disasters can often colour the lens with which you view the situation.  Often the mistake that one makes is that you think that you have all the answers / solutions for all problems faced.  There is often a danger of a sense of arrogance of purpose with which one carries out his duties.

I was recently reminded of this danger when I attended a seminar on bringing peace to the country organized by civil society organisations which had uniquely assembled participants of varying age groups from the grass roots, from different ethnic, religious and territorial backgrounds across the country, including representatives from the Eastern and Northern provinces.

‘The problem that you have Mr Amjad is that you have only one perspective of the peace process’ said Azar, a social activist from Trincomalee, during an initial ice breaking session at the seminar. ‘The problem that  many INGOs like yourselves and the international community have  is that you have a  basic assumption that peace in the country will be restored once the LTTE and the government can place respective signatures on a document under the watching eyes of the international community’

This seminar was certainly different than anything that I had ever attended before.  Apart from the fact that the three commonly used languages in the country were spoken and simultaneously translated for the benefit of all, the discussion seemed to identify that at the grassroots level, there was a lack of consultation with people which meant that there was a lot of apprehension about what was being ‘hatched’ within the political circles as regards current national crises particularly about on-going peace efforts. 

Hence answers to the  current crisis with regards to the peace efforts which were  seemingly confined to the political chambers without any consultation with the common people were not met with much support since it was felt that there was a lack of recognition in the  role that the grass roots play in determining  whether there is peace or not.

What I understood from the discussion was a sense of real frustration at the increasing polarization along ethnic, territorial and religious lines, and  what was very evident from the discussion is that absence of hostility is not peace, with the  prime example being the Ceasefire Agreement that was  signed between the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE in February 2002, which was considered a prelude to a total reduction of militancy in the country, but which in fact did not help in building bridges of trust and understanding between communities. In fact as we see in hindsight now, the deterioration of trust between all communities has become even more stronger and the parties are at loggerheads more than ever what with repeated violations and disrespect for the agreement particularly in the phase of the post-tsunami need for humanitarian assistance.

What I began to understand from the discussions was that  there could not be peace until trust and confidence among the different communities were restored.  You can only have acceptance of one another when you understand each other seemed to be the theme of all deliberations.

The workshop felt that the spirit of belonging to this country should be allowed to take root and the spirit of sharing and caring for each other (as humans) should be allowed to prosper so that no citizen of this country will be alienated on account of religion, ethnicity or territorial affinity. Only by bringing back such values into the lives of the people of this country could there be peace, and this could only happen only if people were encouraged and allowed to “ … as matter of urgency ….take charge of their destiny and control their politico-economic environment”.

I sensed a lot of tiredness amongst the workshop participants.  Tiredness at listening to a lot of rhetoric from all sides with very little positive action.  Tiredness of experiencing on a daily  basis of abuse of power by parliamentarians, their siblings or their cronies with impunity. Tiredness of a lack of freedom of thought and expression as journalists are harassed and organized gangs with the backing of political parties oppress the innocent masses. Tiredness of continuous struggle against the daily grind as the cost of living goes up.  Tiredness of losing loved ones to a fight that has long lost its purpose and reason of being. Tiredness of discrimination.

As the seminar wound to a close, one could sense amongst the people a reawakened enthusiasm to grab the controls of the peace train and drive it towards a new direction, one that would create a new environment ensuring equality and justice towards freedom of thought and expression; upholding and protecting individual and collective rights and dignity, in order for one to pursue life goals and contribute to national development.

If this was the sense of purpose which emerged out of the workshop, then there is a huge timely role for the grass roots to play within the whole peace process of Sri Lanka without repeating lessons of the past.

                        

A New Partnership

As I browsed through the news items on Sri Lanka these last weeks, looking at familiar headlines around the victory of the army in the east versus the chilling warnings of reprisals by the LTTE. I could not help but think that peace as a whole seems a distant reality.  Having just got back from the UK where I spent the last couple of weeks, it is evident that now globally, no one is immune from the threat of terrorism and no one can be spared from the lessons of mother nature.

As the Sri Lankan army juggernaut push forward with the inevitable reprisals promised by the LTTE, one thing is for certain.  It is the innocent civilian that will be caught in the middle. And it is not just limited to the Tamils but the Muslims and Sinhalese will also get affected in a dramatic manner.

In these very desperate times, it is easy to lose all sense of reason and to think emotionally.  It is easy to see these times as a clash between cultures and religions and it is easy to play the blame game or the victims card.   It is easy to blame the Tamil people for what the LTTE has done and it is easy to blame the Sinhalese for the actions of the Government and the army.  Whilst it is true that there are people from either side who have their support for the various actions, there are equally if not more people who genuinely are striving for peace and justice and equality.  In this light, the heart’s relation to truth should never be allowed to turn into emotional, passionate blindness: reason must always be called upon to analyse the situation, temper one’s reaction and help establish an attentive coherent relation to the other’s truth.

Hence my recent visit to London was quite symbolic it was to witness a significant occurrence which has deep reverberations for  a country like Sri Lanka.  On the 26^th of June, a historical partnership was signed between UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief) and Muslim Aid to come together to work on the sole aim to build peace and help relieve poverty jointly.  Critics may ask why is this partnership  so unique?  After all many agencies have come together before....

It is about a  unique partnership between faith based organisations from two different faiths, going beyond the rhetoric and doing work on the ground having started this partnership in Sri Lanka during a time when it is indeed such differences that had caused the displacement of civilians mainly Muslims from the north eastern town of Mutur in the Trincomalee District.

 “We want to create a model for other religious and non-religious organisations to follow, to demonstrate that people of very different, and sometimes conflicting, backgrounds, faiths, and cultures can work together to help humanity,” says the Rev. R. Randy Day, General Secretary of Global Ministries, the parent organisation of UMCOR
“Our partnership with UMCOR reaches out beyond our own religious communities to benefit people in need, no matter what their religious faith,” says Farooq Murad, chairman of Muslim Aid. “Muslim Aid and UMCOR have already proven that we can work together and will continue to work to establish healthy, open communities where trust can flourish.”   
.  “The world desperately needs that kind of hope and this is a chance to create a new peace building paradigm.” 
None needs that chance more than Sri Lanka.  Because what this partnership is about is not just sharing of resources or funding each other to do work, but it is about a very genuine joint effort to combine strengths and relationships to work on a since common issue: serving the humanity in need.  Having this partnership grow out of Sri Lanka is not only symbolic but it shows the opportunity for people from different faiths and cultures and ethnicities driven by their own interpretations of spiritual obligation can work together for the common good.
This is the real crux of what can be one solution for Sri Lanka.  Whilst analysts talk about a political or military solution, real progress can only be made when people on the ground talk about it and more importantly push for it driven by one common agenda.  That agenda is the right to live in peace with one’s neighbor in a just  environment where one’s kids can grow up free from hate and violence.

This is the ultimate utopian dream but it can be achieved by the small steps of man.  There are and will be problems in emerging economies like Sri Lanka.  However out of every problem lies an opportunity and it is the responsibility of all those to see those opportunities and to exploit them.
It is high time now that partnerships develop and are maintained for as a wise man said

Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.”

Reflections

I had originally sat down to write this blog to complement my fellow blogger, Glenda Cooper, who had submitted her piece on Alertnet last month on the perceptions of NGOs in Sri Lanka as fat cats. 

Whilst largely agreeing with that particular blog, I felt that I had to also contribute some of the positives of the NGO work whilst highlighting something of the challenges faced in an attempt to give the ‘other side’ of the picture.

The incidents of this week highlight in no uncertain terms the challenges that are faced by NGO workers in Sri Lanka, particularly national staff.  As I write this, I have mixed feelings. 

I feel a sense of disbelief at the mere fact that such an incident happened not on the ‘field’ so to speak but in Colombo, the capital and possibly by supposed policemen.  Whether or not this turns out to be true is another case, but what this reinforces is the sense of dread that set into the NGO community last August when 17 of our colleagues were murdered in Mutur. 

Have we become the next targets?

Has our sense of ‘neutrality’ now been compromised? 

These are questions that will undoubtedly haunt our work and may even affect our response.

I am angry because these incidents serve to illustrate the dangers that people in our line of work face, yet all people can do is criticise us for wasteful spending (which I agree does exist like in any other industry) without taking heed of the challenges and pitfalls of development and humanitarian work. 

The lay man does not realise the amount of challenges facing aid workers and at the top of the list is looking after their families.  Most people are in this ignorant bliss that aid workers or NGO workers are charity workers, who must by default work for free and not charge anything and so by default are ‘fat cats’ when they do.   

These observers who are comfortable in their cushy jobs can not even fathom an iota of what it means to be working out on the field, often in very unbearable circumstances (ask those who work in Darfur).  For these apathetic armchair ‘development experts’,  their compassion and commitment stretches as far as their air conditioned cars will take them on the smooth roads of Sri Lanka. Doing ‘their bit’ for charity is to give out a sewing machine or the most laying a foundation stone for some building.  Ask them to do anything else and the usual response is ‘Batticaloa?  Isn’t that dangerous?  Isn’t there a war there?’  or my personal favourite ‘do they have electricity there?’.

I am disgusted because there is possibly an element of truth that is in some of the rumours doing the rounds in Colombo.  These victims were not targeted because they were Red Cross volunteers but that they were targeted because they were Tamil.  If this is the case, then there are some serious issues arising out of such a scenario.

The abductions of civilians in Colombo from mainly the Muslim and Tamil (but also Sinhalese) community have intensified over the last couple of months with many being held for large amounts of ransom or being killed.

I feel sad because the abduction and death of these two volunteers is another tragic chapter to a sad story of abductions in Sri Lanka as security and human rights conditions deteriorate.  Had it not been for the fact that these two also worked for the Red Cross, their fate would have been confined to the middle pages of the newspapers and an item in the news headlines. However, as is usual in these instances, their fate has allowed the international community to understand what hundreds of nameless civilians are facing on a daily basis in Sri Lanka.  With this tragedy comes opportunity.

I grieve because I know that this is another nail in the coffin of peace in Sri Lanka and those that will suffer are the innocent civilians.  From the perspective of the humanitarian agencies, the reaction I know will be to rethink security procedures and programs to ensure safety of workers.  An unfortunate but necessary response perhaps in the light of the last 10 months where we as well have also been at the receiving end.

One can remain positive and live in the hope that this does not happen as the suffering civilians will be the ultimate losers.  From my perspective, such tragic incidents have only reinforced ones commitment to meet all the challenges that we will face and to redouble one efforts for those in need.

Dedicated to the  memory of our colleagues  from ACF and Red Cross who died in the line of fire.  May we all work to ensure that your sacrifice to serve the needy was not in vain.

A complex new year....

I recently had the pleasure of being invited by the British High Commissioner in Sri Lanka to attend a reception held in honour of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, who had been visiting the island.  It was a curious invitation, since I did not consider that my agency or I would fall on the radar screen of the British High Commissioner let alone the Archbishop.

It turned out to be a very nice evening with fellow colleagues from the NGO core and other diplomatic circles plus members of the church attending.  Having been spotted by one of the local bishops who upon finding out which organisation I came from promptly introduced me to the man himself.  There is a certain feeling one gets when one meets a ‘celebrity’, yet the man standing in front of me, obviously tired from his travelling and meetings struck me as warm and friendly with a certain sense of spirituality only masked by his genuine concern at the state of the country, which is probably a hot topic around Sri Lanka nowadays, not escaping the High Commissioner’s soiree.  Here again what was on people’s discussion point was the state of the country from man made and natural disasters.

As we stood around sipping our drinks, one could not help but notice that in the air was a sense of foreboding.  Perhaps it could have been because the British over the last couple of weeks have come under fire from the local press of their interest in Sri Lanka, but most probably what was in people’s minds was the uncertainty of things. 

Interestingly two conversations come to mind when I reflect upon that night.  The first was with a diplomat who was on his second stint in Sri Lanka after 20 years. ‘It’s strange’ he said, ‘It is like time has stood still and we are where were 20 years ago vis-à-vis the war’.

Another colleague told me that despite travelling back and forth to Sri Lanka over the last 20 years ‘every year seems to be bringing new and different challenges for Sri Lanka’.

Interesting yet different observations over the same period of time.  I think that perhaps the truth lies in between these two.  Sri Lanka has certainly come a long way from 20 years ago, but today as in 20 years back, we are staring down a very dark abyss as the security situation gets worse coupled by recurring natural disasters due to climate change.   Yet the challenge is different.  20 years on, we now have a generation that has grown up with such complex challenges being part of their life so much so, that there is a certain indifference and apathy from people in Colombo and those who live in the west and south of the Island and a sense of resignation and acceptance as the norm from people living in the north and east. 

As Dr Williams so eloquently phrased it when he addressed the reception, ‘if this new generation and the one after that continues to grow up in this isolation, surrounded from each other by these huge walls erected by extremists, then  the prospects are very bleak’  What do we want for our children?

Last month, Sri Lanka celebrated the Tamil and Sinhalese New Year.  A time of joy, celebration and hope.  Coupled with the traditional games that are played during this time, important messages for reconciliation and prayers for peace were broadcast throughout the nation.  For once, the nation was hopeful and relaxed enjoying the success of their cricket team bringing them hope.

  Now one month later, those memories of Tamil children playing  ‘ella’ (a local version of baseball) with Sinhalese Children in an interschool competition held in a town in the Trincomalee District (east of Sri Lanka), to promote inter ethnic harmony and cooperation are now long gone.

The air attacks of April 29^th coupled with a defeat in the world cup dampened the enthusiasm.  If that was not bad enough, Sri Lanka experienced the worst rains in a long time over the last couple of weeks, with streets in Colombo virtually becoming rivers, causing about 10,000 families to be displaced.  It was as if God had reminded us not only to take care of ourselves and our relationship but to also be mindful of the relationship with mother earth.

As a bruised Sri Lanka recovers from a two week battering of both man made and natural disasters, it is very important to take stock of our situation. The challenge is upon us now at least for the next generations and do as the Native American’s say ‘I did not inherit this earth from my forefathers, I borrowed it from my grandchildren.

A Surreal Experience

The sound of a muffled thud outside my hotel window woke me.  Noting the time of 2 am, I thought to myself, sounds like fireworks, Sri Lanka must have won the world cup.  This seemed to be a dramatic turn of events considering that I had retired to bed at 12.30am with a sinking feeling that they were going to lose to the Australian juggernaut.

Rushing to the window, I expected to see street parties and fireworks on the streets below.  For a few 5 seconds, I stood there mesmerized by the very unusual scene which greeted me. The surroundings in downtown Colombo, normally brilliantly lit were now pitch black.  There were no street parties and the beams of ‘fireworks’ were too close together and moreover sounded like sub machine gun fire.

A cold shiver went down my spine as I realized that this was no celebration shooting but retaliatory anti aircraft firing emanating from the compound in front of the hotel which housed the Ministry of Defence.

The worst fears of the government and those of us who have been observing the deterioration of the security situation in Sri Lanka had been confirmed.  The LTTE had started their air attacks on Colombo striking at the heart of the city in the middle of the night as the whole country was in a relaxed mood eagerly awaiting the world cup cricket showdown.

Backing away from the window rapidly, I made my way out of the room to find several of my colleagues who were also staying at the hotel outside in the corridor alongside several other tourists and nationals who had come to see the match at the hotel confronting the security guard.

 ‘Don’t worry this is normal, everything is ok’ I heard him say loudly almost trying to convince himself of the truth.

 Obviously the guests were not buying that.  For once thankfully a training session had paid off.  What we had learnt in our personal safety and security course and our experience in emergency response meant that my colleagues and I were able to guide the guests downstairs to the lobby.

The lobby seemed to be chaos central.  Coupled with drunk world cup spectators, nervous tourists and   confused hotel staff, the next couple of hours can best be described as interesting. 

Despite our best efforts as humanitarian workers to aid the hotel staff to deal with the hundreds of people now crowding the hotel lobby, it became difficult to stop curious people from wandering outside to see what the noise was about or to convince the hotel staff to dim the lights and make some preparations for the emergency. 

‘I am sorry Mr Saleem.  We do not want to panic the guests and do anything out of the ordinary’ replied one hotel manager when I had asked him about his plans for dealing with this emergency.  Something stopped me from slapping him back to his senses. 

Thankfully the whole ordeal lasted about an hour and a half, by which time, Sri Lanka had lost the world cup, the final drinks had been bought and the clubs started to empty.  By 4am the situation returned to normal and we dragged ourselves back to bed.

The next morning was a surreal experience as silent guests took their breakfast, shell shocked from the events of the previous night, the disappointment of the defeat and the realization that there had been a serious security incident that had been averted.  As I went to check out, I could see it beginning to dawn on the hotel staff there including my friend the manager that things could have got worse.

As is so common in Sri Lanka and what is seen as a forte of the Sri Lankan spirit, the roads of Colombo that morning had returned back to normal.  It was as if the previous 24 hours was in a separate time warp.

The events of the infamous 28^th of April have now taken this ‘low intensity defence operation’ (in the words of the government) to a new low.  Despite both sides claiming that the 2002 peace process is still intact, the last wave of attacks by the LTTE have initiated a new dimension to the scenario.

Over the last couple of weeks and months, the security situation in Sri Lanka has got increasingly bad.  Each day does not go without some report of an air attack or mine attack or ambush with people being killed from all sides.  Whilst the anti war and pro war rhetoric is scaled up accordingly with each infraction of security and justice, it is the innocent people that are left suffering.  Those internally displaced people (IDPs), numbering thousands still stranded in makeshift refugee camps are waiting to go home. 

Now Colombo has become involved and this can only be damaging to the country and the prospects for peace.  On the 29^th morning itself, around 120 tourists who had arrived the previous day, packed up and left the country.  Several airlines suspended flights and suddenly the tourist industry of Sri Lanka heading into a long weekend was starting to look fragile.  As one hotelier was heard to comment ‘One more incident like this and I shall have to close up for good’.

The prospects for Sri Lanka’s growth and development are based on a peaceful situation.  Despite, many tourist areas not being the subject of attacks, there is undoubtedly nervousness internationally as incidents like the attack get reported widely.  Sri Lanka just celebrated its cultural new year, and there is now fading hope that things will certainly get bright.

Returning home……

Like any other normal 7 year old, Rohini, has her dreams. ‘I want to become a doctor so that I can help my people,’ she shyly confides before going out to play with her friends.  There is just one problem. Rohini is one of many thousands who have become displaced since August last year due to an upsurge in the ethnic conflict. Given the unimaginative name of ‘IDP’ (Internally Displaced Person), by NGOs, these people are housed in ‘camps’ looked after by the government and relief agencies.  For some, they have been displaced since August whilst others are relatively new comers.

The east coast of Sri Lanka from Trincomalee down to Batticaloa is now full of these ‘transitional’ camps, housing mainly Tamil refugees fleeing the fighting from uncleared LTTE held areas to find refuge in Government held areas. Rohini has experienced a lot in the last couple of months.  With her family, she had escaped on foot through jungle routes, and on rafts and boats through the lagoon and sea, running through cross fire.  Her mother, Viji says, ‘At first we did not want to flee, but the shelling got worse and we had to go.  It just wasn’t safe anymore’

These stories are not uncommon as majority of these people have been shuffled back and forth like pawns on a chess board as the war has moved across the east.  Another inhabitant within the camp, Padmini has a much more harrowing tale to tell.  Speaking from her low roof tent, that has been donated by an NGO which she shares with 7 others, she recounts how she has been ‘displaced’ since April 2006 moving from one camp to another.

For those not lucky enough to have relatives or friends to look after them, majority of the displaced people end up in camps that have been converted from schools.  With basic water and sanitation facilities, and poor cooking arrangements, life in the camp is just about bearable.  When the school buildings overflow, tents or tarpaulin sheets are erected, forcing men and women who do not know each other to live in the same vicinity with little privacy for women.  During times of emergency it seems that those who have suffered still undergo future stress, living in a tent, with strangers, scorching during the day and shivering at night, with very basic food being given and not enough toilets.

Yoga, a 48 year old farmer explains the food situation ‘we are provided with one curry and a plate of rice.  Often for days on end.  In some camps, with extra funding, they throw in some vegetables now and then.’

M. Firthous is a volunteer at one of the makeshift camps that have sprung up in Batticaloa, close to where the latest fighting is taking place.  A teacher by profession, his school has been converted into one camp and school has been suspended for the while.  He laments ‘ these type of crisis means that the education of the children is disrupted whilst the school is used for a camp.  This does not even take into account education for the displaced children’.  With some disruption, it is not surprising that there is a huge disparity in education in this part of the country as opposed to other parts.  Those children that can attend school don’t have the right frame of mind to continue education

Unfortunately with such crisis, the sudden influx of displaced people puts pressure on the authorities and humanitarian agencies to cope with demands for shelter, food and sanitation.   Some camps are well looked after, whilst others are barely able to survive.

Whilst the accusations are that humanitarian agencies are not responding enough, there is a growing concern regarding security and favourable conditions for the agencies to work in.  Following the ACF killings last August, there has been a growing reluctance for agencies to commit themselves in unsafe conditions.  Coupled with the attacks on American and European Diplomats last week as they toured the east of the country, agencies are thinking twice about it.  Hence there arises a dichotomy for action. As a head of mission does one commit his staff to these areas, even though they have narrowly avoided mine attacks and shelling?  What about the people who have suffered this for the past couple of months?  Surely they are more of a priority….  These are arguments that will go on as long as there is conflict in this part of the world.

With all this hardship, fear and uncertainty, there is one thing that everyone is united on.  Even if it takes months, they all want to go home.  Nadarajah is a family whose house was destroyed by artillery fire.  ‘ My house is destroyed, I lost some members of my family.  Even if it takes months for peace to return, I want to go home.  I want to start a normal life.’

The semblance of normalcy is what everyone needs but the scars of tension and trauma are deep and will remain for a long time.

As for Rohini as she plays on some donated swings that have been set up in the camp as part of a child friendly space, the horrors she has gone through have momentarily disappeared, until the sun begins to set and she returns ‘home’, a temporary tent she shares with her family and a few strangers….  Another day has gone


This was originally printed in Reuters Alertnet