Burrows, Kennedy - International Development and Globalization
Internship Country: Sri Lanka
Canadian NGO: Alternatives
Local NGO: NAFSO
Position: Research and digital development
Arriving in Sri Lanka, I and another uOttawa intern were greeted with lush green plants and a wonderful humid contrast to the winter we left behind in Canada. Along the roads, rice and curry, religious shrines, and fruit stands are generously sprinkled throughout the island. Strings of tuk-tuks and motorcycles drive on the left side of the road, taking the lane markings as a suggestion.
Since arriving, we have had many opportunities to learn about the civil war and the current political context from first-hand accounts, research articles, and fictional novels. I find myself continually discovering and asking new questions about the host country and organization as my basis of understanding expands and I am able to draw connections between what I am learning and prior course content.
The organization I am interning with is the National Fisheries Solidarity Movement, otherwise known as NAFSO. The organization is present in 17 of 25 districts across the island, assuming a localized and hierarchical structure. By organizing communities at the village, district, provincial, and national level, NAFSO provides the opportunity for marginalized populations to raise their concerns and come up with contextualized solutions while sharing learnings with one another.
My understanding of what localized development can practically look like has been enriched by the way this grassroots organization structures itself within the country and draws on external resources to support its endeavours. Indeed, the Northern and Eastern provinces (where most of the civil war took place and a Tamil-dominated area) experience drastically different struggles than the Southern province (a Sinhala-dominated area), reiterating the idea that an island-wide strategy would be ineffective. However, facilitating discussions between inhabitants of each province has allowed participants to come together to honestly grapple with ethnic reconciliation following the war. Similarly, seeing the effects of colonization in another country besides Canada has helped me to better understand a topic so integral to international development work. Sri Lanka experienced colonial rule from 1505 to 1948; first by the Portuguese, then the Dutch, and finally the British, who each left their own traces by embedding pieces of their culture in Sri Lanka (like hot tea breaks twice a day), but also leaving behind lasting devastation as their influence paved the way for power asymmetries and enhanced ethnic conflict that ultimately led to the country’s nearly 30-year civil war.
NAFSO works with marginalized people from civil society, namely increasingly disenfranchised small-scale fisherfolk, women, and youth by establishing a strong presence in fishing communities and fostering dialogue about the challenges they experience. As such, discussion topics vary widely, with some members raising topics like illegal fishing practices, human-elephant conflict resulting in property damage or death, ethnic reconciliation, domestic violence linked to male and youth substance abuse, necessary reforms to the Fisheries Act, and more. As interns, we have gotten to witness many of these events and dialogues whereby beneficiaries join their voices together to make meaningful change through community-led initiatives or advocacy and awareness campaigns. This past weekend, I was even tasked with presenting cases of recent intimidation or harassment of human rights defenders in what is deemed a “repressed” civic space at a national people-to-people dialogue which brought together Tamil and Sinhala-speaking populations to discuss reconciliation.
Though I am only just approaching the halfway mark of my internship, I have been encouraged by the learning I have gotten to acquire about the country and NGOs in practice. It has also taught me about myself as I navigate communicating proactively, learn new social norms, and take advantage of such a rare and enriching experience. It has also been encouraging to see the role of international funding and expertise as I witness NAFSO’s collaboration with the international community while honouring the beneficiaries’ desires at a grassroots level. I have also gotten to experience the importance of being immersed in the village-level context while drawing on the macro-economic, political, sociological and historical factors which influence the struggles and agency within the communities.
Prior to this internship, I struggled with considering how I might ethically fit within the development sector given my identity and positionality, along with understanding what a grassroots organization could look like in practice, given that the current model is heavily influenced by donors. Taking the pressure off of always producing value-added outputs, and instead assuming a learning mindset, I have gained a more nuanced perspective of these two concerns while delving into the beauty, pain, and agency of Sri Lanka.