South Exchange Program

An exchange programme between different ethnicities of Sri Lanka. The aim is to foster long term relationships, mutual respect, and understanding.

Description

The initiative began in 2001, with funding ending in the same year, but with the results of the initiative continuing to this day. The initiative involved an exchange programme between Tamil, Sinhalese and Muslim people, visiting each others communities and participating together in community activities. The participants themselves followed up on their experiences through business ventures, and today this has become the mainstay of the initiative.

Aims / Objectives

Promoting inter-ethnic harmony was the main objective of the programme. There is widespread mistrust and conflict in the country between Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims. The Tamils who have lived their entire lives in the dominantly Tamil areas of the country are hesitant even to enter the dominantly Sinhalese areas, especially the South, which is seen as the base of the Sinhalese. This initiative sought to lessen these fears through introducing the different ethnicities to each other, and building trust between them.

How it is Articulated

Tamil people from selected areas were brought to the south during the first phase of the exchange programme. The second stage took the hosts of the first stage to the Tamil communities. In both stages the guest and host communities participated in community service actions, such as constructing or repairing public places, like roads or schools. And, in the evenings there were gatherings where the guest and host communities could come together in groups to share their experiences and cultural activities. The funded programme ended with these exchanges, but the initiative continued and was transformed through a series of business transactions between the communities.

The continued relationships allow Tamil guests to stay with the Sinhalese community in Tissamaharama during their visits to the famous Hindu Temple in Katharagama.

Achievements / Learning Points

Through the exchange visits of the Tamil communities to the south, they gained experience of the Sinhala and Muslim communities that live there, and relationships were built that would otherwise have not have existed. The Tamils who participated in the programme stay to this day with the Sinhalese families with whom they initially stayed when they come to pay homage to the Hindu Temple in Katharagama.

The friendship between the people was given a context in which to flourish even after the exchange initiative had finished. This was through the business transactions that began as a result of the visits. These business relationships have automatically become the focus for the continuation of the programme after its schedule was completed. Therefore, the organisation has learnt that for the maximum impact and sustainability in exchange and exposure programmes, a space has to be created for the relationships to continue. In this initiative, the participants have found this space through commerce, but for another this may be different.

Similar programmes might benefit from the participants being given basic training in each others' languages, where they do not have a common language to communicate. Further awareness of human rights would also enhance the quality of the programme.

Geographical Area of Operation

Tissamaharama, Uva, Siyambalanduwa, Hatton.

Funding Resources

OXFAM.

Organisations Involved

Village level government organisations and community based organisations in the initiative areas.