Civil and tsunami war: The aftermath

We were among some of the first tourists to visit the north east coast of Sri Lanka. For years, the north and east of the country has been dealt blow after blow by civil unrest, the Asian tsunami, and yet more civil war.

Starting in 1983, there was an insurgency against the government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE, also known as the 'Tamil Tigers'). The LTTE are a seperatist militant organisation who fought to create an independent Tamil state - named Tamil Eelam -

in the north and the east of the island. After 2 decades of fighting, a ceasefire agreement was signed in 2002.

Then, the tsunami hit in December 2004, killing more than 30,000 people and destroying homes, businesses and agriculture on a staggering scale. The recovery was slow and still ongoing.

In 2005, the next blow struck as civil hostilities renewed. The government launched a series of major military offensives in 2006 and the LTTE declared they would resume their freedom struggle. The civil war continued at full strength with huge humanitarian fall out.

Just over a year ago, in May 2009, the LTTE surrendered and its leader, and many other members, were killed. Many thousands of civilians also died amid the horrors of this last battle, bringing the civil war's death toll somewhere between 80,000 and 100,000.

Arriving in Trincomalee on the east coast, it was clear to us that the military retains an

oppressive grip on the port town and there were soldiers with guns on every corner and checkpoint. We were warned to expect shop doors to be bolted up and an atmosphere of 'Baghdad-on-sea' as the wounds of the war had yet to start healing.

Thankfully, it was a slightly brighter story and we were glad to see that the town is limping back to life and the hotels are receiving lots of inquisitive guests who, like us, want to see what life is now like in this battle-scarred paradise.

We surrendered to the crisp white crunchiness of the Uppuveli and Nilaveli beaches, blocking out the military men with sunglasses and Factor 30. The navy had recently relaxed its strict regulations and, on my Dad's last day, we were able to take a 5am boat to see leaping dolphins and then headed to Pigeon Island to snorkel its coral reef (where the only work the navy had to do was to scold me for not wearing my life jacket!).

After my Dad had left, I befriended a few NGO workers who were on weekend vacation from Jaffna - the capital city of the northern province and at the heart of the ethnic conflict as it was once a stronghold of the LTTE. It would appear that the problem now is not one of terrorism but of good governance. The country may be developing after the war, but democracy is still very frail and the NGO workers are fearful of a renewed insurgency as inhabitants of the north grow restless.

Let us all hope that the future is golden for Sri Lanka and democracy prevails at the same rate as tourism and commerce.