FeaturesThe Island 11Saturday 18th December, 2010

BY GAMINI KEERAWELLASenior Professor of History,University of Peradeniya

Tracing the way in which Sri Lankagrappled with the 2004 tsunami andthe threat posed by the LTTE is useful

to understand the historically conditionedelements of societal resilience in a non-west-ern society, which possesses a weak statealong with strong socio-cultural traditions.The experiences relating to the two episodeshave underscored the importance of the roleof the state as well as the state–civil societyrelationship. The political will played a cru-cial role in meeting the challenge by mobi-lizing the strengths of societal resilience.Furthermore, it highlighted the need fororganic articulation between the agents inboth the civil and political domains. Thecivil domain is an ensemble of social organ-isms commonly identified as ‘non-state’ andthe political domain is the totality of thepublic domain directly or indirectly associ-ated with the state. In order to transformthe political will into the national will, anorganic articulation between the civil andpolitical domains is essential, and thisforges a community of interest vis-a-vis thethreat.

When the totality of the process is con-sidered, the societal resilience encompassedthree main components: (1) preparedness,(2) meeting the challenge, (3) mitigation ofeffects. In all the three components, the rolethat the state can play is crucial. However,

the sine qua non for this role is the organiclink between the political and civildomains.

The swift detection of threat and imme-diate communication of it to the relevantauthority and the effective relaying of it tothe general public constituted a key ele-ment in community involvement in meet-ing the challenge. However, the societalelement of preparedness requires differ-ent sets of modus operandi in relation tonatural and man-made disasters. In thecase of the Elam War, it was a protracted‘disaster’ situation. The constant vigi-lance against a possible threat at anytime and in any place became a part of

life, with different degree of intensitydepending on the location. The setting up ofearly-warning mechanisms and the commu-nication of threat to relevant sectionsremained a part of preparedness.Community involvement remains a crucialfactor in this regard and during the periodof Eelam War IV, many attempts of theLTTE to create disasters in Colombo andother areas were foiled due to public alert-ness and community surveillance. Theworking of the early-warning system andthe preparedness in relation to natural dis-asters differ somewhat. In the case of natu-ral disasters because the frequency of natu-ral disasters cannot be predicted and fur-ther the constant state of emergency andalertness on the part of the general public isnot practicable. In relation to cyclones,floods and tsunamis early warming signalscould be transmitted only a few days beforethem or few hours and not ahead of weeksand months. In meeting the challenge, thesocial determination to face the challengeand not to withdraw is a key aspect of socie-tal resilience. The modus operandi in facingthe challenge is also different in relation toman-made and natural disasters. Meetingthe LTTE challenge became more complexbecause of its ethno-political context. Itbecame necessary to establish the fact that itwas not a war against the Tamils in SriLanka while at the same time highlightingthe determination not to yield to the mili-tary pressure of the LTTE. The LTTE fail-ure to realize the limitations of the use ter-rorism as a political tool and also to utilizethe openings given to them to come to ademocratic political plane helped the gov-ernment to make this distinction in convinc-

ing manner.Some socio-cultural characteristics

ingrained in the behavior in Sri Lankansociety should be brought into focus in ana-lyzing societal resilience in relations to thethree main components discussed above.The extended family and community net-works on the one hand and the readiness toextend help to others in a situation of crisison the other should be noted in this context.Extended family networks and communityself-help contribute to absorb shocks bothpsychologically and materially. It was clear-ly illustrated in the South in the aftermathof the tsunami. When the Muslims (over45,000) were chased out from their ancestral

villages (Karisal, Tarapuram,Erukulampiddy) in Mannar District in theNorth by the LTTE giving only a 24 hourultimatum, many of them were initiallyaccommodated by relatives, friends and fel-low Muslims mainly in Kalpitiya,Anuradhapura and other parts of theisland. Furthermore, the remittance of theTamil diaspora in the West to their relativesin Sri Lanka ensured their existence in themidst of economic devastation in the war-torn North and East. It contributed to alarger extent to maintain a more or less sta-ble GDP growth rate, except in 2001, in thecountry. The second characteristicingrained in the cultural behavior is thereadiness to forget the past sufferings veryeasily and to look to the future. The shortcollective memory of the Sri Lankan peopleis always referred to in a negative sense. Asfar as societal resilience in the face of disas-ters is concerned it has some positiveaspects too. The third feature is the beliefthat Sri Lanka cannot be subjugated for longand it would bounce back once again. Thisbelief is especially prevalent among themajority Sinhala people.

Accordingly, in understanding socie-tal resilience in Sri Lanka, apart from politi-cal and societal factors, some deep-rootedperceptions and beliefs that make peopleunshattered in the face of natural and man-made disasters need to be brought to thefore. There is a perception that Sri Lanka isdestined to face misfortunes/disasters fromtime to time but that the country will beable to come out of such predicaments ulti-mately. The belief that the country and itsrulers, especially the Sinhala people, descen-dents of King Vijaya, are destined to face

misfortunes which have been attributed tothe ‘curse made by demon princes Kuveni’is relevant in this context. The belief fur-ther asserts that Sri Lanka and Sinhala peo-ple can not be subdued due to the fact thatthe God Uppalavanna had been mandated togive protection to the Island and the Sinhalapeople by the King of Gods (Sakka).

According to the Mahawamsa (GreatChronicle) the Uppalavanna had beenentrusted with guardianship of Lanka bySakka who had been instructed by theBuddha, shortly before his parinibbana.“Uppalavanna ensured this protection bythe binding of the sacred thread and thesprinkling of holy water on Vijaya and hisband. Kuveni is the Yakka (demon) princesswho lured prince Vijaya, the mythicalfounder of the Sinhala race, into marriageupon his arrival and promised him to obtain

a kingdom. She helped Vijaya to kill all theYakkha who were assembled in their capitalfor a wedding feast. Kuveni bore him a sonand a daughter. Later, on the insistence ofhis Ministers, Vijaya cast out Kuveni andher two children in order to marry a royalprincess from Madurapura, South India.Being disheartened by the broken promise,Kuveni cursed Vijaya and used her magicalweapon to kill him. According to the leg-end, the Kuveni’s curse haunted Vijaya’sdescendents for generations. According tothe story of Kohomba Kankariya (ritualhealing), Vijaya’s successor, KingPanduvasadeva also became ill because ofKuveni’s revenge. It is on the advice of thegod that the ritual healing of KohombaKankariya was performed to cure the king,dispelling the curse. Kuveni Asna (Messageof Kuveni), written during theDambadeniya period after the KalingaMagha’s invasion in 1215 gives a vivid pic-ture of Kuveni’s lamentation. For centuriesKohomba Kankariya was the most impor-tant ritual in Kandyan villages. These his-torical myths and rituals had deep culturalsignificance in the face of calamities andlinger in the contemporary social psychethrough songs and such other expressions.It may have generated a feeling of confi-dence that the country cannot be subjugatedand that it will soon be rejuvenated as des-tined.

However, societal resilience cannot beunderstood only in socio-cultural terms. Inthe present context, technological backingand institutional network play a crucial rolein ensuring societal resilience. The truesocial potential could be mobilized onlythrough institutional structures, both for-

mal and informal. Technology at all levelsplays a crucial role in enhancing societalresilience. From early detection of threatsand preparing the people for the impendingthreat, and for a wider cross-section of peo-ple to meet the threat, the role that asadvanced and people-friendly communica-tion technology can play is crucial.Accordingly, societal resilience in any his-torical situation could be understood in rela-tion to three elements: socio-cultural milieu(social ecology), technological backing andinstitutional arrangement.

The variations of vitality of societalresilience are conditional to the activationand effective use of its main elements in agiven situation. In other words, societalresilience can be significantly enhanced byeffective use of technological advancesbacked by efficient use of institutional andsocial networks. Rohan Samarajiva, whostudied the lessons of the 2004 tsunami formobilizing communication technologies foreffective disaster warning states “One clearlesson is that effective disaster warningrequires greater access to ITCs in general asa necessary condition. In the absence ofproper institutional structures, it is unlikelythat a significant number of lives could havebeen saved; however, all the institutionalstructures in the world cannot help unlessthe basic instruments exist for linking thephysical world in which hazards occur andthe symbolic worlds where action origi-nates.” Societal resilience can be enhancedby proper utilization of the three factors.The role of social cultural factors could beunderstood in the social ecology encompass-ing the dynamics of human-‘environment’interaction which included the historical,social, cultural and institutional setup inwhich people live.

When we take a broader historical per-spective, a key factor in societal resilience isthe ability of a society to adapt to changedenvironments. This is particularly impor-tant in gaining long-term resilience in theface of socially constructed man-made dis-asters such as civil wars and rebellions. Akey aspect of adaptability is accommoda-tion. Sri Lanka as a small island located cen-trally at the southern tip of South Asia link-ing practically the eastern and westernplanks in the Indian Ocean had beenexposed to many social, cultural and politi-cal forces and learnt by experience how toensure existence and maintain identitywhile accommodating diverse forces.Buddhism, the faith of the majority, whichprofessed tolerance, granted a sufficientflexibility to accommodate diversity. In thepost-colonial context, the historically condi-tioned societal resilience is not reflected inthe post-independent state. In order toachieve resilience in this arena it is impera-tive to accommodate diversity in the politi-cal domain by restructuring the state.

CONCLUDED The writer can be contacted by keer-

awellag@yahoo.com

Continued from yesterday

Societal Resilience: - Part ThreePicture depicting KingVijaya and Kuveni

Social Ecology and Societal Resilience