March 8, 2007

Life on the East Coast

Dear Friends,

These past couple of months I have had the chance to experience the diversity and beauty of Sri Lanka. With the hiring of our new local coordinator, Francis Raajan (he goes by Raajan), I have finally been able to travel to various parts of Sri Lanka and meet with some of the organizations that form part of our network. Raajan’s job is to help me with office and administration duties, but his most important role is that of translator. Raajan is Tamil, but knows Sinhala, Tamil, and English. It is amazing how much more has been achieved and how many connections have been made due to this crucial element.

Pottuvil

So in January we set out for the east coast of Sri Lanka to visit three organizations. After a 10-hour drive on bumpy and windy roads, which are beautifully lined with rice paddy fields in harvest, we arrived in Pottuvil. Many Sri Lankans raise their eyebrows when this town is mentioned, as there was a mass slaughtering of Muslims here in September, when I first arrived in country. There were debates as to whether it was the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, known as the “Tamil Tigers” in the Western press) or the Sinhalese army, but I do not think any answers have been determined. In either case, it was a murdering of innocent victims. The majority of the population of Pottuvil is Muslim (who speak Tamil), and there is a minority of Tamils, and a smaller minority of Sinhalese. But due to the fact that the Sinhalese army is very prevalent in this area, the Sinhalese hold some power.

Pottuvil left some eerie images in my mind. Still recovering from the tsunami of December 2004, one can see foundations and skeletons of houses while driving anywhere in the town. People are still working, restaurants are still open, life goes on, but the evenings of emptier and quieter streets were a bit unnerving. Not only that, but the presence of the Sinhalese army on every corner, with their guns, in a town where they might not even understand the language, also left me a bit disconcerted. I later learned that their presence was because the Karuna faction, a separatist group of the LTTE, is trying to take power in Pottuvil. And on top of all this, many people in the area were affected by the flooding from the monsoon rains.

DIFSO

So it was with all of these factors in mind that we went to visit the District Fisheries Solidarity (DIFSO) in Pottuvil to learn about their work and people. DIFSO is an organization that works to build the capacity of the fishery people, especially those affected by the tsunami. When the tsunami first occurred, they provided boats and nets, but also helped the people protest to the government when they felt they were not receiving adequate funding and aid. They continue to help these people through protests, gender awareness programs and other kinds of training.

While meeting with DIFSO members, it was easy to become overwhelmed by the issues these people are facing. I sat in front of women, men, and children who had been swept away from their homes, then resettled far away and given inadequate homes and compensation. They spoke of the need to have deeds to their land, which the government had not provided. They were supposed to find land on their own, but the money the government gave them wasn’t enough to buy both land and a house.

Women spoke of unemployment and the need for permanent jobs, whether self-employment or another alternative. Men spoke of the illegal fishing system they were fighting, the lack of proper fishing equipment, and how the rich have exploited the poor in these area. Children, who should have been in school in this mid-morning hour, sat quietly (most of the time) in their parents’ laps, as many of these resettlement villages are located too far away from schools or the school facilities are not adequate for all children. At each meeting, the people were tentative about sharing their struggles with me, as many of them, being Tamil in this time of ethnic conflict, have learned to keep quiet and keep their problems to themselves. Thankfully, DIFSO has begun to help them find that voice again.

Kalmunai

We then drove on to Kalmunai, a town north of Pottuvil. We drove through remote jungle and woods, with an occasional army checkpoint and barracks, surrounded by barbed wire fences. Again, I had that same disturbing, isolated feeling as we drove to visit the Muslim Women Research Action Front (MWRAF), which focuses on women empowerment, peace building, and awareness programs for women, land, gender, and human rights. They carry out trainings and livelihood programs for their members and also provide funding when needed. After the tsunami, they opened women’s centers for counseling, but also provide services and workshops for domestic duty trainings (sewing, weaving.), health awareness, women’s rights, child care, and gender-based violence.

After meeting with MWRAF, we drove along the coast and again saw the destruction from the tsunami alongside new housing complexes. It seemed to me that the people would want to clean up the ruins, so as to have a physical sense of moving on. But I was told that many thought the clean-up was unnecessary, convincing me it would probably be there for years to come.

As much as I wanted to sleep during our drive to Polonnaruwa, the scenery and environment kept me attentive. I suppose driving through territory that has been affected by the war and is army-occupied will do that. I saw soldiers scattered throughout the jungle—behind or beside trees, behind barracks, and so on. I cannot imagine how much this environment has changed people’s lives—from the simple act of having a soldier at each corner, to the more complicated aspects of closing roads and checkpoints. Are they happy now? Can they really lead normal lives? I saw one bull-pulled cart, full of luggage and people sitting on top, who were probably displaced from the war and were now heading south to find some sort of refuge. This is the life of the east coast. How many people on the west coast of this country really understand and realize this situation?

Polonnaruwa

Our last stop was in Polonnaruwa, an ancient city and former capital of Sri Lanka, to visit inland fishing villages with Sister Marlene. Sister is one of the strongest women I have met in Sri Lanka, and she has been working on strengthening the solidarity of these fishing villages. Many are poor, unaware of their rights, and practice illegal fishing systems because it is a way to catch more fish and make more money. So Sister has worked on correcting their methods and making them aware of the consequences if they continue to fish illegally. Illegal fishing nets spoil crops of fish when used and, if caught using them, one could be fined and/or have his or her boat confiscated. “Inland fishing” is when fishing is done in tanks or reservoirs. The government is in charge of cleaning these tanks and providing the baby fish for the crop. When this is not carried out, the tank becomes polluted and fish become sick and die, or do not grow properly, and the tank water becomes overgrown, making it difficult to travel by boat.

Now Sister is strengthening the organization by gathering them together to protest to the government to clean the tanks, as it is the government’s responsibility and the fisherman’s right to have clean tanks. If they are not able to fish, then many will lose their livelihood and their income. They also struggle with land rights and the inability to receive a deed for their land. Due to their low income, it is difficult for them to buy land or build a house. These are the issues that Sister plans to address in their future action as a developing organization.

After taking in all of this information, Raajan and I briefly toured the ancient city of Polonnaruwa and made our way back to Colombo, exhausted, but feeling we had made some connections and learned a great deal from these organizations. It was a lot to take in, which I think is why I delayed so long in writing this, but it was a very informative and eye-opening experience.

Though we do not have huge projects to solve all of these issues, the small act of finally communicating face to face with these people and explaining our program was a positive step. The field visits to the rest of Sri Lanka continue, as does the education and brainstorming of how we, as a network, can make a positive difference in these areas.

Peace,

Chenoa Stock
Companionship Facilitator
Joining Hands – Sri Lanka