Archive for the ‘Batticaloa’

On Flooding and Disaster Management

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Photo courtesy www.facebook.com/battipeople Over the last two days, torrential rainstorms in the Central and Eastern province have caused severe flooding, landslides and an overwhelming humanitarian crisis with 758,000 people affected island-wide (according to the latest update at 7:14AM today from the Disaster Mangement Centre [via JNW]) 809 houses have been fully damaged and 2948 houses have been partially damaged. There have been nine deaths; nine injuries and four people are still missing (last update Sunday evening.) An article in the Daily Mirror details the extent of the crisis, According to the Centre (Disaster Management) some 55,936 families belonging to 14,519 families have been displaced and had been housed at 138 camps that have been opened.  Several Divisional Secretariat offices in the East were also reportedly under water while Badulla District Secretary Keerthi Disasnayake was also reportedly marooned as a result of a land slide which occurred along the Badulla-Mahinyangana Road. The following areas in the country have been affected by the…

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A letter from Batticaloa against the 18th Amendment

Letter - Large

See a larger version of this letter here. After a discussion on the 18th Amendment, a group of citizens from Batticaloa had faxed this letter to Parliament this morning and sent it to Groundviews as well. Repost This Article

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NATION-BUILDING: WHICH PROJECT FOR THE NORTH & EAST?

When faced with challenging human rights and humanitarian law issues who should we seek out for advice but a celebrated former Vice President of the International Court of Justice? Faced with the task of peace building after a Thirty Years war, to whom should we turn to spearhead a state-aided national effort, or at the very least, for ideas and guidance, but the sole Sri Lankan to win the UNESCO Prize for Peace Education? If the Sri Lankan state and society have done neither, what does that say about us, where we are at and where we are headed? One of the more refined gratifications in my life is the friendship of a few renowned intellectuals like Richard Falk, Emeritus Professor of International Law and Policy at Princeton, and the occasional receipt from him of work in progress. The other day’s email contained three scintillating draft essays, two of which I have finished reading and one that I have commented…

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We Regret To Inform You That Your Condolences Cannot Be Accepted At This Time

We regret to inform you that your condolences cannot be accepted at this time. At present, both our pain and our hope defy that word, which has been offered and denied us, which we need and do not need, and which in any case we cannot accept, because they (your condolences) will not reach from what has happened to what will come. We find the word condolences stunning in its insufficiency for past and future. We evacuated our homes in the light; we vanished from our homes in the dark; we walked away from our families, toward the weapons, and wished that we could turn around. Our bodies entered the earth in places we cannot now identify, and so we are everywhere, blown to dust. By both dying in and surviving this place, we will live here long after your condolences become a ghost in your throat. We joined others’ battles, willingly and unwillingly; we walked forward on paths not…

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The end of war: Framed reflections by Deshan Tennekoon

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[Editors note: Deshan Tennekoon is one of Sri Lanka's best, young photographers. We are ardent fans, and requested Deshan to send photos that amongst the hundreds taken by him, resonated most with the end of war and the enduring challenges for peace in Sri Lanka.] December 01, 2006. A response to the failed attempt by the LTTE to assassinate Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse. The Ministry of Defence commissioned Triad Advertising to create the graffiti. It was removed in early January 2007 once the owners of the house repaired their wall. Feb 21, 2009. Tracers over Colombo. Two LTTE Air Tiger planes were shot down over Colombo and Katunayake. One plane crashed into the IRS building and the other crashed in a field near Katunayake Air Base. Below are some photos from a documentation of Swiss/Austrian Red Cross post-tsunami housing projects over 2006 and 2007. I coordinated the work of a writer and a photographer who were gathering data for a book,…

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Jaffna and the East today: Harsh ground realities, opportunities and challenges after war

Shanthi Sachithananthan, the Chairperson of Viluthu, has been featured several times on Groundviews in the past, including an interview two months ago looking at significant developments in Sri Lanka after the demise of the LTTE and her views on the July 1983 pogrom against Tamils. In this recent interview, Shanthi, who recently campaigned for political office in the parliamentary elections in April 2010 after forming an independent political party, speaks about her experiences interacting with voters from the Batticaloa district – the issues they confront, their aspirations and the extremely poor awareness of governance, representative democracy and electoral processes. Shanthi’s approach to campaigning is also revealed by her as a vehicle to prise open vital debates and issues amongst voters mainstream political parties would rather not address, or seek to underplay. I asked Shanthi whether Tamil representation in parliament now would engage in politics of antagonism or engagement with the Sinhala majority, and whether the overtures being made to the…

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Baby 81: 6 years after the tsunami

Abhilash Jeyaraj

“There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in” ~Henry Graham Greene (October 2,1904- April 3,1991). Novelist, Playwright and short story writer Abhilash Jeyaraj who is usually very shy to meet visitors waits with his mother Junita Jeyaraj at their gate. He wears a pair of jeans and long sleeve tshirt with stripe and neatly combed hair. His big smile invites me immediately, while he holds my hands and directs me through the main entrance of the house. He calls his cousin Thulanika Uthayaramesh and they begin to play cricket in the courtyard at dusk. His mother joins them. Abhilash is excited and begins to bat as quickly as possible. “My favourite subject is English. I like to play cricket with my cousin” says smiling Abhilash. As the sun sets its rays, he quite often hits the soft ball over the wall for six runs. He enjoys playing cricket. “I am very sad and…

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Parliamentary Elections, April 2010: An opportunity for voters in the North and East

I remember visiting Jaffna in 1997. Local government elections were due. Several leading political figures had been assassinated in the preceding years, some by the LTTE, others by anti-LTTE groups.  In the prevailing climate of fear, the Federal Party had reluctantly submitted nominations for elections for the Jaffna Municipal Council and one or two other local bodies. The LTTE was against the whole exercise, but the anti-LTTE gun carrying groups were contesting the elections. The Federal Party candidates showed great courage in contesting but minimized their risk by avoiding public meetings and house-to-house campaigning. Many Federal Party supporters faulted the candidates for avoiding public visibility. They asked: how can we vote for those who are reluctant to publicly or privately ask for our votes? But in the end they did vote for the Federal Party candidates, as did many who had never been Federal Party supporters. The faults they found in the Federal Party were nothing in comparison to those…

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A Reply to Tissa Devendra on Rebuilding Sri Lanka

[Editor's note: Devanesan Nesiah provides a rejoinder to Tissa Devendra's vehement response to his article 'Rebuilding Sri Lanka' that was published first on Groundviews and then later in the Island.] The venomous response of Devendra in the Island of 16th March does not merit a reply but I need to set the record straight. As I said in my original entry, “The primary fault is with neither the visitors nor the locals” which is very different to what Devendra seeks to imply. He takes offence over my citing the critical observations of a very distinguished Sinhalese. Rebuilding Sri Lanka requires self-critical acknowledgement of the damage done to the Sri Lankan nation over the decades by the racist policies of Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim leaders and by insensitive conduct and practices. It also requires a willingness to engage in corrective action. The corrective action includes not only political reforms but also sensitizing the population and lowering the barriers to inter ethnic communication. The…

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Rebuilding Sri Lanka

A perceptive and sensitive Sri Lankan has noted; “It is reported that the people of the North, especially in the Jaffna district, have developed a feeling of dissatisfaction, disaffection and contempt towards the people of the South, who post the end of the war are now engaging in pilgrimage and sightseeing related visits to the North in large numbers, and in the process totally disregarding the need for privacy, encroaching on meagre infrastructure resources and services of the district, causing significant negative impact on the environment/cleanliness and pollution in the area, and behaving in a manner unacceptable by the cultural and religious values of the Northerners. These negative feelings are expressed in relation to the following issues highlighted in support of the claim; 1. Large and unrestricted numbers of pilgrims are traveling from the South to the Jaffna District especially to visit Naghadhipa, Nallur Kovil, Madhu Church and other places of religious worship and there are no adequate infrastructure facilities…

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The loud and clear message from the voter turnout and the voters in the North and East

Aachcharya writing from Jaffna I wrote on the 30th of December in a post to Groundviews (and republished in the Daily Mirror) that the assertion that the Tamil people would be deciders in the Presidential election would be a myth. There was nothing brilliant or extraordinary about what I said at that time, but it was contrary to public perception that was prevalent all over the country and in international media circles. What I suggested was that for the Tamil people to be deciders two conditions have to be fulfilled. I wrote: “For the Tamils to be the deciders in the election (like they could have been in the last) they have to vote as a whole, to one candidate and the Sinhala votes to both candidates should be almost equal.” A lot of people thought it would be close in the South. I feared a good lead for Mahinda Rajapaksha in the rural south. I told my friends that…

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Needed: An Agenda for Reform on Groundviews

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Whilst it is not clear as to whether we would be voting in both the presidential and general elections on the same day, it is clear that we will be voting in at least one of them in the next three months, followed soon thereafter by the other.  Most likely it will be the presidential elections since it is the president who has to decide and since he is much more popular than his party. Moreover, we have been told that he is willing to sacrifice, if necessary, two years of his first term in order to secure a second and a parliamentary majority nearest to the heart’s desire. All elections are important and these will be no exception. It is worth reminding that we are still in a post-war situation and far from the post-conflict one we ought to be in. What this requires is the prioritization of peace, reconciliation and unity and the firm commitment to ensure that the…

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  • 17 Sep, 2009
  • 11 Comments
  • Batticaloa,
    Peace and Conflict

Let Them Drink Rice Wine: Withholding Water as Punishment on the East Coast?

If you look at Batticaloa District on a map, you’ll see that in a sense there are two Districts. The first is the coastal strip, where you find Batti, Kattankudy, Valachchenai, and other towns and villages.  I’m only guessing, but it seems to me that some 90% of the Districts’ population lives in this narrow band of land. As you will see on your map, a long sinuous lagoon separates most of the coastal strip from the interior, which makes up the bulk of the District.  The interior is sparsely populated and there are no real towns to speak of; at best you could call them small villages or hamlets. I am most familiar with Mamunai West Division, which is located directly opposite the lagoon from Batticaloa town. I’m quite familiar with many of the farming hamlets that dot the area, and the people who live there. Incidentally, the Division extends west, and includes Unnichchai Tank, one of the largest…

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A botched Tsunami Early Warning test – Lessons for the future

The following is an except from a letter I wrote about the recent Tsunami Early Warning Test last week.  I hope the readers of Groundviews find it interesting. I have to preface this by saying I am a Westerner, one of the few, living in Batticaloa, where I have been since shortly after the 2004 tsunami. The excerpt: The second exciting and panic-inducing event was the botched Tsunami Early Warning Test last Thursday, the 10th.  The papers had announced that the new warning towers would be tested on the 19th, so you can see the first problem.  Second, no one I talked to knew where these towers were.  Turns out that there are three in the District: one in Kallady, about a mile or so from my house, one in Kalmuai (technically in Ampara District but on the border), about 35km (20 miles) to the south, and at Passakudah, about the same distance north. (For reference on the date, please…

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“Den munta sadda nethuwa inna wenawa Sir. Rata ape!”: News of KP’s arrest on a bus coming home

I settle into my seat for the ride from Kalmunai to Colombo. There is a fifty rupee premium for reserving it. I always want window seats, be it flying or riding along. In my head, I can hear Daniel Powter’s Bad Day, or She Will Be Loved by Maroon 5 being played when the scenery is just a blur. Ever since I first heard them, it’s always those two songs. Nothing else. This time, I’ve got an aisle seat. The person next to me says hello. I say hello back. In my head, this seems a lot like a late night flight to nowhere. Most of the passengers came to the bus stop alone. It was cold outside, and it’s colder inside. After the conductor does a headcount to make sure everybody is inside, we set off. I pat myself on the back for remembering to fully charge my phone before I left. Hallelujah starts to play, Buckley, nor Wanwright….

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About Groundviews

Located at the Centre for Policy Alternatives in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Groundviews is a citizen journalism website that uses a range of genres and media to highlight critical perspectives on governance, reconciliation, human rights, the arts and literature, democracy and other issues. The site has won two international awards, including the prestigious Manthan Award South Asia in 2009. The grand jury's evaluation of the site noted, "What no media dares to report, Groundviews publicly exposes. It's a new age media for a new Sri Lanka... Free media at it's very best!"

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