Human Rights Workshop for Religious and Priests was held from the 05th to 08th February 2018 in Bishops House - Badulla with 30 participants with the theme of "Live and Let Live". Bishop Winston Fernando, the Bishop of Badulla & the Chairman of the Sri Lankan Catholic Bishops Conference addressed the participants while welcoming them to Badulla and highlighted the Human Rights issues that we are faced with. It was followed by a lively discussion on Right to life. On the 06th February the participants travelled to Buttala "Subaseth Gedara" where Fr. Michel Rodrigo immersed in the rough and tough life of the poor and down-trodden and finally sacrificed his life 11th November 1987. Fr. Rohan Silva OMI and Sr. Milburga Fernando helped the participants to understand the life of Fr. Michael at Buttala, the challenges he encountered, the transformation he brought in within the people of Buttala and the theology that emerged with his life and ministry. There were two close associates of Fr. Michael Mr. Dhambegoda Jinadasa and Ms. Nandawathi present at Subaseth Gedara who described the challenges that Fr. Michael encountered as he worked for the development of the people's community through a lived-experience of dialogue with the villages, and monks of the area while conscientising the people at the grass-root. His entry point was said to be through a health programme and education of school drop-outs. "Somehow I found Christ. I went to the village and was converted, because he was present. His favour called Grace made me detect his face" Poem of Fr Michel. The participants reflected on the life & mission of Fr. Michael after returning from the exposure during the Eucharist and on the following day as Fr. Rohan & Sr. Milburga further illustrated the history of Subasth Gedara in relation to the theological reflection of Bishop Leo Nanayakkara. Ruki Fernando made a powerful presentation on “Justice: What’s it about, opportunities & Challenges”.
He made the participants to explore Justice in the Bible which were shared by the groups and different type of Justice found in the Bible were highlighted. Ex; Distributive justice, Restorative justice, Retributive justice etc He also explained the Human Rights situation and of the disappeared families in the north and said that 366 days (as of 20th Feb) is a long time for a 24 hour roadside protest. The protestors have been subjected to constant surveillance and while protesting, they had also struggled to take care of their children and engage in livelihoods, and range of other practical problems. Ruki further explained how he has seen protesters getting sick, hungry, cold, sweating, their spirit and physical strength deteriorating but they have not given up he said, they want to know “whether their disappeared children, husbands, are alive or dead”. Finally Ruki invited the participants to join the protesters in solidarity.
The meeting came to a close with the evaluation and it was pointed out that inputs from various resource persons would be useful. The need to have more members from the other dioceses and congregations, with the possibility of having sessions for a few lay persons is to be explored. The next meeting was fixed for 09th - 12th July 2018 at Fatima Retreat House in Lewella Kandy.
0 Comments
36 Priests and Religious joined the Human Rights workshop at the Oblate Scholasticate - Ampitiya in Kandy, Sri Lanka from the 17th to 20th July 2017 with the theme of “To seek enlightenment and spiritual enrichment”. It was the first time that we have had a meeting at the Oblate Scholasticate in Kandy, where the atmosphere was quite conducive for a meeting of this nature with its seclusion, pleasant climate and the undisturbed surroundings. There were more than 15 lay persons for the first two days, following up the session of Professor Sunil Wijesinghe who made a presentation last year in 2016. The workshop was planned to combine four dimensions: a) educational, b) collective response to the challenges posed by St. Joseph Vaz in the present day context, c) spiritual reflections. d) Personal reflections. a) Educational Professor Sunil Wijesinghe from a Buddhist background further developed the theoretical frameworks for reconciliation between various communities in the country that was first introduced a year ago. He enlightened the group with certain Buddhist concepts, which are very supportive of reconciliation, particularly the concept of “equality” and the “dignity” of human persons. He took the trouble to explain the inter-connectivity among various personal, social, political and the natural where when one component of any of the systems is disrupted, how the entire system is disturbed and everyone is made to suffer. Therefore the need to respect and safeguard the system while promoting creative changes to the benefit of everyone. The education part also included the new Act on Right to Information, presented by Fr. Nandana Manatunga. b) Collective Response to the Challenges posed by St. Joseph Vaz in the present day context. The discussion was preceded by a vivid presentation by Fr. Aanada Fernando that touched on some of the highlights of the life and the work of St. Joseph Vaz mostly with the communities in the south of the country. Fr. Ananda pointed out the challenges posed for us by the saint for our times which touches on every aspect of life as food, clothing, travelling, and dealing with various communities, the ruling elite and the governing officials including the king. He said, the approaches he had adopted in dealing with the common persons and the officials are good for us to emulate. This sharing was followed by a presentation by Ruki Fernando, where he also drew the lessons for us from the life and work of St. Joseph Vaz for instance his approaches in dealing with the members of non-Christian communities. Dialogue has been found to be the hallmark of his approach to other religious communities, which he said is quite relevant for us living in the context of antipathies and prejudices even attacks on persons and places of worship of other faith denominations. These two presentations were followed by a lengthy discussion. The relevance of St. Joseph Vaz’s mission for reconciliation, our attitudes towards other religions, were some of the points around which the discussion was held. ) Spiritual Refractions Scripture Reflection was led by Fr. Jeyabalan Croos taking the scripture passage Luke 15/1 The Parable of the Lost Sheep, where Jesus associates with the poor, the blind, the lame, the hungry, the miserable, sinners, prostitutes, tax collectors,. The reference was a well-defined and unmistakable section of the population. Analyzing this Fr. Jeyabalan said that todays some might refer to this section of the population as the lower class or the oppressed. Further he challenged the participants with the question whether we are willing to associate the so called poor, that category that includes what Luke speaks of. d) Personal Reflections
Since the inception of this meeting of the members of the clergy from both communities, it has been the standard practice to share with each other their own involvements, particularly in the field of human rights, as well as their own experience in the given context. This matter has largely been neglected due to other pressing issues and activities. Thus it was decided to revive this custom of sharing of experience in the act of “Renewing the Face of the Earth” with the Spirit of Risen Christ. So the time of taken by most of the participants for the sharing, which was found to be quite enriching. NEXT MEETING: 05th to 08th February 2018 at BANDARAWELA. An exposure visit to Subaseth Gedera in Buttala of Fr. Michael Rodrigo is proposed as part of the meeting. In view making a joint submission for the 03rd Cycle of the Universal Periodical Review (UPR) on Sri Lanka scheduled to take place in November 2017 during the 28th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, a special meeting took place on the 01st & 02nd February 2017 at Madhu Retreat House in Mannar with the participation of Human Rights activists, Priests & Religious. This was followed by the RPHR meeting on the 03rd & 04th February with the theme “Together, Let us protect our Rights”. Since the participants who gathered were actively involved in most important issues of the country and were experts of different fields the discussions were rich, lively and practical. The discussions were further enriched by Budi (Franciscans International, Geneva), Sr. Yolanda (Good Shepard Sisters, Geneva), Fr. Mike Deeb (Domincan, Rome / Geneva) The present Human rights situation of the country was discussed with the Panelists:
Ruki Fernando then made a presentation on Domestic & International trends in relation to Human Rights in Sri Lanka and Introduced the UN system, UN & Human Rights in Sri Lanka, with a focus on March UNHRC session. It was followed by sharing of experiences and additional comments by Yamini (NCEASL) and others with experience of UPR general discussion. UPR experiences from other countries, successes, challenges, tips for Sri Lanka were presented by Budi Tjahjono, Sr. Yolanda Sanchez and Fr. Mike Deeb OP. This was followed by the Prioritizing the focus areas for UPR submissions and lobbying. After several discussions, it was decided to assign one person from each group to prepare the draft for the submission and sent to Ruki & Fr. Nandana. Further the committee agreed to meet along with the coordinators to review the drafts and finalize the submission. Philip Setunga, Budi, Fr. Rohan Dominic and Fr. Nandana Manatunga were appointed as Coordinators while responsibility of preparing the drafts were assigned. · Tea Plantation - Fr. Camillus Janz · Women - Sarah Arumugam · Children - Sr. Niluka Perera · Cultural Rights, especially Religious freedom - Yamini Ravinpran · Prisoners, detainees, former combatants - Fr. Nandana Saparamadu · IDPs & Land - Fr. Dilan SSS · Disappeared - Sr. Nichola Emmanuel · Transitional Justice, Criminal accountability - Ruki Fernando · Sustainable Development & Environment - Port city etc. - Fr. Manoj The RPHR meeting which followed began with a Scripture Reflection on “The parable of Good Samaritan” led by Fr. Jeyabalan. Participants then shared their experiences in the light of the parable. Program for the women headed families were shared by Philip Setunga, Sr. Vijaya and Fr. Jeyabalan. Bishop Kingsley Swampillai the Apostolic administrator, bishop of Mannar, joined the RPHR meeting on the 03rd evening and shared his views while listening to the sharing of the participants from different parts of the country. The delay of ensuring rights of the Tamil people in the North & East by the present government was highlighted. Releasing of land occupied by the military was pointed out as an urgent issue that requires attention. The Bishop condoned with the people as hopes on the present regime is gradually diminishing. A presentation was made by Fr. Nandana Manatunga on campaigning for Prison reforms against inhuman degrading treatment. The congestion of the prisoners with death sentence and life imprisonment at Kandy Bogambara - Dumbara prison was explained by Fr. Nandana and said that during his recent visit to the Kandy Bogambara - Dumbara prison ward - D where prisoners serve the death sentence, “we found 74 prisoners detained in one cell ( 70x 30 ) and as many as 55-60 prisoners detained in one single cell and, both prisoners with life imprisonment and death sentence mixed in same prison cell due to lack of space. He further stated that “the undue delay imbedded in the system of adjudication have come to a point where suspects are held indefinitely in prisons and families of suspects have to pay the lawyers for many years selling out all what they have without any recourse. Prolonged litigation creates a culture that encourages many forms of manipulation, which in turn favor the wealthy and the powerful”. With the assurance of continuing the discussion, the meeting was terminated with dinner. The next meeting of the RPHR was fixed for 17-20 July 2017.
39 Priests and Religious joined the Human Rights workshop in Fatima Retreat House, Lewella – Kandy Sri Lanka from the 25th – 28th July 2016 with the theme of “Reconciliation among us and Communities”. The workshop had two phases: the first was for the members who attended the workshop in 2015 organized by Dr. Shirley Wijesinghe and Professor Brewer from Ireland and the second phase was for the members of RPHR. 27th and 28th July was devoted more for a discussion of the Proposals for a New Constitution for Sri Lanka while the last part of the discussion was focused for an evaluation and future direction of the RPHR. Professor Sunil Wijesinghe from a Buddhist background, explained a few theoretical frameworks for reconciliation between various communities in the country. He enlightened the group with certain Buddhist concepts, which are very supportive of reconciliation, particularly the concept of “equality” and the “dignity” of human persons. He, like many other persons in the country, found it hard to explain the non-emergence of movements for reconciliation from among the Buddhist community. The second session commenced with an input from Mr. Lal Wijenayake, the President of the Committee appointed by the parliament to conduct island wide consultation and come up with the proposals for the new constitution, which they did the previous months. Now the New Proposals are submitted to the parliament for their study and eventual deliberations. Two responses for the input were made by Fr. Ananda – a perspective of the Sinhala clergy, and by Fr. Jeyabalan, the perspective of some of the members of the Tamil community. Discussions continued following the presentations by the three speakers. Fr. Ananda lamented the lack of interest among the members of the Sinhala catholic clergy on matters that affect the nation, even a subject as the Constitution for the country, which he said prevented any active participation in the life of the community. Lay people, he said, showed more interest than the clergy surprisingly in matters that are national. Fr. Jeyabalan, commenting on the Proposals made to the new constitution, remarked that it fell far short of the expectation of the Tamil community. Prominence given to Buddhism and the recognition given to interest of the Sinhala majority prevented any form of equality of races, religions and other things as the judiciary. Domination of one community of the others will prevent any form of reconciliation and cooperation among communities, he said. In that respect the new constitution will be a failure. It was agreed that we all need to continue to work to press for equality among all communities as a way forward for the country. Statement by Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith. The attention was drawn to a statement that the Cardinal is supposed to have made in a temple in the presence of a number of leading Buddhist monks. The papers reporting the statement said that the Cardinal, apparently supported the view that Buddhism must be given a pride of place in the country. This comes at a time when a large section of the people, particularly the members of the non-Sinhala community and a good majority of the Catholics are openly speaking of a “Secular State” without any special place for any of the religions though in the past Buddhism received a prominent place in the constitution. Even though it was not recognized as the State Religion, nevertheless the emphasis was to give a special privileged place for Buddhism. A good section of the people of other creeds expected a change and when Cardinal reaffirmed the traditional stance, most of us were stunned. So following a short discussion the group decided to send letter to the Cardinal with copies to the press, expressing our disagreement and insisting on the need for a Secular State. This eventually took the form of a statement that was released to the papers later. Evaluation
The meeting came to a close with the evaluation where the need to have inputs from various resource persons was highlighted. The need to have more members from the other dioceses and congregations, with the possibility of having sessions for a few lay persons is to be explored. The next meeting was fixed for 1 - 4 February 2017 in Madhu (Mannar), Northern Province, Sri Lanka. 29 Priests and Religious joined the Human Rights workshop in Padaththarippu Retreat House Jaffna Sri Lanka from the 01st - 04th February 2016 with the theme of “Reconciliation among us and Communities” with 02 exposures held in two different locations: Mulaithivu and Kilinochchi on the 01st February. Prior to the workshop, there were 02 exposures for the participants of the workshop. Exposures The first group that went to Mulaithivu who had an overview of the situation of the women-headed families of the area, were given a brief description by the coordinator of the various initiatives taken by some of them to alleviate their economic plight. After lunch the group proceeded to Keppapaulu to visit a village that has been occupies by the navy. The entire village of nearly 200 families has been occupied by the navy, depriving the villagers not only access to their lands, coconut cultivation but also to their paddy lands as well as fishing in the sea. On our way back from the village, the participants visited the location of the bunkers where Frs Neru & Mariadas spent their last days, caught between life and death, before they eventually surrendered to the forces on 19th May 2009. A painful reminder of what the people went through in the final stages of the war. Kilinochchi The group led by Fathers Jeyabalan and Nandana met the women-headed families, the victims of war, the expulsion and riots in the south of the country. Most of these ladies that had fled plantation areas in the hill-country during the riots starting from 1980, had settled down in the vicinity of Kilinochchi, only to be chased away successively from the lands they had cultivated. One lady, it was mentioned, has been relocated seven times and with the war, moved up to Mulaithivu from where they were housed in camps. Now back in lands, with no entitlements, managing to eke out a meager existence. Small income generating projects have been introduced to them by the Church but are less optimistic as economic and employment openings are scarce and limited for their husbands and children, which applies equally to the other areas in Jaffna. The Meeting The meeting begun in the afternoon of 02nd commenced with the presentation of the reports by the two groups followed by a lengthy discussion. The discussion included the various initiatives taken by some of the members and the Encounter of the widows held in Kandy facilitated by Ms. Monica, a trained counselor. While 46 members attended the “Encounter”, from both communities, Tamil and Sinhalese, suffered the same trauma of the country. The ladies from the south were the wives and or mothers of the disappeared. The encounter was a step in the direction of “Reconciliation” and supporting each other in their effort to start life anew. New Constitution Day three was completely devoted for a discussion of the proposals for a new constitution to be submitted to the Constitutional Council before the end of March. The most important issues were discussed by the members. Father Jeyabalan and Ruki made a number of useful suggestions while leading the discussion. Father Nandana briefed the members of the submission that was already made by the Human Rights Office to the Constitutional Council in Kandy. The Vicar General of the Jaffna diocese, Rev Fr Jebartnam joined the group, representing the Bishop and briefed the participants of the initiatives taken by the diocese for reconciliation. On the final day, the discussion was centred around presentations of Ruki on the status of the recommendations made by the Human Rights Council and the response, so far, by the Sri Lankan government. This was followed by a presentation by Fr. Jeyabalan on the new developments, an alternative approach to the national question, by some members of the Tamil community. Both these presentations were followed by discussions. Father Nandana, updated the group on various legal interventions on behalf of a number of victims, including Rita a rape victim, whose case was dragged on for 14 years, and the acquittal of some illegally arrested persons. The last item being the ‘future structure and the form of the RPHR It was agreed that the present form be continued with the participation of laypersons in one of the meetings. The days for the next meeting are: 25-28 July 2016 at Fatima Retreat House, Lewella – Kandy
"Law Enforcement and the Improvements of Human Rights" Workshop for the human rights activists10/14/2017 A workshop for 30 Human Rights activists of 05 different organizations were held at Lewella Kandy from the 16th November - 18th November 20015.The workshop was facilitated by Mr. Basil Fernando and Sanjeewa Weerawickrama of the Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong. The focus of the workshop was on "Law enforcement and the improvement of Human Rights" Group discussions were centered around: 1. The Policing system 2. The Prosecution system 3. The Judicial system 4. The Penal system A Torture case was also taken up for study which happened two days before the sessions in Katugastota Kandy road where a civilian was severely tortured, when stopped by the Katugastota police to check the license of the driver. The victim was then still at the hospital with chains and therefore, a letter of request was drafted to the National Human Rights Commission by the group and legal process of the case was in depth studied and steps were taken and taught by the facilitator in activating the newly formed Police and Human Rights Commissions. The Role Of the prison offers in Rehabilitating and Integrating the Prisoners to the Society
A workshop for the prison officers of Pallekele open prison, Bogambara -Dumbara Prison, Wariyapola Prison was held on the 19th November 2015 for 30 prison officers. After an initial in put by Mr Basil Fernando of AHRC a lively discussion continued in protecting prisoners and providing basic basic facilities to the prisoners, adhering the UN document in following the basic , minimal standards in prisons.The prison officials openly spoke of the failure of the government to take into consideration the lack of space provided to the prisoners who are sentenced to long term sentences. The undue delay of judicial system was notee as one of the main causes for the over crowdedness in prisons. It was lso pointed out that there is no systematic method of rehabilitating the prisoners.Shifting of the Bogambara prison to Dumbara without basic facilities and the reason for the sudden shift was also discussed. Mr Sanjeewa further reminded the prison officers of their duties in documenting according the legal requirements. "Crisis of the rule of law in Sri Lanka and how it affects the Judiciary and the Lawyers” A seminar was held with the above theme facilitated by Mr Basil Fernando on the 19th November 2015 at the Kandyn Art Residency for lawyers. With an input by Mr Basil Fernando the discussion continued in restoring the Judiciary and the role of the lawyers.The present court system where conses take priority to trial and the delay in filing indictments by the Attorney General's department due to the lack of staff was noted as a matter that discourages victims to seek justice and the justice system further being allowed to be defective. The faith of the people in court system has completely being forced to loose as criminal cases are being heard for more than 12- 15 years. The lawyers appealed to the AHRC to intervene in the campaign to restore the judiciary. Media Conference A media conference was held at the Kandyn Art Residency on the 19th November by Mr Basil Fernando culminating the discussions that he had with the activists, Lawyers and Prison officers. Mr Basil Fernando pointed out the need for a constitutional reforms to restore the Rule of Law with adequate reforms in the policing system and the Judiciary. He spoke at length about the proposals to do away with the executive presidency citing the 1987 constitution that brought in the powers of the executive president. Fr Nandana too joined the media conference to explain about the Torture case of Niroshan Rupasinghe as the police officers have given a different version of the incident. Forty two Priests and Religious joined the Human Rights workshop in Lewella Retreat House in Kandy Sri Lanka from the 07th to the 10th July 2014, with the theme of “Promoting a Culture and Reconciliation” to study the pastoral letter of the Catholic Bishops Conference Sri Lanka that was released on the 08th December 2013. The participants were from different dioceses and religious congregations in the country. Very. Rev. Fr. Rohan Silva, the provincial of the OMI congregation facilitated the sessions on the pastoral letter. The participants studied the pastoral letter in depth and made their comments; this was followed by group discussions and participants came out with practical suggestions to implement the guidelines given in the Pastoral letter. It was noted that the 2013 pastoral letter has still not being studied by the priests and religious and therefore the faithful in parishes have not even heard. Therefore the participants cautioned that what happened to 1984 pastoral letter would eventually happen to 2013 pastoral letter There are positives and as well as negatives in the PL. The theological and biblical section was explained by Dr. Shirley Wijesinghe. The basis for the Bishops to issues of the country arise from the mandate given by Jesus Christ to be the light of the world and salt of the earth (Mt 5), which is a duty on the part of the Christians to be involved in bringing reconciliation in the post-war area. The PL defends the recommendations of the LLRC comes out openly for a new constitution to save the country indicating that the supreme authority given to the President is harmful. There is a comment on Human Right and a separate section on the open-market economy the dangers attached to it. There is unity in diversity which is essential for the pluralism in Sri Lankan society. There is a need to strategize and to implement the recommendations given in the PL but is mostly for the Government of SL and not even for the people. There was a comment given in the public launching on the 10th December 2013, by the President of the CBCSL which was in line with government policy regarding the international involvement and inquiry. International involvement is clearly mentioned as harmful to sovereignty of the country in the PL. This point has to be bone of contention and point for future discussion and debate. It was also pointed out that in English very title of the PL seems to be discriminatory of the minorities when the term “Nation” was used to include all people living in Sri Lanka, both Sinhalese and Tamil. It is not clear about the terminology of the Sinhala and Tamil versions. The first sessions began with introductions and sharing of experiences. Some of the experiences betray the fact that there is still harassment by the military at all corners of the life of the people – such as raping of the innocent, widows, rehabilitated youth who are forced to be conscripted to the forces No registration given to orphanages and all orphanages began by the Religious in the North and the East are forced (directly or indirectly to close down) – they circumvent this by starting boarding schools. The Militarization is continued to this day – by forcing religious rituals (Buddhist pirith recitals daily) by antagonizing the majority of the minorities. It is asserting one –religion over the other. The armed forces have started farms and controlling the agriculture sector controlling the trading in the market affecting civilians. There is lack of freedom for the civilians in the war-tone areas is another visible element, the civilian population is unable to have meetings and even there is free mobility. The Commemoration of the Dead forbidden for the Tamils on the 18th of May, while the Majority celebrate victory in the South by GoSL by calling the dead-soldiers as heroes. The Southern people do accept this situation and those of the HR activists who speak of the remembrance of the all the dead in the North and South are called traitors who sympathize with the Northern minorities. This fact is mentioned in the LLRC and the PL of the CBCSL. The problem of the fishermen in Negombo, Kalpitiya and in the North and in the deep South was also discussed. There was no certainty in guarantee of the fuel subsidy by Government of SL. The co-operative sector in the Fisheris sector was discouraged by the Government of SL while they begin new groups on their own. Illegal fishing and the dispute with the Indian fishermen is continued to the detriment of the local fishermen. Exposures Four exposures were organized to coincide with the program. The first group visited the newly build Dumbara prison in Pallekelle. The group was able to meet with the Superintendent Mr. Tissa Jayasinghe and discussed the major issues that the prisoners are confronted with.
The second group visited the tea plantation workers in Hantanea Estate in Kandy. The comments made by the participants revealed the depth of denial of rights to tea plantation workers despite their major contribution to the economy of the country. Though promises have been made by the successive governments to address land ownership issue, they all remained elusive. It was also mentioned that the numerous trade unions found in the plantations in addition to rendering lip service to the workers, often obstruct any advocacy work done by outsiders including the churches. The participants also visited the Sinhala school in Hantane and found so many Tamil children being forced indirectly to study in Sinhala stream. The problems with low wages and many of the domestic workers emerge within this population without EPF facilities to these women, It was pointed out that in India that the domestics have an organization and they have proceeded to have a Convention for Domestic workers in ILO. There is no improvement for the housing for this Estate population. The third group visited the new airport site in Maberitenna. The participants were able to visit some of the families who are supposed to be relocated. It was revealed that more than 200 families will be evicted from their houses. Air port is being built by the Air Force soldiers & the RDA at a place where there was a Government farm owned by the NLDB. The people in the area are not interested in the project as their source of income and the whole environment will suffer and the houses are already damaged due to drilling of rocks from the nearby construction site. People do have some hope that if they are evicted that they will be relocated in an alternate land nearby, within the estate. Out of 260 families around 115 families are Catholics; however the numbers are not confirmed. The Parish not ready to be involved in the issue, there was a suggestion to send a letter to the Bishop of Kandy and to be discussed at the Presbyteral gathering and there was also a suggestion to call for an investigative journalist which was turned down for the moment.
The forth exposure group that visited the Kalpitiya explained about the Tourist Industry in the Kalpitiya Islands and the future of the Catholic fishermen. A working committee was appointed to follow up the suggestions and the next meeting was fixed for February 2015 to be held in the north or in the east. Taking into consideration the need for a “listening presence” among the people affected by the war, a group of young ladies were selected by Fr. Jeyabalan and Fr. Nerhu to be trained as ‘BeFrienders’. The Human Rights Office Kandy with the assistance of Sr. Christabel a psychological Counselor and a therapist from Mannar, trained the group in three sessions. The first part of the workshop was held in Kandy at the Lewella Fatima Retreat House from the 03rd to the 08th of November 2012 and the second session from the 08th to 14th February 2013. The final part of the workshop was in Mannar Keeri Gnonothayam from April 19th to 23rd 2013. The award ceremony was held after the completion of the 03 workshops. For nearly three decades Sri Lanka has been scarred by a bitter civil war driven by ethnic tension. Much of the Mannar district was under the control of rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam for many years. The Mannar district was affected the most by the civil war in the North. BeFriender training originated in the 1980s to provide skilled pastoral care and the importance of the BeFriender Ministry is that BeFrienders themselves are on a journey of developing and growing each day. BeFrienders are a “listening presence.” And there is a healing power in telling one’s story. BeFrienders know the value of active listening which is a critical component of training. BeFrienders listen with compassion and they understand the importance of hearing another’s story from another perspective. Respect and empathy allow them to listen and respond without judgment. BeFrienders are caring and not curing. BeFriender Training begin with Physical exercises, Relaxation and Meditation. Life giving sources of the workshop were Input sessions, group Sharing, group activities and art therapy. One hour of games in the afternoon was not only for relaxation and socialization but also a means of value education and personality formation. At the final part of the workshop co-counseling and counseling practicum were facilitated with a group of children. BeFrienders were also trained in facilitating group counseling. Towards the end of the workshop with the process of their inner healing Befrienders showed signs of steady personality improvements. The session on “Saying Good Bye to their unfinished business” brought a great relief to the many losses of their life. A sense of relief and a general tone of joy prevailed as they achieved the much desired closure at the end of the award ceremony on the last day of the workshop. The awarding of the certificates was a landmark in the lives of the BeFrienders certifying that they are qualified to be in the BeFriender service in society. The Director of the Human Rights Office Fr. Nandana Manatunga, Fr. Jeyabaln and Fr. Nerhu and the superior of the Oblate House, parents of the awardees were present for the celebration that was organized by Befrienders. The 09th Justice and Peace Workers (JPW) network meeting was held in Fatima Retreat house in Lewella, Kandy Sri Lanka from 03rd – 09th September 2013 organized by the ACPP in Hong Kong in collaboration with the Human Rights office in Kandy Sri Lanka. It included an exposure program in the war affected and highly militarized Northern Province. The meeting was attended by 32 participants from 16 countries in Asia & Pacific. The theme for the meeting was : “Church and Human Rights: Building Solidarity with the “Joys and Hopes, the Grief and Anguish” of Asian Peoples”. With the constant reminder of Pope Francis, of the need for social justice, we were convinced that the JPW network meeting could help to strengthen the participants and our network for Justice and Peace at this time of both uncertainty and optimism in the Church. The meeting gave an opportunity for workers of Justice and Peace in the Asia-Pacific region to come together, discuss, share, reflect and come up with a plan for more collaboration and solidarity at the regional level to work and promote Justice and Peace. The meeting was ceremonially inaugurated by Bishop Vianney Fernando, the Bishop of Kandy and the Chairman of the Commission for Justice, Peace & Human Development of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Sri Lanka. In his inaugural address, the Bishop quoting the text of Exodus, recalled that God head the cries of the people and appointed Moses to deliver the people. The Bishop also said that in the face of discrimination we ought to question the oppressive structures. Mr. Rukshan Fernando made an introduction to the SriLankan Human Rights situation, which was further elaborated by a visual presentation made by the Human Rights office. Participants met with families of those who had disappeared in Mannar, families of political prisoners in Vavuniya, the displaced community in Mullikulam and also visited war affected people in Mullativu, where the bloodiest last phase of the war took place. Before these interactions, the Bishop of Mannar, Rayappu Joseph addressed the participants and explained the plight of the people more than four years after the end of the war. Rev. Fr. Jeyabalan Croos, a leading human rights defender from the Northern province elaborated the sufferings of the people due to militarization and briefed the participants about the significance of the exposure in the light of the recent visit of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Back in Kandy, participants had a sharing with human rights defenders around Kandy, who are very involved in supporting victims of violations and their families. The participants celebrated Eucharist with the locals at the Padiwatte church, followed by a cultural programme and community meal. Rev. Fr. Reid Shelton Fernando gave inputs on the Vatican II and the Social Teachings of the Catholic Church and participants from 16 countries made presentation on issues that they grapple with as Justice & Peace workers back in their own countries. After intense discussions, the JPW network the participants agreed to focus on two issues of Militarization & Migration-Human Trafficking as regional priorities. At the same time, participants also agreed to extend solidarity and support to each other in their struggles.
Thirty-two priests and Religious joined the Human Rights workshop in Lewella Retreat House in Kandy Sri Lanka from the 08th to the 11th July 2013, to reflect on the present day realities, human rights violations in particular from a Christian perspective. The participants were from different dioceses and religious congregations in the country. Bishop Vianney Fernando, the Bishop of Kandy also graced the occasion and shared with the group his own concerns in the matter of the Rule of Law in the country. He also took the opportunity to stress on the need to have more and more persons committed to upholding the Rule of Law and the dignity of all persons without any distinction. The participants expressed their appreciated of the stand taken by the Bishops on the matter of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
The second group visited the tea plantation workers in Mooloya Estate in Hewaheta. The comments made by the participants, revealed the depth of denial of rights to tea plantation workers despite their major contribution to the economy of the country. Though promises have been made by the successive governments to address land, housing, education and health rights, they all remained elusive. It was suggested that the Church commits itself for advocacy work given the fact that tea plantations workers are found in five dioceses in the country. It was also mentioned that the numerous trade unions found in the plantations in addition to rendering lip service to the workers, often obstruct any advocacy work done by outsiders including the churches. In Wattegama Church, the third group met a group of the relatives and parents of the disappeared. They all had horrific stories to narrate. Brief narration of the dreadful knock on the doors, forceful entry, grabbing of the victims followed by abductions while the helpless family members left behind for unending tears and an elusive hope, appeared to have evoked similar sentiments among our own participants from the north and the east. What however surprised everyone was the vigor with which the lives of these relatives are characterized. They all articulated nicely the courage with which they are facing life now following the sessions of healing and counseling. Besides, the small self-help projects initiated with the intervention of Fr. Nandana and his team has further buttressed that sense of confidence and the need to go on living for themselves and their family members. They were then explained the situation prevailing in the north and east which inhibits any form of sharing, healing or even conducting memorial services to the dead. A need to work together to alleviate each other’s suffering and struggling together for justice appeared to be a feeling common to all.
The last sessions were devoted to discussions on what we all could do both as individuals and a group. The workshop ended with the resolution for a meaningful prayer to be adopted both to seek divine intervention to safeguard the dignity of all persons and to enlighten the people of the pressing justice issues. Dr. Shirley Fernando, Dr. Philip Setunga & Fr. Nandana Manatunga facilitated the workshop while Fr. Reid Shelton Fernando, Fr. Jeyabalan Croos, Fr. Ananda Fernando, Fr. Nihal Abeysinghe & Sr. Vijaya Joseph made presentations on issues that were discussed during the plenary.
The workshop came to an end with the dates for the next meeting being fixed for 03rd to 06th February 2014 in Madhu. |
|