The week without walls trip was an experience that had a definite impact on me. It was a trip where I learnt about myself as well as others around me. The trip was centered on creativity and service. We were meant to tweet are feelings, emotions and about things that affected us. At first I felt that we might not have anything to say but after the trip I realized that it didn’t matter what “I” needed to say, it was more about sharing other peoples stories to the world.
Jaffna was unlike any place I have been, every street corner and every person had a story to tell. They were in their own right survivors. In such an area the words you use and your mannerisms are very important. You need to be considerate of the people and their situation. Jaffna was a place where I realized I had a skill of understanding and empathizing with others. I was able to find a way of communicating with the people of Jaffna and respecting them whilst getting closer to the. It was nice to realize something so new about myself.
On our first day there we did more of sightseeing and cultural enrichment. The thing I learnt about the people of Jaffna was their strong faith, and strong family bonds. We went first to “Kirmalai”. Kirmalai is a water well that people of Jaffna go to swim in as they believe the water has healing properties. I asked a young boy there why he would come here, and he said that in the times of war when they had no control sometimes “ Kirmalai” would give him a sense of hope. He then introduced me to his father (who unfortunately could not speak Sinhala) and allowed me to question them about their lives. My goal for the trip was to tell as many stories of people who I could and I was quite glad I could be a voice for this young boy. In order to tell his story to others as well as understand him, I needed to work collaboratively with him. I also discovered a new talent of mine. I was able to use my Tamil speaking ability to converse with those who didn’t speak Sinhala or English. I did not want to have come to Jaffna and not be able to talk with the people there because of a language barrier. I worked on my Tamil speaking skills before going to Jaffna for this reason. This shows perseverance and commitment in my activities.
The moment that I truly understood the Cultural and religious aspect of Jaffna was when we went to visit the Kovil in Nagadeepaya. It was a beautiful Kovil, adorned with intricate detailing. There was an old man talking to his grandson and I felt drawn to them. when I asked them if they come here often he said it wa the first time he had seen his grandson. It was a hindu custom for the grandfather to take the grandson for his first kovil experience. this was such a momentous experience for him and I felt privileged to share the experience. This experinecd increased not only my cultural knowledge of the jaffna people but also made me more aware of how much religion means to all of us.
we went to the Nagadeepa temple where Lord Buddha had visited. It was a beautiful temple, and as a buddhist it felt great to be in a place where lord Buddha had visited. I sat with a grandmother there and she told me about all the stories surrounding the temple. she helped me realise the irony of Jaffna. How could two such strong religious establishments stand side by side with forgiveness as their message to the world, in a place of war. This was an experience where I truly worked collaboratively with others to gain a better understanding and perspective.
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