From my earliest days I have tried to understand what makes people turn to violence. Working closely with communities in conflict, in the Philippines and then in East Timor, I learnt to understand a little about how the long term oppression and denial of justice leads people to take to arms. However although understanding their motives I never found myself in agreement. I believed there were better ways of securing justice, equality and peace and none of these values ever seemed to result from violence.
Sadly as a Country Programme Manager I don’t have many opportunities to work with ‘the people we serve’ but on my visits to the District where we have active programmes I am always humbled by the generosity and huge appreciation shown for us by local the communities with whom we work. On a recent visit to Batticalao a local tea shop owner talked fondly of NP workers who left here 4 years ago. They had clearly had an immense impact on his life that he should recall them in such detail now, ‘Their Tamil was perfect’ he remarked, putting my language skills to shame. Meeting people like that tea shop owner gives me a clear sense of NP’s impact.
We try to use Stories of Change as one method of assessing the impact of our work. Working on issues of conflict and protection such stories are frequently emotionally painful but in a recent workshop one women said of the day, ‘Now I know that my experience, painful though it is, is not unique and I can share now with others and find strength’. I do believe that bringing together networks of people who have all suffered from decades of conflict, is a valuable and needed service here but needs to be done with some sensitivity so as not to re-surface trauma.
It is a popular saying here ‘NP, No Problem’! I like to think that that’s how we work. We try to make what seem intractable problems less awesome and insurmountable. Training people in simple negotiation skills, and to assess then mitigate the risks they face around them, can give them the tools to survive. The war and open battles here have now passed but the many problems which gave way to decades of violent conflict still bubble away. Playing a small part in helping people tackle those problems and reduce the scope for violent confrontation is valuable, life changing and needed.
We all hope at NP in Sri Lanka that the impact we have had during our time here will outlive the phase-out of our presence by the end of 2011. Through our current training programmes we endeavour to pass on the skills we have been using to defuse situations of conflict. We very much hope that the staff of our many local partners, empowered by these skills, will continue to work on the ground in helping civilians protect their space and advocate for their rights long after we are gone. I may not have time to learn Sinhala or Tamil but I believe that the tea shop owner will remember us as people who really did make a difference.
