Rumors of Peace - Issue 3 2006 - Nonviolent Peaceforce

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Rumors of Peace PAGE Volume VI, Issue 3 ◆ 2006 Voices from the Field Linda Sartor (Sri Lanka) Recent experiences in Sri Lanka remind me of the preciousness of life. My team in Jaffna, in northern Sri Lanka, has been trying to support a village particularly vulnerable to political acts of violence coming from unknown perpetrators outside the village. We received a call from one of our contacts informing us of a shooting occurring that very moment and asking for our support. We helped as much as we could from our office that night and then went to the village the next morning. There, I took in the saddest scene I have ever encountered. In one household, there had been a massacre of seven people plus a neighbor— eight people in all, including one baby and a four-year old child. Needless to say, the people in the village (who had fled to a nearby church for protection) were in a state of shock and fear. At their request, we began to provide presence, which helped reduce their level of fear. We are not in the position to give any guarantees, but it is much less likely that such incidents will occur while international peacekeepers are present. One evening that week, we attended a community meeting at which the people of the village were discussing their next steps. Some wanted to leave because they felt unsafe in their homes. Yet, they realized that as IDPs (Internally Displaced People), they would likely suffer worse difficulties and dangers. Others did not want to leave—they had been living on this beautiful island for years and held fond memories of their village that had been peaceful even during the war. People unanimously wanted security and to feel safe again. The security forces present on the island had been accused of being involved in the violent incident, thus people felt threatened by the very group that was supposed to be protecting them. Through our unarmed nonpartisan presence, we were able to provide a sense of security to the people of this community. As the days passed, we could see a marked difference in their fear and tension levels. One day, we were unable to be there during the daytime but returned for the night. As we drove into the compound, we saw beaming smiles of welcome and relief on their faces. At that point, they asked us for 24-hour presence. We immediately made arrangements to do so for a period of time. The following day, I was there by myself and was told that even though I was there alone, it made a big difference. I feel amazed and hopeful that just one unarmed person can have such an impact on a community’s sense of safety, and I think it presents an exciting model to the world that security can be provided without weapons. Actually, I feel much safer doing this work without a weapon than I would if I had one. I love this work. AIla Jibo (Kenya), Fast-Track Field Team Member, March 2006 When I received word that my application to Nonviolent Peaceforce Sri Lanka (NPSL) had been accepted, I was elated. The opportunity to work as an advocate of nonviolence, justice and peace is the chance of a lifetime as I believe we are witnessing an upsurge in violence around the world. I worked in Sri Lanka from 2002-04 with the Voluntary Service Overseas NGO as an Information Technology Instructor, an experience that broadened my view on development issues. I arrived in Sri Lanka on the 8th of March, 2006, and immediately went to Kotmale, where a NPSL staff retreat was underway. It was wonderful to interact with the staff and learn about NPSL’s work and the challenges faced by the Field Team Members. I was able to picture the kind of work the FTMs were doing and what to expect once I was in the field. After a few days of orientation in Colombo I headed north to Jaffna. As we passed through many checkpoints (both Government and LTTE), I noticed numerous destroyed buildings and homes lost to war. There are many Internally Displaced Persons from Jaffna and this is one of the challenges to finding peace. Resentment from the people (and lately, from many of the university students in particular) towards the Sri Lankan Army escalates into violence from time to time. Due to such resentment towards the Sri Lankan army and police in Jaffna, locals think Photo by Emily Rosenberg twice before reporting crimes and criminals often take advantage of this fact. In one incident, gangs from two villages were clashing over the harvesting of sand from an illegal area, resulting in one of the gangs terrorizing a village and throwing a petrol bomb at a house. The police were informed but the criminals have remained elusive. When my team visited the police, they gave us an opportunity to follow up on the case and invite the villagers into a dialogue to find a solution to the problem. Next I headed to Mutur in the east of Sri Lanka. The majority of inhabitants in town are Muslims but the Tamils and the Sinhalese have large communities in the surrounding area. I am optimistic because the NP Mutur team has facilitated the restructuring of the Mutur Peace Committee to make it more inclusive of the different groups. The situation in Mutur is very volatile due to the presence of both the Sri Lankan army and LTTE in close proximity and also due to factors such as competition between the three communities for land and government services. NP Mutur is working strategically with the Peace Committee to enhance dialogue between the three communities in the area. I had the opportunity to accompany the FTMs there on a mission to consult one of the Tamil NGOs in organizing a meeting with the Sinhalese Peace Committee. I also attended a meeting facilitated by NP Mutur between the Muslims at a local village and Tamils in an LTTE-controlled area regarding a recent killing. The meeting ended in a spirit of reconciliation and forgiveness. NP was requested to keep monitoring the area since it has not been safe for Tamils to come to the market into Muslim areas. I am looking forward to the challenge of helping Sri Lankans feel more secure and expanding nonviolent opportunities to resolve and prevent conflicts. Peace,
Rumors of Peace PAGE Volume VI, Issue 3 ◆ 2006 Voices from the Field/Advocate Team Member Ann Frisch, new member of the NP Advocate Team, met with NP Board Co-chair Claudia Samayoa while she was in Guatemala last month. Ann was a volunteer with the American Friends Service Committee in Guatemala from 1963-1965 and was returning to see friends in the rural communities of Patzun and Chimaltenango. During her stay there, she heard horror stories of bus passengers being routinely robbed and assaulted. Claudia Samayoa confirmed this practice by organized crime with police being complicit or unwilling to protect the public. Her organisation was one of those who met the next day with United Nations Rapporteur Mr. Philip Alston to report on human rights violations in Guatemala. Among them are “social cleansing” of the poor, lesbians and gays, juvenile delinquents, gang members, and women and children. Ann has a copy of the report and can email it to anyone interested. Ann is a recently retired faculty member of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. She continues to teach a class in the Master’s Certificate program in Global Education. Her course is called “On Becoming a Global Citizen.” The work of NP will be included this year, along with Gene Sharp’s book Waging Nonviolent Struggle. She first learned about NP from Mel Duncan at a Friends General Conference. She has been a supporter since that time. Ann will be selling NP peace bonds at Christmas bazaars and joining Erika Schatz for an upcoming fundraising tour in Wisconsin. ••• The air was alive with enthusiasm as 20 people gathered in May for a NP fundraiser at The Helen M. Casey Center for Nonviolence in Midland, Michigan. I had volunteered at the Minneapolis office in February and was excited to tell others about it. With very little effort we raised $2500. The Saturday afternoon event was short and simple: a light lunch, a brief sharing of my volunteer experience, NP history and current efforts in Sri Lanka, Q&A time, and viewing of the 12-minute NP DVD. We also had Peace Bonds and other material available. People definitely want to find something hopeful that they can say Yes to when they say NO to war in order to be part of a viable, nonviolent effort to create a more peaceful world. Having an NP fundraiser is a great way to help them achieve this goal. —Jeanne Lound Schaller Opportunities for Support Sri Lanka: $30,000 for a peacekeeper for one year. Philippines (Mindanao): $12,500 for a peacekeeping team of five people for one month. Regional Training: $2,840 for accommodation, travel and tuition for one person, preferably from the global south, to attend a Regional Core Training on nonviolent techniques. For more information or to make a donation contact Erika Shatz: 612-871-0005 or eshatz@nonviolentpeaceforce.org To donate stock or mutual funds to the Nonviolent Peaceforce, contact Tamra Falk at 612-871-0005 or tfalk@nonviolentpeaceforce.org. Please contact Tamra each time you make a donation so we can give you credit for your gift. Sri Lanka (cont. from 1) due to disappearances and killings of journalists, clergy and businessmen, even in Colombo. The country faces a humanitarian crisis which is a direct result of the ongoing human rights crisis. According to the UNHCR, 240,000 people in the North and East have been displaced. The recent ruling by the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission that the killing of the 17 civilian aid workers employed by Action Contre le Faim in Mutur is most likely attributable to Government security forces highlights the crisis and the urgent need for the Government of Sri Lanka to ensure adequate accountability. International Human Rights agencies are lobbying hard for an international human rights monitoring mission under UN auspices. Against this background, NPSL deployed 12 new Field Team members, an extremely challenging task. During the staff retreat, fighting between the LTTE and the GoSL erupted in Jaffna and the Jaffna team members have been unable to return there. Due to the security situation in Trincomalee, the Mutur and Trinco team are operating from outside the district and conducting restricted activities mostly in the IDP camps in Kantale. Only the Batti and Valaichchenai teams are able to conduct full operations focusing on the many child abductions, identifying safe places and supporting local actors working in IDP camps. However, these two teams also faced restricted access to areas where they previously were able to work. There is good news: As most Rumors of Peace readers know, on 21 May 2006 a grenade thrown at the Mutur office of Nonviolent Peaceforce injured field team member Fabijan Periskic and two passers-by. Two international organisations with humanitarian missions were also attacked. Fabijan remains committed to offering protection to those who seek nonviolent solutions, as do all the NP Sri Lanka staff. Happily, Fabijan has now returned to work. As the situation has worsened, the NP Sri Lanka team has been conducting regular risk assessments and remains committed to their work, which is not only protecting lives and ensuring delivery of relief to displaced persons but also building bridges between the ethnic communities in conflict, following up on past positive outcomes. In the midst of fear and violence, we continue to protect people and support those working for peace in Sri Lanka.
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