Peace Begins With Me

By Capt. Elmo Jayawardena

There are three huge hundred year old ancient nuga trees growing in a sandy patch by the Wesley School in Kalmunai. The space is seraphic and is shaded by the giant tree trio standing like sentinels. It is a kind of “all purpose” ground where children gather to play. The nuga custodians symbolises a very important lesson to all of us. One has a palm tree shooting up to the clear blue sky right from its belly, maybe some bird dropped a seed and the palm grew without an objection for intruding. The other has a well spread tamarind tree entwined branch to branch with the old Nuga companion, sharing the same space and shading the same good earth. The third has all kinds of small and big stumps and stalks sprouting all over, ferns and vines, strangers as they grow in complete harmony on the nuga foster parent.

It is only us, the so called “very intelligent human beings” who flew to the moon, transplanted human hearts and strut in Savile Row civilization, who find it difficult to appreciate the simplicity of congruence.

CandleAid started the project ‘Uniting Children’ under the adage “Peace Begins With Me” by opening 27 libraries from Jaffna to Kalmunai via Trincomalee. The soul of the effort being to link children in peace, and Methodist College Colombo was invited to carry the first olive branch to Kalmunai and meet their counterparts.

On a clear February morning they drove from Colombo to the east, the “Metho Mithuro” looking for their “Wesley School Kootallikal”. The Colombo girls in jade green ties were led by Nilshika, an A/Level student and accompanied by two teachers. They had two girls who spoke Tamil — a great way to start friendships. The entire project from its infancy was totally supported by the sterling leadership of the Methodist College Principal who believed in positive possibilities and worked with CandleAid. She and her teachers and students gave a sincere meaning to the belief ‘peace begins with me.’ On the eastern side, Wesley School from Kalmunai played host to their friends from Colombo. Here again it was the head of the school and the staff who committed themselves wholeheartedly to set the tone for the links of friendship to begin.

That’s the platform, now let me tell you the story.
At a time when politics takes center stage with promises galore on initiating progress and everyone cashing in on the war victory, we should also ask the question, when the battle dust settles, is it peace? Do we have equality? Are we really two people, the ones that love the country and the ones that don’t?

The answer is not simple. Too many bullets have been fired and too many graves have been filled by the young and the innocent. The battle scars have created gigantic gashes amongst the races that will take decades to heal. Circumstantial hatreds do not evaporate easily, unless we as individuals stand up and say “Peace begins with me.”

Real peace is not ushered in by the end of a battle. We all need to do intensive soul searching and come up with answers that would pave the way for reconciliation. If and when Wijayanayaka gets back to his friendship with Somasundaram and visits Velvetithurai, like old times and loafs around in his friend’s old Austin Cambridge, that would be an illustration of peace. Or a Balendran flies MiG jets for the Air Force and Gunendran is an officer cadet in the army that would be peace, as long as both Balendran and Gunendran do not come from Royal College but from Jaffna Central. Maybe a Kalamathy from Thalaimannar arrives in Colombo to study medicine sans a shred of fear; that would be a better definition of peace, the sincerely sought of the lasting kind.

The battles were fought to end a 30 year old conflict that had almost burnt this beautiful country and divided its people. The war is over, that we all know. Yes, we hope for peace, pray for peace and seek peace, but the main question is; are we doing enough to find more meaningful and lasting ways to co-exist?

It is the interaction that we lack now. The fundamental need among all Sri Lankans from all races is to strip ourselves of the fragments of disunity and pick up the pieces for real peace. And that can mainly be done by the people and not by “powers that be” policy which at a grassroots level does become at most times irrelevant and meaningless.

We hate some people because we do not know them, and we will not know them, because we hate them; this applies fair and square to both parties.

They met in the school premises, Mithuro from Methodist College and the Kootallikal from Wesley School. The conversation was sprinkled with Akka, Malli, Nangi and Thangachchi. The smiles came easy and winsome and reached eyes that sparkled in friendship. The teachers were there too, along with the team from CandleAid, all joining in a new found soft and gentle step for peace sans the pomp and the pageantry. A day’s programme had been laid and it was totally geared to cement the friendships of the students of these two schools.

A fresh beginning, a new page and a new and simple concept to tell the rest of the country that it is possible to say “Peace Begins Eith Me.”

The girls from Colombo brought books to supplement the CandleAid Library that was opened at Wesley School. The two teams worked together and made paper flowers and arranged them in two pots, one to be kept in Kollupitiya and the other in Kalmunai. This was primarily to signify the memory of a journey by children across three decades of terror and turmoil. They dug the ground together and planted four mango trees, or “trees of peace” they called it. One day the mangoes will come, fruits of labour and someone might remember the friends who came from Colombo to clasp fingers and talk peace.

The students drew pictures together, depicting a theme of unity and pinned badges on each other which had a dove with an olive branch and the message in clear letters which said “Peace Begins With Me.” The teachers were absolutely wonderful, filling the blanks and adding words of encouragement.

There are no words to quantify such beauty among people. There can only be hope that others will follow. Thirty envelopes were given to the Kalmunai School, each carrying a name and an address of a Metho student that a Wesley girl will write to and become friends with. They  will visit Colombo in April, to take part in an art exhibition and will meet their new found friends. More events will follow, linking the students of these two schools, paving the way for uniting them as children of a land that needs the future to be blessed with harmony.

Maybe the three ancient nuga trees watched the children in friendly chatter, wearing badges that said “Peace Begins With Me.” They would have seen the laughter and the camaraderie and the once separated strangers of different races coming together in their little attempt to change the sad and sardonic ethnic equation.

Maybe they heard too the girls when they said in their youthful clear voices “we took a small step towards a giant leap which we hope others will follow.”  Many little people in many little places doing many little things, can change the world. I am sure the ancient nuga trees would have been thrilled that this happened in their shadow.

Kalmunai has one library; four more were opened in the next two days — Natpittymunai, Mylampaveli, Mich Nagar and Morokoddanchenai.  So much more could be done, so much more will be done. It is all a matter of believing that ‘peace begins with me.’

(elmojay@sltnet.lk)

There are 26 other schools from the north and the east that CandleAid will link with schools from the south. Contact CandleAid if any school wishes to be a part of the Uniting Children programme.