Jaimie Tax: Working with the Asia Foundation in Sri Lanka

We've asked some CLA interns to do a guest post about their summer experience.  The post below is from Jaimie Tax, a McGill law student who spent the summer on a CLA internship with  The Asia Foundation in Sri Lanka.  You can read JoAnne Barnum's reflections on her internship with the Legal Services Board in Rankin Inlet here.Over the last three months I had the pleasure of working with the incredibly hard working people at The Asia Foundation in Sri Lanka.  The Asia Foundation is a non-profit, non-governmental organization which supports Asian initiatives to improve governance, law and civil society; women’s empowerment; economic reform and development, sustainable development and the environment; and international relations.Sri Lanka is a beautiful island located in South Asia.  Rich in ethnic and religious diversity, Sri Lanka is home to two national languages: Sinhala and Tamil, and four major religious groups: Buddhism (76.7%), Hinduism (7.8%), Islam (8.5%) and Christianity (7%).  May 2009 marked the end of nearly 30 years of civil war arising out of ethnic tensions between the majority Sinhalese and the Tamil minority in the North and East.  While the end of the war has brought an end to the violence, peace and reconciliation have yet to be realized and underlying tensions remain.

A typical evening at Galle Face Green, Colombo.

Having spent the last two years working with micro finance development initiatives in Asia, the objective of my summer was to better understand how development and the law fit together.   My experiences in Sri Lanka made me realize that law has a very strong role to play in development.  This summer I was able to work in the fields of human rights, by studying the situation of religious minorities in the country, as well as good governance, by working with frontline police to develop a draft community-policing manual.In order to better understand the situation of religious minorities in Sri Lanka, I conducted both a literature review and interviewed religious leaders from each of the four major religious groups.  Religion continues to play a major role in the lives of Sri Lankans; statistics have identified Sri Lanka as one of the most religious countries in the world, with 99% of the population identifying religion as an important part of daily life (Gallup consultancy, “Religiosity Highest in World’s Poorest Nations” (Aug. 31, 2010). Accessed from http://www.gallup.com/poll/142727/religiosity-highest-world-poorest-nations.aspx#1).  Accordingly, some believe that the importance of religion has increased post-conflict, with people visibly practicing their respective rites and rituals and visiting temples and shrines more often (Interview with Religious Leader on June 9, 2011, The Asia Foundation). Findings from a public perception survey conducted in 2010 found that 78% of those surveyed believed that relations between ethnic groups improved post-conflict. This belief was strongest in the Sabaragamuwa (86%), Southern (85%) and North Central (85%) provinces, while it was the lowest in the Uva (67%) and Northern (69%) provinces. Before the conflict there was much more integration between ethnic groups; they shared many cultural commonalities, there were mixed friendships and people used to work and study together. Likewise, most of the interviewees noted a decline in inter-religious marriages.In order to tackle some of these problems, The Asia Foundation is working with several government agencies.  Under the "access to justice" umbrella, The Foundation is working with the Ministry of Justice to set up and reactivate mediation boards across the country, as well as with the Sri Lankan Police Service to develop a national community policing program.I was fortunate to work with the police to develop a draft of the community-policing training manual.   Post-conflict, it is essential that police adopt community policing standards by building relationships of trust and confidence with the community. In its most simplistic form, a community policing approach encourages police to work closely with the communities they serve. Positive interactions create trust, improve communications and decrease perceived insecurities within a community. Community policing takes a problem-solving orientation to policing by focusing on preventing crimes instead of reacting to crimes. It is interesting to note that  90% of those surveyed in a recent perception poll would like the police to work more closely with community members.

My first community-policing meeting in the conflict affected North.

While numerous NGOs are assisting the Government in its efforts for peace and reconciliation, there is still a long way to go.  Having travelled extensively throughout the country, I was saddened by the usual response of “what justice?” when I had said I was working with an access to justice program.  In light of the recent UN report outlining allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity by both sides in the spring of 2009 and the Channel 4 Documentary “Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields”, human rights are at the forefront of all discussions.  The response of local people to these allegations is interesting and extremely varied.  Some are advocating for justice and the recognition of human rights, while others are wishing that the international community would leave, set aside these allegations, and let the country move forward.  In general, there is fear among the population that these discussions will increase tensions, and will consequently result in further violence.  One explanation for these varied responses is that the people experienced the conflict in many different ways.  While Colombo was laden with fear of terrorist activities, the people in the North and East were direct targets of violence - they lost their homes, their children, their parents, their siblings.So what is the answer? I can see some value in letting the country move forward by dropping these allegations, but at the same time, without addressing these underlying tensions, won’t conflict inevitably return?  These things considered, what is the optimal solution? How does Sri Lanka move forward?My experiences with The Asia Foundation were very positive and my tasks proved to be extremely interesting and rewarding.  I was very impressed by the strong work ethic and capacity of the Sri Lankan staff.  Their desire to make my internship successful, their kindness, their willingness to teach and their warmth have made the last few months exceptionally memorable.   Reflecting on my experiences, I have come to realize the importance of law in development. Moving forward, I am excited to further explore this area of law and explore opportunities for integrating a legal career with my passions for development.Please note that the opinions expressed in this blog are solely my own.  They may not represent the views and opinions of The Asia Foundation.

Discovering the great ancient Buddhist kingdom in Polonnaruwa.