LankaLife

Peace Prize for Microcredit

Microcredit was once a very novel concept but a little experiment in the 1970s changed the way the world looks at tiny loans and a small bit of savings. Most people will agree that one man, economist Muhammad Yunus, and his experiment, the Grameen Bank, are largely responsible for developing microcredit to the point where it is today.

This month, Yunus and Grameen won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize. Microcredit and peace? The Nobel Committee said that "lasting peace cannot be achieved unless large population groups find ways in which to break out of poverty. Microcredit is one such means."

Started in 1976 in Bangladesh with $27, Grameen now helps more than six million poor families receive loans and insurance, save and conduct other banking services. The theory is that the poor are, in fact, responsible borrowers and that accessing banking services for starting or growing their livelihood businesses can contribute to an increase in the quality of their lives. It is not meant as a panacea but as a critical step to helping millions of poor people to help themselves, their families and their communities. It has become a model for microcredit organizations around the world, allowing millions more poor people to access financial services that would otherwise be beyond their grasp.

Most experts agree that access to financial services plays a role in alleviating poverty, but they also stress that microcredit must be seen in the larger context of issues that lead to, or contribute to, poverty. In post-tsunami Sri Lanka, millions of dollars have been allocated for a variety of microcredit schemes but there is concern that credit alone is being overemphasized and sometimes not enough attention is being paid to other critical areas for business success: repayment terms, marketing and design, infrastructure, skills training, and supportive policies. There are cases of borrowers using their credit for household spending rather than for restarting or expanding their livelihoods. Yet I know of situations where a tiny loan could help break the cycle of "borrowing" from dominant suppliers, retailers or middlemen and I've seen cases where small amounts of credit - just $50 or $100 - can start a ball rolling in the right direction for someone with the experience, drive or support to make their lives better.

Microcredit is not a magic bullet for poverty alleviation, but it's one of the critical first steps. Some well-founded criticisms of microcredit and some of the lacklustre outcomes in Sri Lanka speak more to the application of microcredit rather than to the value of the tool itself. Mr. Yunus deserves to be acknowledged for its development, and for bringing innovative ideas to the development field. His example has and will continue to inspire others to devote their time and energy to similar endeavours.

On a related note, Mr. Yunus will be in Canada next month to speak at the opening ceremony of the Global Microcredit Summit in Halifax, Nova Scotia (November 12-15). The fact that more than 2000 delegates from over 100 countries are expected to attend seems to be a testament to the success of the microcredit movement Mr. Yunus started. It sounds like a great line-up - too bad we won't be back in Canada to attend it.

Guest author: Chris McIntyre

Smiles in Kalutura

I've been taking a lot of pictures of Sri Lankan children lately. Their smiles, their waves, and their gazes at the unusual sight of a white-skinned lady reflect their innocence and sense of wonder, free of adult worries.

I'm sure my choice of subject matter is rising in direct relation to the rise in violence in the country. It's been called a "low-scale war", low-intensity and high-intensity fighting, and a "slide back to full-scale civil war". Whatever you call it, it's hell - a place children should never find themselves in.

This photo is taken at a temple pre-school next door to one of our projects in Kalutura district, about one hour south of Colombo. It's hard to believe that only about 300 kilometres away, kids in the North and East are trapped in make-shift camps, fleeing with their parents from violence in their towns. Worse yet, they're often caught in the wrong place at the wrong time as they live in the midst of the conflict.

The Kalutura project, a partnership with Christian Children's Fund of Canada, provides employment for many local women and some of their children are cared for at the temple. Moms can visit their children throughout the day, share meals, and show a familiar face. The children seem to be in a safe place and as you can see from their smiles, it shows.

Every child should be able to smile with the same sense of security.

Read more about children caught in the conflict at Unicef.

Now You've Done It...You've Hurt My Feelings

"Media freedom…is an important instrument for the protection of democracy, and an insurance against a possible drift towards an authoritarian rule.”

That’s a quote from Sri Lankan President, Mahinda Rajapakse, during a recent keynote speech to journalists from around the world at a World Press Freedom Day 2006 event and conference in Colombo.

That’s the same president that just banned The Da Vinci Code from theatres and television.

At that same conference, he also said

“(The media) can be turned in the direction of serving the vested interests of particular groups, instead of serving the broader interests of the people at large. .. I do not believe that censorship is the answer to it, except perhaps in the circumstances of a threat to national security as required by a democracy.”

Media freedom…freedom of expression – it’s based on the same idea. Censorship, in this case, was not due to a national security threat, but was apparently based mainly on the complaints of the Catholic Bishops Conference, made up of 12 Sri Lankan Bishops.  The Bishops said they were concerned that “youth Catholics whose faith was not deep enough, who may not be able to distinguish fact from fiction, could be affected adversely by the movie”.  Another Catholic leader said that “if we allow this kind of precedent, even other religions such as Buddhism may face such onslaughts”.

The JHU – seen as a Buddhist party – said “if the movie had been screened in Sri Lanka, it would have hurt the feelings of some people.”

Let’s skim over the fact that no one involved in proposing the ban has actually seen the movie, or likely read the novel. The Sri Lankan population consists of between 7-9% Christians.  There have been no media reports of protests against the movie.  In fact, one newspaper story said the main theatres in Colombo had no plans to show the movie anyway as it was too expensive.  The book has always been in stores here since it was released several years ago and just today I saw several  bootleg DVDs of the film prominently displayed in storefront windows. 

Meanwhile, the movie is being shown around the world, including countries that are predominantly Christian. Even Italy hasn’t taken drastic censorship measures.

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), the Free Media Movement, and other organizations and individuals (yes, even Christians) are expressing their shock at this heavy-handed approach. The AHRC says that the President doesn’t have the power under the Constitution to ban the film.

In a country where ethnic divisions are growing, supporting religious and creative freedom and tolerance might have been a better approach to the situation. The movie could have been used to promote healthy family and community discussions about Christianity – a religion where the truly faithful shouldn’t be swayed by a piece of fiction.

Let people make up their own minds.

Guest author: Chris McIntyre

Hidden Danger

Take a look at the landmine map of Sri Lanka, and the north is a sea of red. The east doesn't fare much better. A victim of the decades-long conflict between the government and the LTTE, these areas are high danger zones for people and obviously unsafe for housing and agriculture.

This week Sri Lanka recognized its first International Mine Action day.

Efforts to de-mine parts of the country over the last few years have included the efforts of non-government agencies, and millions spent on a demining school, de-mining "squadrons", canines for mines, mine awareness, and many other initiatives.

Reuters AlertNet says says that the UNDP has records of 1,269 civilian mine and UXO (unexploded ordnance) casualties from 1995 to July 2005 (188 killed and 1,081 injured). The actual number is likely much higher.

"Government officials estimate both sides laid 1.5 million mines. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) puts the figure at 1 million. Around 75,180 had been cleared by the start of 2006."

Today, the UN says that mine-related casualties have dropped 75% since the cease fire agreement was signed in 2002. Despite the ceasefire, the government is not yet party to the Mine Ban Treaty (the Ottawa Treaty), because of what it says is ongoing conflict within the country.

RIM Launches Blackberry in Sri Lanka

It feels like home. RIM recently launched its Blackberry product here in Sri Lanka and the billboards are going up in the capital, Colombo. RIM is made in my own backyard, in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, so seeing thumb-weary Blackberry users around town will be a little piece of home. The tech savvy in Colombo in particular, as well as plenty of people across Sri Lanka, are in love with SMS, so converting people to Blackberries shouldn't be a stretch. A lot of Sri Lankans already chat on their cellphones in workshops, in meetings, in hospitals and during meals, so thumbing the Blackberry will at least keep things quiet. But what is left to be seen is if the pricing on the device and service will find a market niche in this developing country.

National Treasures?

I'm a bit of a museum freak but it took me four months to get around to visiting Sri Lanka's National Museum in Colombo, partly because I'm trying not to do the typical tourists things and heading straight for the museum would certainly fall into that category.

The National Museum is a grand looking colonial-era building that's so white it hurts your eyes to look at it on a typically Sri Lankan sunny day. Founded in 1877, it's the country's first public museum. It resides in the Cinnamon Gardens area of the city, surrounded by a National History Museum and the National Art Gallery.

The first floor of the museum is impressive: stunning bronze and stone sculptures and artifacts from the country's various ancient cities; primitive medical tools and beautiful functional items; well-preserved palmleaf manuscripts, and a great representation of Sri Lankan masks fill most of the floor. A skimpy distribution of floor fans offer some relief from the heat, but unfortunately they don't exactly encourage you to linger too long to read about the collections.

A verandah on the first floor is dotted with ancient stonework. It then leads to a huge hall of equally neglected stonework. Most of it certainly comes from the country's ancient cities and temples but their treatment doesn't reflect their former glory. Each piece of stonework is permanently glued to a wooden stand and almost every stand seemed to have a fresh coat of blue-grey paint that spilled over onto the artifact. An upper floor didn't have lighting and the showcases looked like they hadn't changed since the 1950's.

After the beautiful displays on the first floor, both of these areas were depressing sights that illustrated the lack of funding and preservation standards in developing countries. (Hell, even developed countries don't adequately fund their own museums). Perhaps encouraging more tourist visits (most of the museum's visitors are from school programs) would help increase revenues to support some museum improvements. Sri Lanka has a rich cultural heritage and it should be put on display with equal grandeur.

Green Christmas

Real turkey and a dollop of dressing was enough to make it feel like Christmas here in Sri Lanka today. Despite the hot, hot, hot temperature and the quietness without family around, the Christmas dinner, fireworks, lights on the streets, being together, and a few holiday songs on the laptop (Green Christmas, Christmas in the Carribean, Blue Christmas, Grown-up Christmas List, and of course, I'll Be Home for Christmas) made it pleasant. Santa even came to our table at the restaurant and gave a hearty ho, ho, ho as he gave me a little chocolate treat. Apparently, Santa now makes table-to-table visits.

For lunch, we found ourselves enjoying a beer and fresh lime dacquiri on the Galle Face Hotel verandah. The ocean was sparkling and the palm trees were postcard-perfect. It was the picture of a green Christmas and we just kept thinking how strange is was sitting there on Christmas day. We're torn between enjoying the weather here and wishing we could feel snow beneath our feet, just for the holidays. But hey, you can't feel the sand between your toes with boots on!

Happy Holidays!