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| Sunday, 2 October 2005 |
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Towards Peace
by Rikaza Hassan
In 2005, the Peace Initiative, a diverse bunch of youth working towards bringing peace to Sri Lanka - a country that has seen civil war ravage its lands, sea and people - organised the Peace Summit in Colombo in honour of the World Day Of Peace that saw 250 delegates from all regions of the country assembling in Colombo. Ranging from eleven to twenty-one years of age, the gifted participants were chosen through an essay competition carried out by the Bakeer Markar Centre for National Unity (BMCNU). Presided and founded by Asaf Bakeer Markar a year and a half ago, the youth organisation - more like a group of energetic friends with a determination towards a change for the better - has been at the helm of many a conscientious activity including a project to feed 300 tsunami affected families for a certain period of time and the Blue Ribbon campaign, the funds collected going towards stationery and school books for children affected by the December 26th tidal waves. According to members of the Peace Initiative, the summit was structured with the aim of providing this nation's youth a "platform to generate varied solutions for this multifaceted conflict." It is their belief that Lankan youth have not seen their views and ideas adequately recognised in the years past. "We intend on ironing out various prevalent misconceptions through this summit, thus providing a more conductive environment for conflict resolution in the future. The summit will be a valuable opportunity for the youth to community to highlight their commitment to a peaceful Sri Lanka, giving them a forum to express their views and exchange ideas," they added further.
Manjula Perera, a disabled soldier related the beginnings of his now wheelchair bound life and the many travails he had to encounter in continuing to support his family. The widow of Major General Hamangoda spoke on behalf of all other war widows scattered throughout the island, narrating not only the burden of raising a family single-handed, but also the mental agony associated with being a 'war widow' - the awkwardness and isolation from society that becomes their reward for sacrificing their husbands to the motherland. Also were two speakers from two ethnic minorities who recounted the dire experiences suffered by their peoples. However the underlying conviction of each and every one of them was that peace was the key to a better life. As Mrs. Hamangoda put it, "knowledge and understanding are the keys to unity," and that peace was not just a feeling but a feeling, an emotion in your heart. Also lined up was a panel discussion which included United Nations representative Devanan Ramaiyyah and Javed Yusuf, Secretary of the Muslim Peace Secretariat. The delegates were given ample opportunity to question the four members on all aspects of the conflict and its resolution. Chosen participants also made brief speeches, expressing their views on peace. Thirteen year old Dina Lakshani of Gonagoda Maha Vidyalaya, Kandy said that she had learnt a lot about what peace actually was. Chosen via an essay written on if the tsunami was a blessing for peace, she says that to "we must try and make peace happen ourselves." Little Udara Sahan Wickramaratne, aged 12 spoke enthusiastically of his application to the competition and the essay he wrote for it. Hailing all the way from Balangoda, he was very thankful to the organisers for providing food, transport and accommodation. On being asked what peace was to him he said, "Peace is when war stops and people stop being afraid." The most engaging part of the entire Summit, by both the delegates' and the Peace Initiative members' opinion was the discussion forum. Categorised into random groups with a more lingual individual chosen as the group leader, the participants were presented with problems regarding the achievement of peace and asked to provide solutions. Much active discussion - despite the problem of language - later, the participants had for the most part come up with probable solutions that were then presented to the panel to determine its weaknesses and strengths, essentially its feasibility. Perinpam Gopiharan, 16 from Muslim Central College, Akkaraipattu was one of the few chosen as a group leader. He is also one of the few participants who are trilingual though according to him, "we had absolutely no problem understanding each other despite not speaking in the same language." He however is not unused to a 'mixed' community, "my friends are of all race and religion and see no difference among us." The only child, at the age of one, his father was taken away one night to be never seen again. Gopiharan though harbours no thoughts of hatred against anyone. His ambition is to be a doctor in the future, but is unsure of its fulfilment. "I believe that it is we [the youth] that will lead the world tomorrow and it will be full of many challenges. The Peace Summit is a good initiative towards achieving that goal." As the summit came to an end and the participants left with satisfied smiles on their faces, the organising committee chaired by Asini Wijewardena and Oshadini Jayasundara had not only made their dream come true, but also made it happen in the most wonderful way possible. "The Peace Initiative is a very small knit community. While the small number made communication easy, it also meant a lot of work on each person. Everyone worked very very hard," says Asini. Also adds Oshadini, "We were very satisfied, the participants were very glad about the opportunity provided to them and they were not inconvenienced in any way as we provided them with all that they needed to participate in this event." The Peace Summit and more important, the Peace Initiative is an admirable venture into the forbidden indeed. These persevering youths have placed the first steps towards enlightening the leaders of tomorrow, as well as making the future one of non-violence. |
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| Politics | Produced by Lake House |
A Half a decade ago, the UN passed a resolution jointly sponsored by
Chile and the UK to officially name the 21st of September as a day of
peace. Every year hence the last day of the third week of the month of
September has seen at least most citizens of the world celebrate the day
with resolutions towards a more united and consolidated earth. 
The preliminaries done with, the event began with the 'case studies'.
The speakers were a randomly chosen few from among the millions both
physically and psychologically affected from the civil conflict. 
