They only know war

By Laila Nasry

It looked the typical scrawl of a 10-year-old. But a closer inspection strikes you cold. The red skeleton-like figures are bloodied corpses. The dotted alien - looking men in green are the cold- blooded killers. In the background the sun is rising. The title of the drawing is simply "Ape gamata koti avith" (the Tigers have come to our village).

Nadeeka Dulanjali Jayatissa who replayed every detail of that night of terror in her village in her picture is one of the many little children for whom the ethnic conflict has claimed all that is normal, peaceful and secure in their lives. 

For them normalcy means the sound of mortars in the distance and security comes with being half a mile away from the border village. Peace is an unspoken word, something way beyond reality... something they dare not dream about. Here are kids, traumatised, brutalised and severely hurt. Not only do they need a listening ear but also action that would help them to cope and heal. Keshini Soysa has tried to fill that need. 

A probationary lecturer attached to the Department of Psychology of the University of Peradeniya, Keshini is presently doing her Ph.D at Clark University in the U.S. Keshini's area of study involves looking into the impact of the war on children, particularly those between 8-15 years. Her study explores the children's response to war and how they cope. She also looks at the cultural context, the community's understanding of the children's reaction and how they respond to it. 

Her preliminary visit in October 1999 to Ampara laid the foundation for her future visits to the East. "From the village head to the kade mudalali they were all very cooperative." When Keshini met the children she told them about her work and their response was overwhelming. In December she made her way back to the East.

She spoke to both mothers and children separately, hearing various appalling incidents grave and small. She let them talk, tell her things. She helped every mother with Rs. 200 and the children were provided clothing.

However small sessions of "getting it off their chests" in no way would heal them completely. "You can't give therapy to the entire village. You have to broadbase the work to achieve desired results," a pensive Keshini says. Thus she organised a playgroup for the kids in the village. She provided them with paper, scissors and paints to draw, paint and have fun. She also organised games of cricket which the children thoroughly enjoyed. "Some tried to cut school to attend my sessions but I soon put a stop to that."

It's not many who have looked into the aspect of the impact of chronic war. Says Keshini, "There is no point identifying needs that cannot be addressed". A way of reducing the impact of war is by teaching those affected how to be resilient even in the midst of adversity. 

In the future she also plans to look at social and community structures and compare the children in countries like Bosnia, Croatia and Palestine to those from our North and East.

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