By

Zahrah Imtiaz

Hakeem looks on as the burnt bikes are loaded into a truck and a man takes pictures of the damages done. He is standing outside what remains of his once prosperous bike showroom, strangely calm. “They were all unregistered, brand new scooters and bikes,” he says.

Aluthgama is waking up, but what remains in the wake of the destruction is not much. Hakeem estimates his damages amount to Rs 10 million. “I started my business just one-and-a-half years ago and for a whole year I struggled to keep it afloat. And just when things were looking up, they go and burn down my shop. The government is responsible for this. My neighbour, Thilak Ayya ran over to the STF standing right outside and asked them to protect my shop from the mobs but they simply ignored the request.”

The government has sent the security forces to rebuild Aluthgama, Dharga Town and Beruwela and one can easily spot men in uniform clearing and buildings at every nook and corner. Whether a broken city can be rebuilt with its buildings alone however is left to be seen.

Recovering damages

Hakeem estimates that even with his shop being rebuilt by the Army, he would still suffer a loss of Rs 3 million as he has no way of recovering damages done to other property like laptops and furniture. He says the bike company which had estimated the loss of his 21 bikes to be Rs 5 million had promised to replace them with new ones. When asked if he thinks he would be able to rebuild his business, he says, “I hope so, but I have not thought of that yet. I am in shock, we are all in shock. No one expected this to happen.”

The story is the same all over Aluthgama, be it the Muslims or the Sinhalese. They are all in shock and though life seems to be returning to the town at a slow pace, many are out on the road, either staring at their broken homes and shops or simply looking for answers in the rubble.

Mohamed is one such person who is out to solve the mystery of the riots. He along with his neighbours in Adhikarigoda were in deep conversation when Ceylon Today spoke to them. He said, “The Army has taken estimates and they said they would rebuild it all and that is good, but we want to know what really happened here. They need to investigate these incidents – who is really responsible for all this? Is the government rebuilding it all because they feel that it was they who are responsible for the problems in the first place? No politician has cared for our problems. When the mobs attacked, all the women ran towards the hill and they had to stay there with no food to eat until things calmed down. Our neighbourhood has lost property worth over Rs 500 million, our shops were looted and burnt down. Who did this?”

Adhikarigoda is one of the worst affected villages in Aluthgama with over 20 houses being burnt down. Tensions here are still high. A few houses down the road, Fathima Jasmine sits outside her brother’s burnt house along with her child. She relates her story thus:

“When the mobs came, we all ran and we left our things behind. We later found that they had looted all our belongings, from jewellery to any machinery inside our houses. Once everyone was out of their houses, they burnt them down. They even took our IDs and other papers and burnt them separately. The Army said they would build everything but they said they would not give us any money.”

Abdul, who is visiting Jasmine, chips into claim they think the government needs to take responsibility for the assaults. “They blame it on this one incident where a Bhikku was attacked by Muslims but that problem was solved immediately, so that is not the reason for all this. They have used this as an opportunity to attack the Muslims and loot all our belongings. We suspect the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) to be behind this,” he added.

Jasmine complained the Army had informed them they would not be building her brother’s house from scratch but would simply replastering it and repairing the damages done. She said since the house was an old one, it would not stand for long with surface repairs.

When Abdul and Jasmine were asked about allegations of Muslim extremists also adding to the problem, Abdul said, “No I don’t think that is true. It is all an excuse to attack us. We are living in fear of another attack. I received a SMS yesterday, which said yet another house had been burnt. This problem is not over. They will attack us once the Army leaves.”

To the rumours that it was third parties who were involved in the attack, Abdul said, “Yes, that is true but they also had the support of our neighbours. How else would they know who lived where and what exactly they could steal from each house?”

Jasmine said, “Our neighbours were never racist towards us. We have always lived peacefully with each other. Just before the attacks, we all had a huge dansala and we all ate together there. But now we find out that they too helped the attackers, gave them cans of petrol and bottles to attack us with. They all came with their faces hidden behind the mask so we are not sure who really attacked us.”

“I suppose people change when they see that they too can be benefited by certain things,” added Abdul.

Completely destroyed

Neither Abdul nor Jasmine have spoken to the Sinhalese family which lives next door; they said they are afraid of them. Many of the residents in the area ran small to medium enterprises at home. This meant not only their homes, but their businesses too were completely destroyed. Most have never insured their belongings or businesses.

Jasmine’s Sinhalese neighbour however said they were not at home when the incidents occurred. However, when asked whether she had spoken to her neighbours who had lost all their belongings, she said, “I did not go there because I would rather mind my own business. I have nothing to say about all these problems.”

On the other side of town lies the village of Pathirajagoda. Here six houses were burnt by a Muslim mob. Sumudu along with the other nine families, whose houses were burnt down, is in shock.
“We all got along very well in this village but after these incidents, there is only suspicion in our minds,” said Sumudu. The villagers have identified a particular Muslim household in their area to be responsible for the attacks. “We all know who did it,” they said.

UNP MP Palitha Thewarapperuma has been acting as a bridge between the two communities in the area ever since the incidents took place. He has not only been distributing dry rations among the two communities but has also been trying to get individuals from the two communities to meet and sort out their misunderstandings. Whether this move is a stroke of political genius is yet to be seen but either way it has helped start a conversation between the two sides.

Former Opposition leader of the Beruwela Pradeshiya Sabha A.R. Bathuideen, and a few of his friends have been brought by MP Thewarapperuma to the Sinhalese area to iron out differences. The two sides are quite happy to see each other, though nervous at first.

“We know you Bathuideen sir, we trust you. If you were in charge, these things wouldn’t have happened,” said Sumudu. Bathuideen in reply said, “Yes, we must sort these things as soon as possible. I admit I was quite afraid to come here when MP Thewarapperuma asked me to, but it doesn’t seem so bad now.”

MP Thewarapperuma while trying his best to quell the tension among the communities cannot but stop certain suspicions and fears from arising. When Sumudu and her family were asked if they could come to trust their Muslim neighbours once again and if they felt safe to live in the village, said, “I think certain extremists in that side have caused this problem. We are living in fear, we are afraid to walk on the road if there is a group of Muslims around.” The families fear that once the Army withdraws from the area, they would be attacked once again.

No extremists

In a bid to reassure the people, MP Thewarapperuma pointed out, “No, that is not true. Those are just rumours. There are no extremists on that side. I spoke to them this morning. They are just as afraid as you are.” He then distributed the dry rations to the people and said, “Remember these acts were committed by the government and it is they who have to be blamed for this. Don’t plant the seed of racial hatred in your children; we don’t want another 30 year war.”

Pathirajagoda is also home to the Buddhist temple, Sri Wivekaramaadhikari and its monk, Ven. Badalkumbure Ariyashantha Thera. Ariyashantha Thera is not only highly influential in the area but has also been blamed for bringing Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera to the infamous meeting in Aluthgama. It is alleged that it was this meeting that incited the violence in the area.
Ariyashantha Thera however had a different story to tell and was offended that many have blamed the problems on him.

“Ruwais has accused me of being part of the BBS. I was never part of the BBS, the Sihala Ravaya or the Ravana Balaya. I am an average monk,” Ariyashantha Thera said.He went on to say the main problems were caused by the police and not the BBS. The police had failed to arrest all three men who were allegedly involved in the assault of the monk on 12 June. As the police only arrested one man, the monk had arranged to have a Buddhist conference to discuss the lack of justice meted out to the monks by the police in the area.

“I called the meeting in Aluthgama to discuss the truth. We wanted justice to be served to all three. We have nothing against the Muslims. No one knew Gnanasara Thera was to attend the meeting until the very last. We did not invite the BBS, we only invited Gnanasara Thera as he too is a monk. We then received news that the mosque close by was planning to attack us on 14 June, the day of the meeting. I approached DIG Anura Senanayake and asked him if I should cancel the meeting, given the tense situation in the area. The DIG said, ‘Don’t be silly hamuduruwane, you go ahead. We will provide protection all the way through.’ This is why I went ahead with the meeting.”

When the Thera was asked about the breakdown of trust, which had occurred between the communities as a result of the attacks, he said, “That is true but who let it get to this stage? Those who attacked the monk were Muslim extremists. It is not all Muslims who are bad and there are intelligent Muslims who personally asked me to get the extremists arrested. The Muslim extremists are responsible for the current situation.”

Commenting on Gnanasara Thera’s infamous speech in Aluthgama, he said, “When you talk to the Sinhalese, you must talk in a way which stirs their emotions and that is what Gnanasara Thera did. We were talking to the Sinhalese, not the Muslims. Gnanasara Thera has always been a passionate talker. Only extremists have misunderstood the speech, not the intelligent people.”

The Muslims in the area however accuse Gnanasara Thera of asking the Sinhalese to chase them away from the area. Ariyashantha Thera responding to the allegation said, “We can’t chase away the Muslims from this country. How can we do that? When they came to this country as traders, they married Sinhalese women. As a result, the present Muslims are children of Sinhalese mothers and Arab fathers.”

The current scenario however requires reconciliation and the Thera was open to the idea. He said, “We have proposed that the monks and the moulavis convene in a prominent place in Dharga Town and discuss the issues on each side. Both sides have suffered and both sides have lost valuable property. We can solve these problems if we have an open discussion. A house, a vehicle, can be replaced but a broken heart does not heal so easily.”

The proposal was made when all parties met at the Beruwela District Secretariat but the Thera said though all agreed to it then, the rumours and suspicions which have spread since then has put a stop to reconciliation.

“I have received death threats. They say they will kill me as soon as the STF and Army leave. I was also told that a Muslim had gone to a Sinhala shop and said he would burn it down as soon as the Army leaves. When the intelligent Muslims try and sort out the issue, the extremists are ruining everything.”

When asked if he thought only Muslim extremists were to be blamed for the situation, he said, “There are Sinhala extremists too and I am doing my best to calm the situation down on our side. We know which Muslim family burnt the six Sinhalese houses here but I have not asked my people to go and destroy those Muslims. I have told them, when the time is right, I will tell you what to do. I am a monk, I would never ask anyone to kill people or burn down their houses. I do not want my followers to be taken to prison.”

Commenting on what he thinks would happen next, the Thera said, “The Muslims have always protected us but now we do not trust them. They have lost trust in us. To rebuild this is hard and it will take time. This problem is still new; I am not sure how everything would pan out.

“The police and the politicians in this area have made it worse. The police are arresting all our young men and this makes a lot of people angry. We ask that they release both the Sinhalese and Muslims currently held in custody. It is the community which has to sort out the problems. The politicians come here and make ill informed speeches and that has festered hatred in the people.

“I am fed up of being labelled as a BBS member. But I can tell you, given the current situation, if Gnanasara Thera invites me to join the BBS, I will gladly do so. I will do so not because I hate Muslims but because I need to protect my race and religion. Gnanasara Thera was the only one who spoke for us though they now paint him as a villain. The BBS is not afraid to speak up against whoever does wrong, be it the President, the Muslim extremists or Buddhist extremists. But if someone is against them, they will hit back and I will now do the same,” he elaborated.

Returning to normal

Security Forces Commander (West), Major General Ubhaya Madawala, is in charge of rebuilding Aluthgama and Beruwela and he thinks the area is already returning to normal.”The Army pulled out its troops on 30 June. We only have those who are involved in construction work on the ground,” said Major General Madawala.

The government has allocated Rs 150 million for the Army to carry out the reconstruction along with the Air Force and the Navy. Another Rs 50 million has been given to the Government Agent to help those in the area. The reconstruction work which started on 1 July will see 200 houses and 67 commercial properties reconstructed. Out of the 200 houses, 151 have suffered major damages while 58 of the commercial properties need significant repair. The Army estimates that the buildings with minor repairs would be complete in two weeks while the major reconstruction work would be finished in another 30-40 days.

“Our secondary assessments showed that some buildings, which had severe structural damage would need to be demolished and rebuilt. We have asked the owners to claim any insurance they would get. Some have requested that certain changes be made to their original plan and we have accommodated that but they would first need approval from the Municipal Council to get the additions built,” explained the Major General.

Responding to accusations that the Army was not doing a proper job with rebuilding, he said, “We are building with the consent of the people and we have told them what and how we would be doing it. Most plastering had been done with lime plastering but we will be replacing that with cement plastering. They need not fear, for the Army will ensure a quality finish. All materials are supplied by traders from Dharga Town and Beruwela and we are using government tender procedures to get the materials. We have a very organized structure here.”

According to Major General Madawela, the military police has been assigned to ensure that all activities are done in a transparent manner and a supervising committee is in place to make sure all goes according to plan.He however added that there are internal disputes among the people for the ownership of houses with many outsiders making false claims for damage.

When asked about compensation for businesses, he said, “The grama sevakas have been collecting information on other lost property and the people are to fill the forms with details of their lost goods, along with the value and proof that it was lost.”When asked whether the community would revert to violence when the Army pulls out completely, he said, “The community has been living in harmony for over 100 years and violence was not part of it. This issue was simply propagated by certain individuals for unknown reasons, so we are confident that we can move on. Everyone here is interdependent on the other to live. So no community can live a singular existence. The Sinhalese buy from the Muslim shops while the labour sometimes comes from Sinhalese community. They have understood the repercussions, and they will move on.”

“The Army cannot stay on forever. The police will take over. The Army has camps around so we are always in the area, though it may not be that obvious as now.”The Major General added that though suspicions still remained in the minds of a few, the majority was getting back to normal.

Suspicion and lack of communication between the two communities in Aluthgama however is rampant and many fear that the violence would return once the army withdraws completely.

Courtesy:Ceylon Today