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Sri Lanka Journal |
The Clown's DiarySunday 27 MarchI arrived at Trincomalee at 8.00 a.m. and hired a tuk-tuk for R100 (I was to tired to argue the price down to the R50 I knew it should cost) and headed straight off to St. Nicholas church, arriving just in time for the Easter service. Althrough my personal religious beliefe are just that, (i.e. personal), Reverend David had invited me to the service and I felt that accepting his kind offer was not only diplomatic but also interesting (how many people can say they have experienced a Sri Lankan, Anglican, Easter service?) The service was very sincere, and the chanting that accompanied the Holy Comunion, got louder and louder, as the voices of those who taken the sacrament joined the voices of the children who had started the chant - it was both beautiful and moving. After the Comunion service, Reverend David told the congregation who I was and what my mission in Sri Lanka was. Out of respect and common courtesy to me he repeated this in English as well as in Tamil. I like and respect Reverend David, but felt a little uncomfortable when he finished the introduction by telling everyone that, although I was not a Christian, he thanked God for my dedication to children, and hoped that one day I would find Christ in my heart. The games were held in the church garden. There was no reference to any specific religion and children from the surounding comunities of all religions had been given advance invitations to attend. (A requirement that both I and CWI strongly enforce in our work and which Reverend David also believes in). Around 60 children and 30 adults attended the show and took part in the games. Although the session took place in a church garden, I saw both children and adults with Hindi markings and dress, but no one with Muslim head dress. I was later told by Reverend David that, although he had sent out an invitation to all the people in the area, the Full Moon services of other religions meant that many were spending the day catching up on sleep (something which, after 30 hours of play, admin, travelling and luggage security I could not only understand, but also envy!) Reverend David expressed a wish to be included in our future programme and said, without any promping from myself, that if he was included he would endeavour to secure the use of the grass land next to, but not under the jurisdiction of, the church. He felt that this would make it easier for non-Christian people to attend. He filled me in on the circumstances surrounding a hand grenade incident that had taken place in Trincomalee while I was in Batticaloa. Acording to Reverend David, one group of monks (he did not say which group or which religion, again, something that I both liked and respected about him) objected to the service being held in another temple, and set off a handgrenade in the market place adjoining in order to distrupt the service. The market was long since over for the day, and no one was hurt. It seems the hand grenade was not intended to hurt, merely to distrupt. I say "merely", but the truth of the matter is that it could have gone badly wrong, causing unintentional injury to people of all ages. It could, and probably did, have an adverse affect on both children and parents, already traumatised by over 20 years of civil warfare. It made me (and hopefully other NGO personnell) reassess the importance of our mission in Trincomalee. It was not the sort of action one expects from people of a religious nature, and, in my professional opinion, as an ex-soldier and aid worker with experience in such places as Iraq, it was not only irresponsible, but also an extremely stupid act by a bunch of xenophobic idiots, who put their own religious egos before the rights and beliefs of their own and other religions. After my show for and meeting with Reverend David I headed for St. Mary's hotel, the same one that I stayed in WITHOUT being ripped off last time. It's the weekend. This means that there is no school - therefore I can get loads of shows in. However, after more than 30 hours without sleep, the heat of the place and the mental exercise of keeping it together enough to not only look after our equipment during the overnight train travel, but also ensuring the safety and enjoyment of the children under my care meant that, in all honestly, I was not in a fit state to instigate play sesions in IDP camps that may or may not have child-friendly areas. I therefore took the decision to have the rest of the day off, sleeping and catching up on admin work, i.e. diary for the web site, etc. I feel bad about this as time is so short on this Mini-Tour, but I also feel that it was the right and proper decision to make, as a burnt-out worker is of no use to anyone, including CHILDREN'S WORLD INTERNATIONAL and the children/communities that we hope to reach. 
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CWI Tsunami Tour