From the Field: AJWS in Sri Lanka
While telling friends and family about my trip to Sri Lanka, the first question they ask is where is Sri Lanka? I tell them it is the large jewel off the southeastern coast of India. My friends scrunch their faces with vague recollection. I had traveled to Sri Lanka to assess how AJWS could provide support to communities affected by its escalating conflict. Sri Lanka is one of those places blessed with immense beauty, both the land and the people. It should be a global economic powerhouse, but years of unending war have suppressed such opportunity. It is still a land with great promise - an island with elephants whose origin no one can really explain, suggests that anything is possible. And possibilities start with education. One of the many things that families I visited in the conflict affected regions shared with me was their hope for an education and a safe space for their children.
 School destroyed in the conflict. Photo: AJWS |
Education is meant to be an avenue through which young people can build not only their future, but secure their present day as well. Schools are meant to be safe spaces where children not only learn about the world in which they live, but about themselves. It is our collective responsibility to ensure the safety and continuity of good education and academic spaces for children and young people. And they have a right to these basic societal institutions.
Driving north and closer to the active conflict in Sri Lanka, I was increasingly aware of the fear many Sri Lankans, like others in conflict areas, experience every day. What was different, however, was the depth and intensity of that fear. Speaking was always in hushed tones and with sideward glances; even the children were quieter.
The schools in Sri Lanka have increasingly become the target of violence, causing the death and injury of hundreds of children. The government of Sri Lanka has accused rebels of using schools as safe havens or recruitment centers. Both armed parties are reported to target schools where opposing ideologies or human rights are discussed. Schools have also become informal shelters for the displaced. As of September 2007, as many as 261 schools have been destroyed or damaged. Even more schools have been closed due to insecurity and the massive outflow of educational staff. But parents and even the children themselves still look to education as the one hope they have for moving out of the hardships they face. The challenge is ensuring that their children receive a safe education.
During a visit to a community just south of major combat zones and that receives support from an AJWS grantee, I sat down with a small group of parents and their children in a dimly lit classroom. The shutters were closed to provide a more secure environment to speak, but even then, everyone spoke with a whisper. I promised them I would keep their identities safe. The mothers and fathers described the daily trauma they had learned to live with and the overwhelming depression that kept them from being good parents. They held their children tight as they spoke.
 Attending school in Sri Lanka can be dangerous, but the students are eager to learn. |
One mother hugged her arms around her chest as she told me how her eldest son had been taken from her; she is afraid to let her other son go to school. She could not bear losing another child. I asked her and the families what they are doing to secure their schools. She told me that they have formed a community watch program where parents guard the schools and sound an alarm if any "danger" is on its way. The children are then quickly smuggled into the forest where they hide for endless days and nights until they are told it is safe to return. They explained it is as equally difficult to find teachers willing to come to their school, so they have begun to train their own teachers and use local graduates. In response to my question about what they teach in schools, one of the older children spoke up, "We learn our numbers and letters. We learn about health. I like science class, but we don't have adequate equipment. We are also talking about peace." The child's father added that talking about peace is a dangerous activity as there are some who see such conversations as political, but then emphasized: "But what are we supposed to teach our children if not peace?"
After driving further north, I met with a highly respected local organization, respected even by those who do not agree with them politically. Among the many programs they manage, they have a project to ensure children with disabilities have access to education. I listened to them speak about the rights of all children to an education and the need for communities to commit to the most marginalized. The volunteers and program managers provide physical care to the disabled children and work with local authorities to secure transport for the students to school. They work with teachers and non-disabled students to address the stigma of disabilities and provide after-hours student tutoring and support to parents.
After a few more hours of conversation, I knew that AJWS had to support their work. Conflict and insecurity make it difficult for children under the best circumstances to make it to school, but for the disabled it is even more difficult to overcome societal and physical obstacles where disabilities are almost never considered. The leaders of the team continued to explain that the right to education cannot exclude children with physical, emotional or mental challenges. Education helps ensure their equal participation in society. It is the responsibility of governments, leaders, aid agencies and donors to provide this security for all children. And ultimately it is their right.
American Jewish World Service
American Jewish World Service (AJWS) is an international development organization motivated by Judaism's imperative to pursue justice. AJWS is dedicated to alleviating poverty, hunger and disease among the people of the developing world regardless of race, religion or nationality. Through grants to grassroots organizations, volunteer service, advocacy and education, AJWS fosters civil society, sustainable development and human rights for all people, while promoting the values and responsibilities of global citizenship within the Jewish community.
www.ajws.org
