Beyond Divisive Nationalisms in Sri Lanka: Some New Perspectives on Identity and Democracy in the “Hybrid Island” (original) (raw)

Sri Lankan Out-Migration: Five Key Waves Since Independence

University of Colombo Review, 2020

Sri Lankan migration provides a mini-laboratory for migration scholars because of its rich diversity. The "Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora," the "Sri Lankan maid," the "Sri Lankan refugee," and the "Sri Lankan boat migration to Australia" are some examples of the diversity and complexity of the phenomenon. At present, Sri Lanka has a total of three million emigrants of which one million have permanently settled outside Sri Lanka. This permanently settled community constitutes a one to twenty diaspora to population ratio, a significantly unique ratio for any sending country. Nonetheless, a holistic understanding of Sri Lankan migration is lacking, even though selective aspects of the phenomenon have received some academic attention. This article intends to fill this gap by providing a broader overview of Sri Lankan migration since its Independence. Through a thorough review of related academic articles and fifty-one semi-structured interviews with Sr...

When Migrants Travel Back Home: Changing Identities in Northern Sri Lanka after the Ceasefire of 2002

Mobilities, 2010

This article looks at how social relations change when proximity is re‐established after a long period of separation. This theoretically inspired question is discussed in the case of Sri Lanka, where a peace process in 2002 enabled exiled Tamils to temporarily return to their ‘homeland’. The new mobility of these migrants constituted a significant momentum for the re‐negotiation of Tamil identity. Proximate relations resulting from mobility led to a growing awareness of differences in cultural expression and perspective. The empirical data show that the construction of difference is related not only to spatial mobility and to temporality. Spatial, but also temporal distance in translocal relations determines the construction of images, detached from face‐to‐face interaction and the locality, constituting an identity space.

Diaspora circulation and transnationalism as agents for change in the post conflict zones of Sri Lanka

Wenn es in der Heimat um Krieg und Frieden geht. Die …, 2004

Two decades ago, people moving from home countries to other countries would not have had the opportunity to remain actively engaged or even adequately informed of events in their home countries. Policy makers and scholars had a somewhat limited understanding of diasporic communities and their importance. Today, with the diminished saliency of the nation-state, the impact of globalization and the growing number of transnational migrants, this has changed. Diasporic groups, capable of maintaining and investing in social, economic and political networks that span the globe, are of increasing relevance and interest to policy makers in home countries as well as host countries. This paper critically approaches the question of diaspora and outlines possibilities for policy makers in addressing the issues posed by the diaspora in the Sri Lankan context. Based on extensive fieldwork in Canada, France and Sri Lanka the concept of "diaspora circulation" is proposed as an effective tool for engaging the diaspora in a meaningful way in the reconstruction and development of war-torn areas in Sri Lanka. It is also suggested that the host countries as well as the home countries need to reformulate citizenship, migration, and development policies in order to facilitate the constructive involvement of diaspora.

Forced migration and changing local political economies: A study from North-western Sri Lanka

NORAGRIC Working Papers (Norway), 2000

Forced migrations are an endemic phenomenon of the internal war going on in Sri Lanka since 1983. Currently about a million people have been internally displaced. The vast majority of them are Tamils from the war-torn NorthEast Province. However, substantial numbers of Muslims and Sinhalese have been displaced too. In October 1990, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam expelled thousands of Muslims from their homes in northern Sri Lanka. Most of these forced migrants moved to predominantly Muslim areas in Puttalam District, which lies outside the war zone. The present study examines the impact of long-term displacement of large numbers of Muslim migrants on the political economy of the host areas in Puttalam. After an overview of the changes at the Divisional level in Kalpitya, the study focuses on one village in which the IDPs far outnumber the locals. The study maps the processes of change with reference to relief and development, relocation, distributional conflicts, socioeconomic differentiation, vulnerability to deprivation and local and regional politics. The study shows that long-term residence of the IDPs in a safer area outside the war zone has led to major changes in the local socioeconomic context and that the IDPs themselves have become more permanent stakeholders as participants in production and services and members of settled communities. While social integration between the IDPs and locals is evident, the former remain politically excluded. Their right to stay is not complete without political inclusion. On the other hand, this right should not in any way negate or undermine their right to return.

Migration from Eelam (Sri Lanka); Terrorists, Model Citizens, and the People Left Behind

In this chapter, the relationship between the now well-established concepts of 'transnationalism' and 'diaspora' on the one hand and the more recent concept 'regimes of mobility' on the other is explored. I suggest that the latter facilitates explorations of disparities that are easily neglected when relying on the former two. In the empirical material at hand, I am particularly interested in how these disparities play out over time; how people's physical movement has in the longue durée caused social effects that were not easy to foresee in the early stages. One of these consequences is the creation of new bonds of solidarity among migrants, and, through this, a reinforcement of inequalities between those who left and those who remained behind. I will present the case of refugee-migration from Tamil Eelam (Sri Lanka) and explore how and to what extent Tamil emigration during the 30-year civil war in Sri Lankanormally conceptualized as 'forced migration'fits into a social imaginary upheld by the dominant section of Tamil society. I use the term 'social imaginary' in the sense this term has been proposed by Taylor , namely as the ways in which people imagine their social existence, how they fit together with others, how things go on between them and their fellows, the expectations that are normally met, and the deeper normative notions and images that underlie these expectations. The imaginary relevant to the present case portrays the hierarchical organization of Tamil society as being one of its essential qualities.

Migrants and Minorities in Ceylon: Lessons for the Present

The India Forum, 2022

Sri Lankan politics bears the mark of a century of anti-Tamil policies. A majoritarian outlook has helped Sinhalese groups gain power, grow corrupt and weaken democracy. In its attempt to break out of this indefinite loop of crisis and chaos, Sri Lanka would do well if it learned lessons from its past.

Journey Without a Destination: Is there a solution for Sri Lankan refugees?

1993

First published in 1993 by the British Refugee Council, Journey without a Destination is the story of Sri Lanka’s bloody civil war, told in the words of those displaced by the fighting. Based on hundreds of interviews, it reveals the complexities of the situation from which they are fleeing, the multiple threats and traumas they face before, during and after their flight. What emerges is an incisive oral history of Tamil and Sinhalese nationalism and a human cost that can never be adequately measured. The opinions of these refugees regarding explanations for the conflict and possible solutions may vary, yet a great deal of wisdom can be gleaned from their responses, and any viable solution would need to take their viewpoints seriously. The importance of ensuring humane asylum policies in host countries is an obvious conclusion, but given that most refugees wish to return to their homeland, it is equally important to seek and work towards implementing a just solution to the conflict they are fleeing.

Colonialism, Migrations and Ethnic Integration in Asia: The Case of Modern Sri Lanka

ACCS2014 Official Conference Proceedings, 2014

Colonialism fundamentally changed the traditional pattern of Asian migration and opened new avenues for trade and investment for migrant merchant communities and occupational opportunities as indentured labor for agrarian classes. The Indian communities who migrated to Sri Lanka during British rule played vital and diverse roles in the colony's economic transformation. When Sri Lanka transformed from a colony to nation with independence in 1948 citizenship emerged as controversial and crucial issue. With transfer of power to Sri Lankan leaders their economic agendas and the requirements of citizenship of the new nation these migrant communities were confronted with critical problem of either expulsion or integration. The principle problem addressed in this research will be the impact of citizenship issue on the Indian communities and their responses. The proposed study will examine the complex dynamism with which these communities deployed their respective economic bargaining power and the potential political strength to overcome these problems and successfully integrate into the new nation while safeguarding their economic and occupational interests. The research for this study will use primary archival sources and data from ethnological and biographical studies of different Indian communities, personal interviews and field research.

Making a home during crisis: Post-tsunami recovery in a context of war, Sri Lanka

Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography, 2008

This paper provides insights into the dynamic linkages between the ongoing construction of houses for people displaced by war and disaster, conceptions of homemaking and processes of recovery and reconstruction in the post-tsunami context in Sri Lanka. In so doing, it also uncovers the dilemmas and ambiguities that are embedded in the recovery process. A case from Eastern Province, Sri Lanka illustrates how recovery works in local areas are driven by various stakeholders from outside, whose negotiations and power, voices and preferences, both independently and collectively, define the scope for homemaking processes. Our findings recommend that debates of 'building back better' following such disasters should embody an understanding of houses as political, cultural, social and economic constructs, and be cognizant of the wider processes of homemaking.