Today we wish to talk about the community assessments Marga Institute conducted

Round 1 (December 2020)

Locations

• Round 1
• Locations
• Kalutara (Aluthgama)
• Kandy (Digana)
• Gampaha (Minuwangoda)
• Batticaloa
• Vavuniya
• Trincomalee

​

Who

• 21 public officials (District Secretaries, Public Health Officers, Grama Niladari Officers, Community Police, Agriculture Officers, Samurdhi Officers, Development officers, Deputy Director of Planning)
• 38 opinion leaders (religious leaders from the four main religions, school principals, school teachers, social workers, ayurvedic doctors and a manager from the private sector)

FGD’s (3 -4 persons max)

• Traders, Farmers, Three Wheel Drivers, Senior Citizens, and Garment Factory Workers,

​

​

Findings (1^st Round)

• A large percentage of Public Officials recognize the importance of getting involved in peace initiatives and programmes to build communal harmony, however, given their current workload, they have less time to do so
• Public Officials were unaware of any Government Programmes that are conducted in the selected Hot Spots to promote communal harmony.
• Public Officials were of the opinion that government-sponsored / facilitated programmes to promote communal harmony will have greater results
• There is no comprehensive maintenance of records concerning incidents of violence or minor issues that could lead to social unrest
• Promoting second language learning is recognized by some communities as a good measure to promote mutual respect and understanding
• One of the reasons that was cited by respondents for the prevalence of hate speech was the fact that minor incidents that occur at the community level are blown up by the media.
• Programmes for children are found to be effective and it is recommended that Public Officials should focus on having such programmes particularly in areas recognized as Hotspots (Values programme for children)

​

​

​

​

​

Findings 1^st round

• 95% of the respondents reported that women’s involvement in communal harmony programmes exerts a far-reaching influence on the community at large.
• It is vital to continue with peace and harmony initiatives in society and not only when there is unrest in the society. (Proactive rather than reactive)

Community Assessments Round 2

March – April 2021

Round 2 (March –April 2021)

Locations

• Jaffna
• Kandy
• Kegalle
• Kurunegala
• Kaluthara
• Batticaloa

​

Who

• University Students
• University lecturers
• Farmers
• Traders (Tailors, Barber, Communication)
• Government officials(Midwife, PHI, Grama sewaka)
• Three-wheel drivers
• Senior Citizens- Retired Principal or Teacher

We used trigger points for discussion

Findings

• Situations that cause conflicts
• Land issues
• Language rights that are violated
• Missing persons
• Schools admissions
• Majority mindset
• Media aggravating issues
• When community leaders ignore issues and fail to intervene
• Trust and a bond between persons of different ethnicities and their willingness to help each other were brought out
• Business and trade could be good platforms to bring communities together
• The critical need to recognize that minor issues if not resolved immediately may end up in racial violence.
• 95% of the respondents recognized that women have a responsibility in peace building

​

​

Findings

• Actors who spread discord (mentions)
• Politicians,
• Media,
• Certain religious groups,
• Unemployed youth and school dropouts
• Trade Association activists
• Those who spread peace
• Religious leaders, Buddhist Monks, Elders, Grama Niladari’s and women’s organizations
• However, some respondents stated that religious leaders are sometimes guilty of dividing people and spreading discord because of their messages

​

​

​

​

​

​

Findings – Role of youth

• Majority of the respondents stated that it is the youth who start conflicts

​

• About ¼ of the respondents stated that youth who are part of some political parties spread disharmony (Especially less educated, early school dropouts, which use drugs)

​

• About 1/3^rd of the respondents stated that young people, in general, have less critical thinking power

​

• Other comments - Young males have no specific goals, Young people plan to leave the country, Youngsters can be cheated by corrupt people

​

• Examples of young persons promoting peace through sports and youth clubs were brought out

​

​

Community Assessments Round 3

June –July 2021

Round 3 (June –July2021)

Locations

• Batticaloa
• Colombo
• Kandy
• Jaffna
• Matara

​

Who

• University students,
• Teachers,
• Traders,
• Shopkeepers,
• Three wheel drivers,
• Public Officials
• Private sector employees
• Journalists

In the 3rd round Journalists were interviewed (Treatment group& control group)

Findings

• Those identified as causing conflicts
• Youth -Batticaloa, Jaffna and Kandy
• National level politicians – Jaffna
• Religious Leaders- Batticaloa, Colombo, Kandy and Matara
• Local Government Politicians and ethnic based politicians – Batticaloa and Matara
• Public Officials – Jaffna and Batticaloa (land related issues)
• NGOs – Colombo and Matara
• Businesses – Colombo and Jaffna
• 'Sinhale Group' – Matara
• Journalists – Jaffna
• However, local clergy was identified as peace builders by Respondents in all Districts

Peace builders

• Grama Niladharis, School Principals, NGOs, Youth Clubs/ Sports Clubs in Batticaloa and Jaffna
• Women's groups – Jaffna and Batticaloa
• Grama Niladharis - Kandy and Matara.
• Buddhist Priests - Kandy and Matara.
• Women’s role

​

Findings

• Issues related to religion were a prime reason for conflicts to occur in all selected Districts.
• Other reasons for disputes and conflicts: disposal of animal waste/ offal near areas where vegetarian Hindus live (Batticaloa and Jaffna), land acquisition, and resettlement in Jaffna.
• Respondents in Batticaloa, Jaffna, and Kandy stated Youth create conflicts but noted that some young people who join sports clubs and organise cultural events work for peace.
• Role of Media (Issues)
• Shortage of Women's Journalists,
• Media is not playing a role in peace building – All districts
• Issues about story lines of Tele-dramas - Kandy and Matara.

​

​

Role of society as peace builders

Dealing with those who cause disharmony

• Identify , monitor and win over -Batticaloa,
• should be kept at arm's length and even brought to the notice of the authorities- Colombo, Kandy, and Matara noted that those who cause disunity
• Supporting peace builders
• Interact with Civil Society, Religious Leaders-Colombo and Matara
• Associations, Societies, and Clubs- Jaffna.
• Teachers.- All Districts
• What must we do?
• Start from home (values education?)
• Learn the second language

​

Input from Journalists

Treatment group

• Majority of the Journalists accepted that they should make sure that content is unbiased when reporting an incident and refrain from mentioning the ethnicities of people concerned.
• However, even Trained Journalists initially stated that it is essential to mention the race of persons involved in a conflict when they report the news.
• Reported controversial news items that challenged the status quo

​

Control group

• Reported issues caused by a particular ethnic group and community conflicts on complaints and grievances.

Community Assessments Round 3

August September- 2021

Round 4 (September 2021)

Locations

• Anuradhapura
• Batticaloa
• Kandy,
• Kurunegala,
• Matara
• Vavuniya

Who

• Opinion leaders (Clergy, public officials CSO leaders)
• Educated youth
• Traders
• Informal workers

​

Online survey was conducted for round 4

Online survey (findings)

August /September 2021

23% of the Female Respondents do not have faith in Sri Lankan Society that they will live in peace and harmony with each other

Faith and trust in Sri Lankan Society

20% of the Women who were surveyed do not have faith and trust in the Sinhalese community that they would live in peace and harmony with other communities

Faith and trust in Sinhalese

Faith and trust

Individual’s role in peace building

98% of the Respondents agreed with the statement, “I believe that I as an individual have an active role in promoting harmony and in countering disharmony.”

​

Input from Community Assessments

September 2021

Summary of findings and conclusions

• The discourse concerning peace building among Civil Society does not seem to echo at the community level.
• A sense of superiority and imposing the religious identity of the majority community (Sinhalese) over minorities were identified by communities as resulting in discord in areas where Tamils are a majority.
• Persons who spread discord and work for peace are dispersed in every segment of society (politicians, religious leaders, public officers, trade associations, youth, elders etc.)

​

• Communities identify local-level religious leaders (clergy) as peacebuilders, whereas the national level religious leaders (or those prominent in the media) are identified as those who divide ethnic communities.

​

• Communities agree that media often exaggerate minor incidents. However, there seems to be simmering discontent, tensions, and mistrust among ethnicities that aggravate and intensify these incidents into major communal issues.

Summary of findings and conclusions

• The share of voice in the media of those who promote peace is low compared to the noise level of those who spread discord and harmful speech.

​

• The public is aware of how fake news contributes to social unrest and disharmony among communities, and respondents from all locations affirmed that even individuals should be responsible for spreading accurate information.

​

• Communities believe that they have a role to play as individuals, and the state needs to be more proactive in promoting peaceful coexistence among communities and ethnicities.

​

• Communities view media as playing a negative role in peace building.

Summary of findings and conclusions

• Community assessments also highlighted the essential aspect of making youth aware of their obligations and responsibilities of contributing to peace building.

​

• Respondents recognized that women's’ associations could make a significant contribution to peace building. Men see women as peace builders more than women see themselves in that role.

​

• The government's inaction to deal with extremists and religious leaders who promote racism was highlighted by national level opinion leaders and religious leaders of all faiths/ religions.

​

• Socio-Economic Institutions such as Development Societies, Trade Unions, Farmer Organizations, Trade Associations cut across ethnic and religious divides and come together to address common interests and take up their civic responsibilities.  

​

​

Recommendations

• A national strategy is required for peace building and countering extremism and racism at all levels.

​

• It is necessary to obtain the support and ‘buy-in” of all segments of Society and all ethnicities for a national drive to build peace and harmony among all communities.

​

• Those who ‘somewhat agree that ‘Sri Lankans can live in peace with each other should be converted to ‘strongly agree’.

​

• The strategy should focus on building faith and trust in all communities, particularly the Muslim community.

​

​

Recommendations

• Those who stand for peaceful coexistence must be made prominent and given a voice to counter harmful messages and hate speech (religious leaders, politicians, public officials who stand for peaceful coexistence must come forward and counter what is being said and done by their counter-parts)
• Each segment of society needs to be addressed separately for peace building. Therefore, messages developed to build peaceful coexistence must be targeted to different segments with relevant messages.
• Special events, festivals should be used to the maximum to build peace across communities.
• The National Strategy for peace building should utilize all social and business institutions at the local and national level, such as associations, clubs, federations, chambers, etc.

​

​

Recommendations

• Peace- communications must highlight the cost of disharmony and the benefits of peace.

​

• Civil Society must engage with media and work together to build peace and social cohesion.

​

• A platform for Inter-Community Dialogues at the Divisional Secretariat level can defuse racial and communal tensions and address business rivalries, trade and religious conflicts.

​

• Local-level programmes with small groups, such as youth and women's societies, language associations, religious groups, and clergy, could be the bedrock for effective social harmony. However, they must also be nurtured with a plan for long term execution. In this way, a sense of community can arise and reach the national level-a “bottoms up” approach in a slow but persistent filtration into the wider population.

​

​

​

​

​

Recommendations

​

• All religions have strong content on peace. People listen to bana and sermons avidly. Suppose all religious leaders preach their own exhortations for peace-eg. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God-is a powerful message with the highest reward. If they can agree to preach peace, they can have a tremendous impact.

​

Moving forward- Our work has just begun

How you and I could work together

Proposed strategy

• Selection of hotspots
• Mapping of social institutions/CBOs peace groups in selected hotspots
• According to interest
• According to influence
• Situational analysis of each location
• Problem Tree
• Pair wise ranking
• Objective setting & monitoring mechanism
• Selection of Media vehicles
• Messages that needs to be communicated
• Assessment of training needs
• Media strategy /Communication strategy
• Roll out plan

Thank you