Rebuilding the Economy in Sri Lanka's War-Torn Northeast
When the fighting ends, it's going to take a lot to rebuild the economy in Sri Lanka's war-ravaged northeast. Death, lost livelihoods and displacement — more than 200,000 people in the last few months — have become commonplace over the course of the island's 25-year civil war between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, otherwise known as the LTTE or simply "the Tigers."
Fishing and agriculture — the region's predominant economic sectors — have been hit the hardest. A lot of Sri Lanka's food — specifically rice, vegetables and fruit — used to be grown there. But with the war, not even the population can live off what's produced locally. The World Food Program, referring to the formerly Tiger-held areas in the north, has said "the entire population of the Vanni is facing a food crisis due to continuous displacement, crop failure and recent floods."
Independent journalists aren't allowed into this region, so it's hard to get a good picture of the current state of the economy there. To get a little perspective I spoke with Gretchen Ansorge, a Mercy Corps program officer who worked in Trincomalee, a government-controlled district in a contested part of northeastern Sri Lanka, shortly after the 2004 tsunami. I asked her about the effects of the war on the economy:
The Tamil-controlled area didn’t have very much cross-border trade. These were remote areas that were difficult to travel to and from, and mostly all dependent on subsistence farming. I’m guessing that because these people have lost their plots of land due to displacements, don’t have access to other markets, and aren’t able to get out to sea and fish, this is probably having a strong effect on the economy in the former LTTE-controlled areas. Especially because Sri Lankans are largely dependent on fish as a staple. In the northeast, market linkages to other places weren’t as robust as in other regions, and so they had more limited access to goods outside of what they produced.
So what and how long is it going to take to rebuild the economy in the devastated northeast? Some say it could take up to two years for IDPs to even return to their homes. Families will require food assistance for a while, and Sri Lanka's agriculture and fishing industries will take time to recover. Some aid agencies already have plans for post-conflict rebuilding. The World Bank, for example, plans to rehabilitate wartime damage to soil, irrigation systems, rural roads, water and farms.
Mercy Corps' Ansorge, however, says the pressing question is how the government will respond. After years of virtually no infrastructure or financial support in the northeast from either the Tigers or the Sri Lankan government, these things will be essential for post-war rehabilitation:
More than anything, Tamils want a responsive government. Now that the Sri Lankan government has virtually succeeded in regaining control of the entire country, this is one of those moments when they can either choose to respond to these displacements and show their commitment to improving conditions in the majority-Tamil areas — by providing funding to the region and building infrastructure — or not.
Even after this war comes to a definitive end, it will be years before the northeast can wean itself off international aid and once again contribute to Sri Lanka's economic growth.
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Enlightening post on Lanka - Can you plz. help me get involved?
Sara,
Thank you for the enlightening article on war-torn Sri Lanka. With the recent news on end of war in the LTTE-occupied areas, future is surely bright for the Tamils and Lankans.
I am a 26 year old Tamil Indian with an education in Engineering from US and few years of experience in entrepreneurship in the healthcare sector. I have currently taken a sabatical from work to return to my land and get involved in humanitarian activities that would involve social entrepreneurial skills, strong leadership, logistics, planning and use of technology. Being a tamil Indian, I feel connected to the Lankan cause and would like to get involved on-field to help in the process of re-building war-torn areas. Can you please help me get involved?
Thanks!
Education in Sri Lanka: After the dust settles
War torn and racially segregated areas like those created by the strife in Sri Lanka often lack the necessary infrastructure needed to educate the new generation in even the most basic reading, writing, and arithmetic. Education, however, is perhaps the best way to guarantee future success in both economic and humanitarian realms of Sri Lanka.
Increasing education levels in a community with incredibly low literacy levels will take place over generations, but beginning almost immediately allows for the most rapid increase in education, leading to greater economic productivity, diversity, and strength. Providing the tools to increase their personal knowledge as well as motivation for that intellectual endeavor is the most practical and sustainable method for strengthening the economic foundation of an area, as is illuminated by the correlation between education levels and economic/social development around the world.
Clearly, education is below the priority of basic human needs like food, water, shelter, and protection from harm; I hope, though, that as soon as these are maintained for the displaced Tamil Indians of Sri Lanka, that education is made a priority for all genders, races, and ages. Such an example would prove to the world that education is the best way to sustain growth and maintain civil and human rights in a society.
Post-Conflic Aid Efforts
Thank you for your response, and for your desire to become involved. A lot of funding is pouring into northeast Sri Lanka now that the fighting has ended, and many NGOs and nonprofits have plans for reconstruction work. The problem right now is that access to IDP camps remains limited, and a lot of the recent influx of financial aid seems to be going towards donated supplies rather than on-the-ground volunteer services. USAID has donated $6 million dollars to go towards short-term "life-saving" relief in the form of non food-aid to IDPs. This money has been funneled to the UN, UNICEF, the International Organization for Migration, and the United Methodist Committee on Relief, all of which have various efforts related to post-conflict rehabilitation — from sanitation and hygiene to building shelters and toilet facilities for IDPs. The UNHCR has also announced plans to build a thousand emergency centers to house IDPs, and the International Committee of the Red Cross is attempting to provide emergency medical assistance. Your experience in the healthcare sector may be of use to organizations looking for medical relief volunteers in the future. But until the Sri Lankan government loosens its hold on IDP camps, maybe the best way to get involved is to donate to a relief organization that is providing much needed supplies to the displaced.
Education in Sri Lanka
Jesse - I think you are absolutely right... I would like to see the Sri Lankan government take more interest in re-educating the displaced people (especially children) in the Tamil regions...In fact, i think it's heavily in the government's best interest to see the region well educated, and that it will in fact lead to great unification in the long term -- if the Government were only so farsighted!
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