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East and South celebrate Thai Pongal

by Allegra Holbrook and Holly Maycock

This year marks a new beginning for relations between the southern and eastern communities in Sri Lanka.

The Hindu festival of Thaipongal will be celebrated in a different way, as the Saviya Development Foundation (SDF), based in Galle, has sent a group of forty female delegates from different communities in the south to Trincomalee on the invitation of the Eastern United Women's Organisation (EUWO).

The programme began yesterday evening with the festival itself. Today, all the groups will be participating in discussions. An official of the SDF said he was hoping for a "mutual exchange of views and ideas about culture and beliefs". In the evening there will be cultural shows, with groups performing dances, songs, and other cultural items unique to their community. There will be further discussions tomorrow, and the southern delegates will be taken to visit places of importance in Trincomalee.

Irrespective of race or religion, Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims will all be involved in the celebrations, discussions and cultural exchanges. The SDF and the EUWO hope that this will encourage understanding and tolerance amongst the different groups, the official told us, "our ambition is to build up friendship between the communities."

The event is funded by the SDF and their Women's Development Project. This project is run on a voluntary basis, and supported by the group's membership fees.

Although the SDF have not been in direct contact with the LTTE, the LTTE have been in communication with the EUWO and they support the chance for an exchange of views and mutual understanding. The project also has the blessings of the country's religious leaders, although they also have no direct involvement.

Next month, on February 20 forty delegates will travel from the east to the south for a similar programme, which has already been planned. The groups hope that the involvement of women will have a strong impact on communities, particularly with regards to the education of children to remove prejudices from future generations.

If this pilot scheme is successful, it could lead to many more, and hopefully it will encourage better relationships between these two provinces and strengthen the desire for peace.

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