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.