| by Gajalakshmi Paramasivam
( April 29, 2013, Melbourne, Srii Lanka Guardian) At the monthly meeting of the Sri Lanka Reconciliation Forum Sydney, Dr. Stephen Moore of Macquarie University presented the preliminary report towards identifying key areas of the project ‘Post Conflict Reconciliation among the Sri Lankan Diaspora in New South Wales.’ This project is funded by the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship.
The findings by Dr. Moore were discussed and many participants made their own contributions towards taking the project to the next stage. This group is made up of Australians of Sinhalese as well as Tamil ethnic origins. There were some who felt that not enough was being done by the Diaspora to help the needy in Sri Lanka. Some others had difficulty identifying with the needs of the ‘other’ side.
The meetings help us regulate our thoughts as per our consolidated values and also to remind ourselves of our diversity which often is taken as ‘differences’. To my mind, these factors that enhance our diversity should not come into the process of Reconciliation but need to be respected as the other side’s ‘private’ area. The value of this ‘privacy’ was evident in the home-made machinery used by the Tamil Tigers out of very limited resources. This is a major discovery about ourselves due to the war related isolation. We need to value this and include the essence of it in our structures that would support the next generation. Each generation has the need and responsibility to highlight its contribution to support the next generation.
One of the points highlighted by me in this regard was that there was a need amongst the Tamil Diaspora to preserve the culture that has supported us to carry our diversity with dignity. It is the force we use to balance the power of majority – so that we would feel equal. In global management – this is recognized as the power of Diversity. This helps us invest in traditional values and development of hierarchical structures within the community but to do so beyond the common areas.. I pointed out also that the need of the Australian Tamil Diaspora would not look identical to the need of Tamils resident in Sri Lanka. Hence when one’s need is satisfied the other’s need may not be satisfied. But when one’s need is satisfied, it would strengthen each other’s self confidence.
I feel strongly that if the Diaspora recognized this difference it would be far more valuable to global investors. Likewise if the Sri Lankan Government recognized this value in the Diaspora and take it as a challenge for its own development – there would be healthy competition instead of premature reactions to each other. Sri Lanka needs the Diversity to feel wholesome. Without this power of Diversity – majority power would continue to separate Sri Lanka from global investors in common values.
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