Insight on Conflict » Strengthen youth commercial and experience sharing networks

Strengthen youth commercial and experience sharing networks

This initiative aims to re-establish business connections between Sinhalese, Muslims and Tamils, thereby reducing fears each ethnicity has of the other and building trust. Participants are selected from interested young farmers, fishermen and small-business people in different areas. They receive training on how to strengthen a multi ethnic society through commerce.

Description

The initiative started at 2006 May and the funded part of the imitative will end in 2007 May, when we expect the initiative to reach a self-sustaining level. It facilitates village level people from the war-affected areas and from other areas of the country to get together and start committees that exchange vegetables and food products produced in each area, for a price that is lower than the accepted market level price. The farmers would be farming in their respective areas, and would come together through the committee to transport their products to the other areas where they have committee branches, and receive different products produced in other areas of the country through committee members who produce those things in those respective areas. The multi ethnic connection is formed thorough the committee that exchanges products from different areas, according to the demand of the committee members. The initiative benefits Sinhala, Muslim and Tamil farmers, fishermen and small-scale business in the East and the central areas of the country.

Aims / Objectives

The main objective of the initiative is to facilitate the process for re-establishing business connections between Sinhalese, Muslims and Tamils, thereby reducing fears each ethnicity has of the other and building trust. Before the ethnic conflict and tension in the country heightened in 1983, commerce between these areas was flourishing among small business exchanges, since each area specialised in producing different products, such as the eastern area for fish products and central areas for different types of vegetables and tea. This allowed inter ethnic relationships to improve. This relationship building and the continued connection is important in achieving peace. Therefore through this initiative we expect to regenerate that condition.

How it is Articulated

Participants are selected from interested young farmers, fishermen and small-business people in different areas, who face war directly, closely and indirectly. They receive trainings on topics such as organised marketing, standardisation-in transportation, ensuring quality of products. Further, we discuss how much the economic foundation of the country is damaged due to the ethnic problem and how much commerce can do to strengthen a multi ethnic society.

Participants from each area, who are often farmers or fisherman, form a business committee and funds are given to these for the first 6 months to launch the programme. Each committee sends their available products and price lists to all the committees and committees get two days to order any products they want. Upon receiving the orders, the goods are sent. Three committees function at present, one for Kalmune and Monaragala, one for Badulla and Buttala and one for Keppitipola.

Achievements / Learning Points

Communication among participants is facilitated by themselves having participants who have faced war at different stages. Some are living directly in war areas while some live in border villages or in areas far away from the war locations. This promotes sensitivities of each other towards different situations and communication arising from that lessens mistrusts. Initially the participants from southern and central parts of the country were reluctant to go to the war areas, but after getting to know the participants from these areas, they travel back and forth often, knowing that they have friends and connections among the people of other ethnicity.

It will be beneficial to have a network of people along the routes we travel, since at times, in transporting goods, changes in weight happen due to unpredictable happenings like harthal (this is a method often used in Gandhian non-violent movement as well, it is a non-violent protest where people gather to do something together-it could be holding posters by the side of the road, sitting down on the road for a hour or so, a hunger strike, agreeing to close all their shops in the area, etc), roads being closed down or bomb-blasts. The participants of the initiative have come together as a network who informs each other of relevant information regarding their areas. Having this network helps us to enhance impact of the initiative and also at improving relations between a wider range of people.