Goodbye Sri Lanka

I fly to London today. In two weeks I'll be in Afghanistan.

It has been yet another unique experience in my life.

I had lived and worked in several war-torn countries before and once had to evacuate from the beginning of a war but this is the first (and I won't mind if it is the last) time I've lived in a country that is at war. Most depressingly, Sri Lanka is at war with itself and Sri Lankans are being lead to hate and to kill each other.

This is arguably over in Eastern Sri Lanka where I lived and where the displaced are returning home (to very serious protection issues) but it goes on in much of the rest of the country and even - or especially - where the government has 'cleared' the area the healing does not seem to have begun.

I am leaving early for two reasons. At best I think our work is less necessary than the work I have done and hope to do elsewhere. It is needed but the quality of life, even for the war displaced, is better than most Liberians, for instance, can dream of. I think there is a trap of perpetuating work without justifying it and we may not have escaped that trap.

At worst, I fear our work is perpetuating the killing in Sri Lanka by endorsing and bandaging it. NGOs are distrusted by the government but they are tolerated because they do this.

I am going back to Afghanistan where I more or less trust the government and where I believe my efforts will help for good. That was how I felt in Liberia. It isn't here and it wouldn't have been in Pakistan, where I considered accepting an offer.

Sri Lanka has a lot of beauty and although I've found people in most countries to be friendly Sri Lankans are the friendliest of all. Everyone I waved to waved back. This was true of soldiers, paramilitaries, parents and children. I never saw a stony stare.

My Sri Lankan colleagues were the cleverest, hardest working and most trustworthy I've worked with. Just as importantly, Sri Lankans work for their communities. We trained many many people on their weekends. We supported many many volunteers who are helping their fellow displaced people or strangers.

My next post will probably be from Kabul.

Sri Lankan canoes and birds

I have been fascinated by Sri Lankan canoes. They are the first I've seen in my travels that have outriggers. (I believe these are common in the Pacific islands?) I'm sometimes obsessive compulsive about symmetry so I wasn't a fan at first but now I've seen them in action I'm really impressed by their stability, which of course is the point. The outrigger resists heeling towards the pontoon because it would press it underwater and it resists heeling away because it would lift its extended weight. The fishermen are generally throwing nets for prawns, which I will document once I've bought a longer lens, and for servicing fish traps.

I'm continuously updating my Sri Lankan birds page. When I get the above-mentioned lens I should be able to post better photos but please have a look now.

IDP influx

16,000 IDPs walked at least 25km to our part of Batticaloa from the west of the district on Friday and Saturday to avoid shelling and anticipated military intervention. They join tens of thousands who have already arrived since March 1 - overburdening the camps that have already received 80,000 people displaced (in many cases twice) from further north.




Two of the IDPs.




IDP registration supervised by the local authority (left) at a hastily comandeered school.




IDPs waiting in the school for shelter to be prepared in one of the Batticaloa IDP camps.




Their camp will have to be provided with tents, food, toilets, and water. Tents are easy to stockpile and take 20 minutes to erect. Everything else takes days to provide and is expensive to replenish.




Some camps can be provided with sufficient water from quickly dug wells while others depend on daily water bowsering (this was a new word for me too). While IDPs are tired, under-nourished and overcrowded they face increased medical vulnerability. Merlin is the focal point for health care in the Batticaloa camps where we train and support a network of Community Based Volunteers. We are also instituting a systematic disease surveillance system.


The IDPs waiting in this school will have no access for even basic provisions and services until they can be moved to one of the over-stretched camps.