August 2017

Search Light is a Facebook page dedicated to the recording of accounts of violence that have taken place in Sri Lanka during the last 40 years. We have had 2 insurrections and a 30-year civil war in our country. Search Light was designed to provide space for people to tell their story so that it would be included in annals of history and the future generations would learn from it and make sure that war and conflict will not reoccur in our land.

Search for Common Ground, an NGO in Sri Lanka conceptualized a project titled “Community Memorialization Project” which captured many stories of war widows, men, and women who underwent tremendous hardships during the war, lost their loved ones and who are now physically and emotionally scarred for life.  My task was to place these stories before the general public through social media.

The only way we could light up the way ahead and see where we are headed, as a community, country or as the human race is to turn on the search light and look at our past. We are not talking about a 600-kilowatt Searchlight here. That is why this page is named Search Light, not Searchlight. Our history has been filled with violence. If we are to learn from our history we need to search for stories that speak of human suffering amidst, violence and conflict, listen to them again and again, include them in annals of history written by the people, for the people, so that future generation will not make the same mistakes.

I was so happy when I was selected as the External Communication Consultant of a state authority. This was the first time in my career that I was going to work within a public sector setting. I burned so much of midnight oil working on strategy, writing copy and coming up with concepts to promote a value based society that will say no to all addictive substances and dangerous drugs. I had discussions with Radio Stations, TV Stations, Bloggers, Social Media Experts and even Artists and Musicians to promote good values.We were going to carry out a great campaign against dangerous drug trafficking in Sri Lanka.

Clean up Sri Lanka perhaps?

Then disaster struck our entire plans.

A petition against the Director General of the Institution (My Client)was sent to the highest authority in Sri Lanka. This appeared to be the work of a rival of my Client who was eyeing his job. My Client had just obtained an extension of 2 years even though he had reached the age of retirement. We were working on a multi million campaign. Allegations of misappropriation of funds, wastage of public money, work being given to “friends” were bombarded against my Client. The campaign had to be stopped because an internal audit had to first clear my client. Well, the audit cleared him and showed that all allegations were false. However, the man at the top was convinced not to extend the service period of my Client who had reached the age of retirement despite the fact that Number 2 of the country had extended my Client’s service period by 2 years.

So my client had to leave…

The project was shelved and the contract I had with the Institution was cancelled “until further notice”.

I demanded one month’s consultancy fees (For the period for which I worked) and I was paid in full.

Were there any other obvious elements behind the cancellation of this anti drug campaign? Or was I just caught in the crossfire of internal politics, jealousy and spite?