Today Jean Lambert, London’s Green MEP, attended an interfaith vigil in Walthamstow to commemorate the horrific terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka last month [1]. The event was held by the Mayor of Waltham Forest, Councillor Sally Littlejohn.

Jean, who is Chair of the European Parliament’s South Asia Delegation and has visited Sri Lanka numerous times over the years, expressed her condolences to the families and friends of those killed and injured in the attacks. 

She also expressed her condolences to the people of Sri Lanka, who are still on the path to reconciliation following the brutal conflict that country has known.

It is time for the Sri Lankan Government to lead on reconciliation and peace, to bring its diverse communities together.

Notes:

[1] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-48010697

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Sri Lanka has experienced its heaviest rains since 2003, causing widespread flooding and devastating mudslides [1].

Jean Lambert, London’s Green MEP and chair of the European Parliament’s South Asia delegation, says:

“On behalf of the European Parliament Delegation for relations with the countries of South Asia, I express our most heartfelt sympathies and condolences to the people of Sri Lanka for the terrible loss of lives and extensive damage to property caused by flooding and mudslides triggered by the monsoon rains last weekend.

It is with deep sadness that we learn that the monsoonal floods and landslides, the worst in the last 14 years, have left at least 194 people dead and affected more than half a million. We recognise the efforts of the Government and the NGOs that are providing first aid, distributing food, water and supplies, as well as rescuing those still stranded. While the water levels are slowly receding, water-borne diseases represent a threat to the displaced population, in particular to children – about one in tenth of those displaced are aged below five.

This is a humanitarian emergency that requires an international coordinated relief effort. I invite the European Union and its Member States to respond to the Sri Lankan Government’s appeal and support it in the relief operations. As an immediate response, the European Commission has mobilised an envelope of €300 000 to respond to the most urgent needs. Disaster preparedness programmes can play a key role in reducing casualties and destruction, and I would therefore encourage the EU and Sri Lanka to strengthen their cooperation to this end.”

[1] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/28/floods-and-landslides-and-in-sri-lanka-kill-at-least-150-people

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“I hope that this move indicates a change of attitude towards the media in Sri Lanka and signals a new chapter for press freedom, which is such a vital pillar of democracy.”

Background:

1] In 2008, Tamil journalist Jayaprakash Tissainayagam became the first journalist arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act following the publication of articles in which he criticized the government’s treatment of Sri Lankan Tamil civilians affected by the war.

In August last year, a court decided his articles broke the law because they were designed to create agitation between the Tamil minority and Sinhala majority and Jayaprakash received a 20-year jail term on charges of “supporting” terrorism.

Jeyaprakash appealed the ruling, and was granted bail in January this year pending the outcome of his appeal.

2] Jean Lambert, the Green Party MEP for London, is the Chair of the South Asian delegation in the European Parliament.

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Jean Lambert, Green Party MEP for London, joined members of the Tamil community in London this weekend to discuss the conflict in Sri Lanka.

About 100 people attended a public meeting with the Thames Tamil Association in Greenwich on Saturday [February 7], among them those with relatives in the area currently suffering the terrible effects of the conflict. Jean heard from Tamils living in London of their concerns for loved ones in Sri Lanka. Many have had no contact with them for days; others spoke of relatives who have been injured or killed in the fighting.

Jean is calling for an immediate ceasefire on the island, and for urgent action to free the 250,000 civilians trapped at the heart of the war zone.

She said:

“An immediate ceasefire on both sides is imperative. The situation in Sri Lanka is deteriorating by the day. A quarter of a million people are now trapped, and the fighting is getting ever closer to these civilians. It is crucial that the humanitarian corridor is opened up, to let these people out and to let desperately needed help, in the form of medical care, food, and mobile phones, in.

“It’s also time to let the rest of the world in. We have to ensure that international aid agencies are allowed safe access to the most vulnerable people, and can carry out their vital work without impediments of the kind we saw last Friday [February 6], when the Red Cross came under attack after false rumours that it had ordered 35,000 body bags in expectation of huge fatalities among Tamil fighters.

“While it remains impossible to build up a clear picture of exactly what is happening inside the conflict zone, because of the restrictions on journalists, we must maintain the pressure from the outside, and ensure that bringing an end to the suffering of innocent civilians remains a priority in the UK, Europe, and across the world.

“We need international monitors in Sri Lanka as a matter of urgency to assess the scale of the humanitarian crisis and lead moves towards a long-term political solution that will bring peace to the island and an end to violence and intimidation”

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Jean Lambert MEP, said:

“I am appalled by the human rights violations currently taking place in Sri Lanka. I have been informed by aid workers that hundreds of civilians have been killed in the last week and the fear is that this situation could become far worse than the recent dreadful devastation of Gaza.

“On Thursday next week, a resolution on Sri Lanka is due to be debated in the European Parliament at the request of the Green MEPs. I also call on the UK Government and the international community to respond immediately to help the many innocent people caught in the crossfire.

“I will be attending the protest this Saturday in central London to demand action to alleviate the suffering and provide emergency medical supplies and humanitarian aid, which have so far not been forthcoming. This war demands the attention of the press and world leaders and I will be doing all in my power to raise the alarm and involve decision makers in finding a peaceful outcome.”

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In the European Parliament, I am a member of the Employment and Social Affairs Committee, concerned with issues such as training, working conditions and social inclusion. I am also a member of the SAARC (South Asia) delegation and, having seen that other speakers will be talking about their experiences in Indonesia post-Tsunami, I wanted to speak about my related experiences. I spent Easter 2005 in Sri Lanka and the Maldives as a part of a delegation visit to look at the effects of the Tsunami, as well as other issues relating to the conflict in Sri Lanka and Human Rights in the Maldives.

In Sri Lanka, we saw the area near the capital, Colombo, where a quirk of geography had resulted in a relatively small part of the coast being hit but at enormous cost. We visited the school en route to Galle where water had swept through and destroyed the headteacher’s house; as it was a holiday, he and his family had been away, and luckily none of his pupils had been lost. He had visited many of his pupils’ families, urging them to return their children to school on January 10th – the start of the new term: a few parents would sit by the gates, unwilling to be far from their children – just in case.

We visited a less populated area further along the coast, closer to a conflict zone. We could just make out the remains of the floors of houses –everything else had been swept away. We saw a few remaining small fishing boats being repaired and were shown the wells – now unusable as they were contaminated by salt water: it is estimated it will take up to ten years for the underground aquifers to be replenished by fresh water. This a growing issue in many coastal areas following fierce storms – likely to be an increasing occurrence in the face of climate change

Everywhere, we saw evidence of local aid efforts and international aid organisations – some already in the country due to poverty levels and conflict. UNHCR was, for the first time there, working with people displaced by environmental disaster. It is unlikely to be the last

In the Maldives, the loss of life had been less severe (fewer people hit by or entangled in rubble). The wave had also been more a swell across the low-lying islands (the highest natural point is 1.8m above sea level), possibly cushioned by the outlying coral reefs. In the capital, Male, it was also felt that the effect had been lessened by the improved sea defences, built by the Japanese in order to help mitigate the possible effects of climate change.

The Maldives are part of the Small Islands Group – likely to disappear as sea levels rise. The day of the tsunami, they had just left the category of “least-developed nations”: the tsunami probably put them back there.

As the IPCC report made clear yesterday: Don’t be poor if you face environmental disaster. The poor have fewer resources and fewer choices.

The Maldivians had already been planning for climate change: aiming to alter the topography of their main islands to provide a rise at the island edges to protect the land behind. They were then considering the need for a high point on each island as a “safe point” in the event of a tsunami warning. Now they have to plan for natural disaster as well as man-made ones.

It is not clear what environmental lessons are being learnt in Sri Lanka. Certainly, the post- tsunami period has not seen a move to reconciliation and peace, as we have seen in Aceh.

The UNEP, WWF and other organisations all felt that the “greenbelt effect” of coral reefs and mangrove swamps helped to lessen the effects of the tsunami, just as they have helped to reduce the effects of cyclones and severe storms.

Up to half the world’s mangrove swamps have disappeared in the last 20-30 years because of the development of tourist resorts, transport infrastructure and commercial prawn fishing (Cripps, WWF in Associated Press 07.01.05). Bangladesh is losing its mangrove swamps, which are a protection against coastal flooding and a source of livelihood and biodiversity.

Globally, coral reefs have been hit by wastewater from new developments, dynamite fishing and warmer waters due to climate change.

The lesson is that all countries are having to re-adapt to nature. We are having to reconsider our ideas of development, responsibility and solidarity. The latest IPCC report reinforces that need.

The large amounts of money donated post-tsunami may be used for climate-proofing reconstruction, although I am not totally hopeful, but climate change will not be addressed simply through money. It requires a change in behaviour and an understanding of cause and effect, as demonstrated in Christian Aid’s excellent campaign. Turning off the lights becomes not only good domestic economics but an act of international solidarity.

The world’s poorest countries are suffering the effects of the rich world’s careless lifestyle.

We also need to understand that the effects will not only be felt abroad (out of sight, out of mind as it were ) but also at home. I’m from Essex, so I think of Canvey Island, Thames Gateway which are at sea level – not just Bangladesh. Research from the Association of British Insurers makes sober reading. This really is an international issue: think global, act local – takes on a new resonance.

We also need to be “climate-proofing” our development: in our own lives, our places of work and in what we teach.

The EU’s revised Sustainable Development Strategy now recognises the importance of education and training. It says: Education is a prerequisite for promoting the behavioural changes and providing all citizens with the key competences needed to achieve sustainable development. Success in reversing unsustainable trends will to a large extent depend on high-quality education for sustainable development at all levels of education… .

Alan Johnson’s recent statements on teaching about climate change will not just affect the geography curriculum but also science, technology, religious studies and, most certainly, citizenship.

Teaching about climate change and working on the practical consequences has a real purpose and urgency. Education, across the age range, really has the power to transform our lives and our world. You have the power to help effect that change.

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