Multiple entry-point responses to the violence in Sri Lanka,
from OpenEdge and Peace and Community Action
In 2017 OE began working with a small local NGO, Peace and Community Action (PCA), to help affected people imagine and build their own vision of a reconciled and positive future for all people of Sri Lanka.
This work has focused on helping individuals and groups broaden their understandings of identity and security, beyond ideas of separatism through religion, language, region and ethnicity. While such transformations take time, in the last year, a level of shift in perceptions of ‘self and other’ can be seen in some.
For example, in one area, community led Reconciliation Forum meetings have been held in a Mosque, where people of other faiths are entering and participating. This is very unusual, almost unheard of in Sri Lanka.
In this way, OE can see the beginnings of tangible signs that fears, myths and prejudices of ‘the other’ are shifting. PCA staff are hearing people express how constructed ideas of identity, based upon ethnic and religious reductionism, are beginning to alter:
“We are different, we clearly have differences! But we are all human. We need a new way to deal with the problems that we face, that allow us to be together as humans.” Forum Member, 2017.
It is from these on going activities, and these developing relationships, that PCA and OE based its responses to the events of the past weeks. (See ‘Sri Lanka Update’ for details of the current situation.)
Our work is located in Ampara, Eastern Sri Lanka, where all three ethnic and religious communities live. This is, in fact, where the first recent incidents took place, with the attacking of a Mosque by a Sinhala group. PCA staff, plus some of the community members and leaders that we work with, live in these areas and are connected to those affected. This existing connection meant it was easy for OE and PCA to communicate quickly and establish a supportive presence. For OE and PCA, our approach is clear; our role is to support communities themselves to create careful and considered nonviolent responses, in an environment of heightened emotions, fear and anger, misinformation and hate speech. In this way, PCA and OE are trying to continue nurturing space for a culture of peace, amid the wider environment of a culture of violence. PCA and OE are also clear that any interventions will be led by communities themselves, not by us. In this way we are accompanying affected people in ownership of their situation and their responses.
Community-based responses
Examples of OE/PCA initiatives with communities and those we already work with:
Examples of responses at regional, national, and international level:
Making decisions about human security needs…
Alongside these actions, OE and PCA are focusing on ‘human security’ decisions. A paradox of peace work is that we go where there is not peace, purposefully entering ‘hot-spots’ and spaces of violence. This creates a starting point for our work that needs considerable care and attention. For example, this week, some of us have been stopped, detained and turned back when trying to travel to areas where our presence is requested. Also, one PCA staff member was attacked as he tried to travel through a town where an unofficial curfew and protest were on going. He is now recovered and safe. These examples highlight some of the physical security needs we have been considering on a daily, and sometimes moment-by-moment basis, as we plan and implement our activities.
Another very important part of human security decision-making, is how we impact the security of others. For example, it is entirely possible that the presence of PCA staff members from one ethnic or religious community, inside another ethnic or religious town or village, can be inflammatory, such is the tension here. Also, as an ‘international’, in many such instances my own presence may be ‘protective’, especially when individuals and groups are speaking out or taking action. Yet, if I behave in any way that may be perceived as problematic, my presence could fuel anger and hostilities that will be targeted upon others, after I have returned safely to my home.
As such, our efforts in the past week have required daily situational analysis and violence/incident mapping, that considers all needs. This is crucial for making decisions about our responses, and cannot be overlooked to save time and workload.
…And, taking care of our well-being…
As practitioners of nonviolence, OE and PCA value attending to our mental and emotional well-being, as an important part of our responsibilities. While living in such hostility was ‘normal’ for nearly thirty years of war, the question remains, does one ever really get used to it? Certainly, with my twenty years of living and working in such environments on and off, I am very much aware of my own current, heightened, ‘on alert’ mental state, and my physical and emotional exhaustion, from this short but intensive period of trying to connect deeply to peoples felt experiences, employ sharp mental capacities, and travel regularly to different areas. (And we do this by public transport, as we have no vehicle!)
Today, I write from the PCA office, where we are having a team day for expressing, sharing, outpouring, reflecting, acknowledging, celebrating, grieving, hearing and being with each other supportively …and taking a breath.
…It’s all about creating spaces, moments and examples of counter culture…
OE believes that it is possible for people here to create communities beyond ‘them and us’, beyond thinking of only those who share the same religion and ethnicity. Indeed, we are so inspired by the ordinary people we work with, who are ready to courageously unite across these boundaries. And in this moment, while national political decision-making is key, it is clear to us that without the counter cultures, the cultures of reconciliation and nonviolence; of compassion and interdependence; of care and wellbeing, a political response alone will struggle to bring meaningful impact.
An example of interdependent-needs in action…an extremely powerful act of peace!
In an area where attacks and rioting have been occurring across several days, Tamil, Muslim and Sinhala community members have come together to take care of their community. The people in this area realise how vulnerable the small area of Muslim businesses and homes is, and are supporting each other to prevent incidents in this area. Significant collective actions of conflict prevention, care, solidarity, support and interdependency are happening. For example, despite a prolonged loss of trade and sole livelihood, Tamil and Sinhala shop owners were ready to close their liquor stores, as a way to prevent any risk of anti-social behaviour escalating. And, for several days now, Tamil and Sinhala community members have joined their Muslim neighbours, spending each night, all night, on watch around Muslim homes and shops, ready to intervene if any Sinhala mobs appear. Even as one Tamil individual shared this story with me, they took care to emphasis that this is not a situation of power disparity, where Tamil and Sinhala individuals heroically stepped forward to protect the Muslim community in need. Clearly then, this is not a situation where ‘our community’, is experienced and understood along ethnic or religious boundaries. Simply, because this community experience themselves beyond these constructed ideas of difference, they are able to think and act in a very different way to what is commonplace here. People here are also clearly connected to their interdependency as a community. They do not perceive that only Muslim community members will suffer if any incidents occur. Instead, they understand that they will all be affected, should violence spread to this village. In this way they share needs for safety, security and well-being.
Despite a considerable level of ‘uncontained’ incidents occurring in the immediate surrounding area, to date, no incidents and no damage or harm has directly occurred to any property or person in this village.
Outstanding and moving for me, is the connection and unity behind these responses, that enables them to happen with ease and little effort to create shared understanding and collaboration.
In coming days, when possible, OE intends to undertake a deep evaluation of the conscious and unconscious thinking and experiencing that enabled such responses to exist here, with such ease and effectiveness. We will also evaluate what impact the wider ethnic and religious based divisive thinking and actions have had on relationships in this community, as well as how their own responses have impacted their on going relationships with each other.
For now, I deeply acknowledge and thank each individual, and this collective, this community, for the hope that they inspire within me. Their capacity to remain humanised to each other, and meet violence with courageous compassion (in conditions that encourage dehumanisation, blame and separation), is an extremely powerful act of peace.
from OpenEdge and Peace and Community Action
In 2017 OE began working with a small local NGO, Peace and Community Action (PCA), to help affected people imagine and build their own vision of a reconciled and positive future for all people of Sri Lanka.
This work has focused on helping individuals and groups broaden their understandings of identity and security, beyond ideas of separatism through religion, language, region and ethnicity. While such transformations take time, in the last year, a level of shift in perceptions of ‘self and other’ can be seen in some.
For example, in one area, community led Reconciliation Forum meetings have been held in a Mosque, where people of other faiths are entering and participating. This is very unusual, almost unheard of in Sri Lanka.
In this way, OE can see the beginnings of tangible signs that fears, myths and prejudices of ‘the other’ are shifting. PCA staff are hearing people express how constructed ideas of identity, based upon ethnic and religious reductionism, are beginning to alter:
“We are different, we clearly have differences! But we are all human. We need a new way to deal with the problems that we face, that allow us to be together as humans.” Forum Member, 2017.
It is from these on going activities, and these developing relationships, that PCA and OE based its responses to the events of the past weeks. (See ‘Sri Lanka Update’ for details of the current situation.)
Our work is located in Ampara, Eastern Sri Lanka, where all three ethnic and religious communities live. This is, in fact, where the first recent incidents took place, with the attacking of a Mosque by a Sinhala group. PCA staff, plus some of the community members and leaders that we work with, live in these areas and are connected to those affected. This existing connection meant it was easy for OE and PCA to communicate quickly and establish a supportive presence. For OE and PCA, our approach is clear; our role is to support communities themselves to create careful and considered nonviolent responses, in an environment of heightened emotions, fear and anger, misinformation and hate speech. In this way, PCA and OE are trying to continue nurturing space for a culture of peace, amid the wider environment of a culture of violence. PCA and OE are also clear that any interventions will be led by communities themselves, not by us. In this way we are accompanying affected people in ownership of their situation and their responses.
Community-based responses
Examples of OE/PCA initiatives with communities and those we already work with:
- Coaching and supporting analysis of the situation, and what nonviolent, positive responses could look like.
- Coaching and supporting existing local Reconciliation Forum members to gently influence those around them, sharing their journey of beginning to understand ‘otherness’, and starting to perceive of themselves and others in a new way.
- Coaching and supporting local Reconciliation Forum members to create conversations that counter hate speech, and encourage people to question, not pass on information.
- Coaching and supporting Sinhala and Tamil Reconciliation Forum members to plan how they can visibly act in solidarity with Muslim community members.
- Coaching and supporting those we work with from Muslim communities, to encourage openness and trust within their communities, and maintain intention to be connected to Sinhala and Tamil individuals and communities, not closed to them in fear and anger.
- Supporting individuals and groups to consider how they can engage with the media, to help create a counter voice of nonviolence.
Examples of responses at regional, national, and international level:
- Maintaining regular communication with national and international analysts, activists and key persons (e.g. International Crisis Group).
- Disseminating information and keeping local experiences visible to national and international actors and decision makers.
- Advocating for local communities needs with high profile, and key individuals.
- Liaising with diverse local, regional, national, international and diaspora groups and actors, to create a powerful voice for publically communicating collective positive messages to communities and media.
Making decisions about human security needs…
Alongside these actions, OE and PCA are focusing on ‘human security’ decisions. A paradox of peace work is that we go where there is not peace, purposefully entering ‘hot-spots’ and spaces of violence. This creates a starting point for our work that needs considerable care and attention. For example, this week, some of us have been stopped, detained and turned back when trying to travel to areas where our presence is requested. Also, one PCA staff member was attacked as he tried to travel through a town where an unofficial curfew and protest were on going. He is now recovered and safe. These examples highlight some of the physical security needs we have been considering on a daily, and sometimes moment-by-moment basis, as we plan and implement our activities.
Another very important part of human security decision-making, is how we impact the security of others. For example, it is entirely possible that the presence of PCA staff members from one ethnic or religious community, inside another ethnic or religious town or village, can be inflammatory, such is the tension here. Also, as an ‘international’, in many such instances my own presence may be ‘protective’, especially when individuals and groups are speaking out or taking action. Yet, if I behave in any way that may be perceived as problematic, my presence could fuel anger and hostilities that will be targeted upon others, after I have returned safely to my home.
As such, our efforts in the past week have required daily situational analysis and violence/incident mapping, that considers all needs. This is crucial for making decisions about our responses, and cannot be overlooked to save time and workload.
…And, taking care of our well-being…
As practitioners of nonviolence, OE and PCA value attending to our mental and emotional well-being, as an important part of our responsibilities. While living in such hostility was ‘normal’ for nearly thirty years of war, the question remains, does one ever really get used to it? Certainly, with my twenty years of living and working in such environments on and off, I am very much aware of my own current, heightened, ‘on alert’ mental state, and my physical and emotional exhaustion, from this short but intensive period of trying to connect deeply to peoples felt experiences, employ sharp mental capacities, and travel regularly to different areas. (And we do this by public transport, as we have no vehicle!)
Today, I write from the PCA office, where we are having a team day for expressing, sharing, outpouring, reflecting, acknowledging, celebrating, grieving, hearing and being with each other supportively …and taking a breath.
…It’s all about creating spaces, moments and examples of counter culture…
OE believes that it is possible for people here to create communities beyond ‘them and us’, beyond thinking of only those who share the same religion and ethnicity. Indeed, we are so inspired by the ordinary people we work with, who are ready to courageously unite across these boundaries. And in this moment, while national political decision-making is key, it is clear to us that without the counter cultures, the cultures of reconciliation and nonviolence; of compassion and interdependence; of care and wellbeing, a political response alone will struggle to bring meaningful impact.
An example of interdependent-needs in action…an extremely powerful act of peace!
In an area where attacks and rioting have been occurring across several days, Tamil, Muslim and Sinhala community members have come together to take care of their community. The people in this area realise how vulnerable the small area of Muslim businesses and homes is, and are supporting each other to prevent incidents in this area. Significant collective actions of conflict prevention, care, solidarity, support and interdependency are happening. For example, despite a prolonged loss of trade and sole livelihood, Tamil and Sinhala shop owners were ready to close their liquor stores, as a way to prevent any risk of anti-social behaviour escalating. And, for several days now, Tamil and Sinhala community members have joined their Muslim neighbours, spending each night, all night, on watch around Muslim homes and shops, ready to intervene if any Sinhala mobs appear. Even as one Tamil individual shared this story with me, they took care to emphasis that this is not a situation of power disparity, where Tamil and Sinhala individuals heroically stepped forward to protect the Muslim community in need. Clearly then, this is not a situation where ‘our community’, is experienced and understood along ethnic or religious boundaries. Simply, because this community experience themselves beyond these constructed ideas of difference, they are able to think and act in a very different way to what is commonplace here. People here are also clearly connected to their interdependency as a community. They do not perceive that only Muslim community members will suffer if any incidents occur. Instead, they understand that they will all be affected, should violence spread to this village. In this way they share needs for safety, security and well-being.
Despite a considerable level of ‘uncontained’ incidents occurring in the immediate surrounding area, to date, no incidents and no damage or harm has directly occurred to any property or person in this village.
Outstanding and moving for me, is the connection and unity behind these responses, that enables them to happen with ease and little effort to create shared understanding and collaboration.
In coming days, when possible, OE intends to undertake a deep evaluation of the conscious and unconscious thinking and experiencing that enabled such responses to exist here, with such ease and effectiveness. We will also evaluate what impact the wider ethnic and religious based divisive thinking and actions have had on relationships in this community, as well as how their own responses have impacted their on going relationships with each other.
For now, I deeply acknowledge and thank each individual, and this collective, this community, for the hope that they inspire within me. Their capacity to remain humanised to each other, and meet violence with courageous compassion (in conditions that encourage dehumanisation, blame and separation), is an extremely powerful act of peace.