The guns have
fallen silent, the three decade old conflict has officially come to an end but peace
and reconciliation still remains aloof in Sri Lanka. While there are
allegations and counter allegations of war crimes and mass murders, most people
often tend to ignore the biggest victims of this conflict – the children. As in
most war-torn societies they remained silent spectators to the crime and carry deep
scars that are yet to heal. These scars need to be healed and their minds
transformed to create better society and welcome a promising future.
The youth in Batticaloa,
one of the hotbeds of the conflict suffered the most during this period. And
with the divide still intact in most minds and physical infrastructure
challenged they are growing up and walking towards an unknown future. A proposed
Scout and Girl Guides program in this region holds the promise to empower young
girls and boys to script the story of a better nation. It is being aimed at
generating constructive social capital that would inculcate positivity in young
minds and reduce the animosity between different groups, increase justice in
direct interactions and social structures, and respond to the common challenges
in the society.
The dream of a better future
For young eyes that have witnessed bloodshed of the war or gown up hearing stories of the conflict, injustice and violence this project aims to empower them and guide towards a better tomorrow. It will bring youth from different ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds to let them walk into the future of peace, reconciliation and overall development of Batticaloa in particular and the country as a whole. They would be encouraged to share their ideas, engage in constructive dialogue, adopt non-violent methods to address grievances and work for overall development of the society. The value of human relationship that has long eluded many would be inculcated into their minds.
For young eyes that have witnessed bloodshed of the war or gown up hearing stories of the conflict, injustice and violence this project aims to empower them and guide towards a better tomorrow. It will bring youth from different ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds to let them walk into the future of peace, reconciliation and overall development of Batticaloa in particular and the country as a whole. They would be encouraged to share their ideas, engage in constructive dialogue, adopt non-violent methods to address grievances and work for overall development of the society. The value of human relationship that has long eluded many would be inculcated into their minds.
Overcoming the odds
The road ahead isn’t going to be smooth and there are too many odds stacked up against the transformation of the society. Batticaloa was the center of the conflict and one of the strongholds of the rebel group. Many youths at a tender age were indoctrinated by the extremists and forced to pick up guns and unleash violence. Others were at the receiving side of the State’s crackdown and have stories of pain and atrocities to share. The society was deeply divided along ethnic line during the conflict and most youth sadly inherited hate, prejudice and violence.
The road ahead isn’t going to be smooth and there are too many odds stacked up against the transformation of the society. Batticaloa was the center of the conflict and one of the strongholds of the rebel group. Many youths at a tender age were indoctrinated by the extremists and forced to pick up guns and unleash violence. Others were at the receiving side of the State’s crackdown and have stories of pain and atrocities to share. The society was deeply divided along ethnic line during the conflict and most youth sadly inherited hate, prejudice and violence.
Many dreams were
cut short during the conflict that saw the killing of youth from both the
communities. The travesty of justice and historic blunders rule the minds of
many and these have flown down generations. It was a murder of humanity to see
child soldiers being deployed as human shield by the rebels. It was shame to
see children separated from their families, blown up by landmines, shot by
security forces and being denied basic elementary education. These wounds have
become permanent and it is a tough ask get young boys and girls from all the
communities under a single roof.
An innovative approach to empowerment
There are no shortcuts to peace and reconciliation and the project hasn’t been conceived as a magic wand to cure three decades of pain, suffering and divide instantly. Such situations call for an innovative approach that would help the country’s youth overcome prejudice and tampered world view. In a society where young minds have been poisoned, where they have been taught to demonize others and where some adults are yet to overcome the notion of violence as a means to secure their rights this project aims to bridge the divide.
There are no shortcuts to peace and reconciliation and the project hasn’t been conceived as a magic wand to cure three decades of pain, suffering and divide instantly. Such situations call for an innovative approach that would help the country’s youth overcome prejudice and tampered world view. In a society where young minds have been poisoned, where they have been taught to demonize others and where some adults are yet to overcome the notion of violence as a means to secure their rights this project aims to bridge the divide.
The innovative
approach would bring youths from different communities who would be shown the
commonality instead of the discord. Steps would be taken to develop a strong
world view among them that is far away from the animosity that the previous
generations experienced during their youth. It would help them conquer newer
territories of friendship, togetherness and believe in the ability to get rid
of the stigma that came along with bloody conflict. Youth from all communities would
come on a platform to discuss the problems being faced and to share ideas to
quash artificial barriers that have been created.
A future of Justice, Equality & Prosperity
The biggest objective of this youth empowerment program is to guide the youth towards a future of Justice, Equality and Prosperity. They would be encouraged to resist extremist and conflict prone notions and make alternative choice of peace and focus all their energy and abilities towards a non-violent ideas of equality and delivery of justice to the victims of the conflict. This project would be a great investment towards shaping opinions and thought process of a generation that would lead the country in the future. It would help in breaking deadlocks between the communities by involving people who would interact the most and come together in the future for Sri Lankan society’s growth and prosperity.
The biggest objective of this youth empowerment program is to guide the youth towards a future of Justice, Equality and Prosperity. They would be encouraged to resist extremist and conflict prone notions and make alternative choice of peace and focus all their energy and abilities towards a non-violent ideas of equality and delivery of justice to the victims of the conflict. This project would be a great investment towards shaping opinions and thought process of a generation that would lead the country in the future. It would help in breaking deadlocks between the communities by involving people who would interact the most and come together in the future for Sri Lankan society’s growth and prosperity.
Promoting gender equality and social inclusion
According to a UNICEF sponsored research the district of Batticaloa and many others in the eastern part of the country fared poor compared to the national average in terms of education. The school dropout rate was high especially among the girls given the distances they had to cover to receive education. Also the school going among different ethnic groups in this region was disproportionate to their population. One of the key objectives of this project is to promote gender equality and ensure that girls are empowered and their families are shown the brighter side of education through interaction.
According to a UNICEF sponsored research the district of Batticaloa and many others in the eastern part of the country fared poor compared to the national average in terms of education. The school dropout rate was high especially among the girls given the distances they had to cover to receive education. Also the school going among different ethnic groups in this region was disproportionate to their population. One of the key objectives of this project is to promote gender equality and ensure that girls are empowered and their families are shown the brighter side of education through interaction.
Along with
gender equality this project would also work for social inclusion both on
ethnic lines as well as try to bridge the socio-economic divide. Child labor is
rampant in this part of the world and Batticaloa has figures worse than other
districts of the country which would be addressed during the course of the
program.
The Scouts and
Girl Guides program is small step, but is one that is in the right direction.
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