THE IMPACT OF POST-TSUNAMI RECONSTRUCTION PROCESS ON ETHNIC HARMONY IN SRI LANKA: A STUDY OF MALAY ETHNIC COMMUNITY IN HAMBANTOTA

Abstract

Tsunami tidal waves struck off the western coast of Sri Lanka (SL) on the morning of 26 December 2004, causing a massive death toll in the coastal areas of the country, including the district of Hambantota. Hambantota is home to many ethnic communities where the SL Malay community was prominent over SL Moors (both communities were followers of Islam) and co-existed in harmony with other communities during pre-Tsunami. However, many cases were reported of the effect of ethnic disharmony with strident propaganda against Islamic practices in Hambantota during the post-tsunami context. Therefore, the study aimed to investigate the nexus between the SL Malay ethnic identity and ethnic harmony during the post-tsunami context in Hambantota using qualitative research techniques, and it was instrumented through twenty semi-structured interviews using a purposeful sampling method. Resultantly, it was found that due to the death toll of SL Malay community members and the acceleration of the religious radicalisation process in the post-tsunami context, the Tsunami had affected the ethnic identity of the SL Malay community in Hambantota, resulting in ethnic disharmony in the present-day context, even after 19 years since the Tsunami engulfed the country. Finally, this study urged the requirement to empower Malays, who were considered moderate followers of Islam, to engage in community-based ethnic disharmony prevention programmes while serving as the first line of defence in Sri Lanka against the propagation of ethnic radicalisation in the country as it could also be a threat to the national security of the country as well the region.

Keywords: Ethnic harmony, Hambantota district, Sri Lanka Malay identity, Tsunami