Killinochi. Jaffna. North-South Peace for Women.

I just successfully went for a wander by myself in Manipay, Jaffna, to buy a packet of biscuits. It made me realise how I couldn't have done this for the last 30 years without being ridden with fear. Then of course a posse of Sri Lankan army soldiers passed me by on their bikes, and I was reminded that things aren't normal.

On my way here, I passed through Killinochi - a former LTTE stronghold. I got out and stood at the exact same spot I was just exactly a year ago. A bittersweet feeling washed over me. The place last year resembled a ghost town - the rubble of homes bombed, no vegetation, army barracks punctuating the road, and hardly anyone walking the streets. Now, the place has people cycling and ambling along, and there is a sense of life; just as colourful flowers have sprouted. However, this is probably a false perception of real change for locals. Bombed houses have now been rebuilt for soldiers. There are still tents with locals living. Amongst the billboards, banks, and gas stations that have gone up, you are always reminded with a shelled house with no roof that has caved in. One former college in Omanthai is now being used as a detention centre for former LTTE cadres, while the students study in tents opposite the road.

All of 12 hours of a bumpy ride later from Colombo, I had entered Elephant Pass - the gateway into the Jaffna Peninsula. Hot, dusty roads that burn barefeet; whispering Palmyra trees that have seen too much; I knew I was here. There is something different about the green in Jaffna. For the South is full of a sharp and lush, tropical green, and here the green is muted and parched. It is a testament to the arid climate of the region, that once propelled Tamils here to seek education over farming, and factored into the civil war that was to come.

The few times I have come to Jaffna, the birthplace of my parents, I shudder with an eerie feeling. I always feel that people are miserable here. But I soon change my mind - for I never meet anyone who wants to leave. Without the fear of being bombed, shot or raped - the life here is beautiful in its simplicity.

Last Saturday, to mark International Women's Day, 50 Sinhalese women from the South had made the same trip I had to the North, to meet with 50 Tamil women. I was able to attend half of the conference. There was a Tamil-Sinhala interpreter on stage with the speakers, and of course my trusty Aunt as my English interpreter. I'm typing up the main points addressed. It's interesting how the issue of North-South peace was not the only focus, but also the emphasis to band together to protest against the rising cost living. (The notes are a little choppy due to interpretation).

The head representative lady from the South speaks - 

• Before there was no relationship between the North and South of the island. This created much misunderstanding. Now the ladies of the South at this conference would like to change that.
• The last 30 years of civil war has affected ladies the most. For we have lost husbands, brothers, and children due to fighting.
• Now that peace is restored, we have to foster better relationships between the North and South. We should not think each other as bad as we are not different. We need the same things in life. Whether Tamil, Sinhalese, or Muslim, we have to learn to be peaceful.
• As mothers, we need to ensure that our children can grow up - not die.
• We need to wipe war from our heads.
• We are average people - but WE have to push the leaders of our country on our social demands.
• The cost of living is very high.
• Produce from the North & East have to be introduced and advertised to the South, and vice versa.
• We must confront our industrial ministers together.
• We must show eachother our cultures.

Sinhala Priest from the South, addressing the women of the North - 

• No people should ever live under the command of another people.
• I see at every junction, there are army soldiers. Do you like the army standing there?
• Now we have freedom - but we don't know about human deaths in the future. For their success, hundreds of thousands have been killed. Is this rule by the people? Is this good?
• In 1948, a coconut was 5 rupees, now it is 60 rupees. Now we have to import them from India.
• Only we can push our government for change.
• First we have to talk about it. Then we have to take our proposals to the government.
• A journalist once asked a army soldier's mother - "Amma, how do you feel your son is killed?". She answered, "It is to protect the country."
• If we asked the mother of a LTTE soldier, she would say the same thing. Who is right?
• Both mothers are wrong. Your children are your country.
• Sirimavo Bandaranaike, Chandrika Bandaranaike, Benazir Bhutto, Sheikh Hasina; were all women with leading roles. But did they use their power to campaign for equality for women and men? No.
• At a hospital recently, a mother saw another baby crying for milk for awhile. She did not know whether the baby was Tamil or Sinhala or Muslim - but she picked it up and gave it milk.
• The love of being a Mother is much greater than anything else.
• We can ask questions on how to change the world - or we can just remain quiet.

Unfortunately, my aunt ran off sometime before a female Sinhala Professor rose to the stand. What I gathered from the Tamil interpretation is that she was talking about the institutional and social bias towards women in Sri Lanka; that exists in paradox to what is outlined in the constitution. After the lunch break, the ladies got into discussion groups - but I had to go.

It was all-in-all positive to see such an initiative was taking place. Often abroad, we hear how clueless the rest of the country are to what has been going on in the North and East and their government, and about a lack of willingness to understand. This conference signified something important in defying the absoluteness of that claim.

Got lots more to say! Will be blogging soon...
:o)