Abstract:
This case study on Sri Lanka is part of an international research project that focused on
psychosocial perspectives on peacebuilding. The main objectives of the project were to
determine whether different conceptualisations of trauma lead to different types of
interventions; whether these interventions made a difference in terms of peacebuilding and
development, or more broadly social transformation. The Sri Lanka case study questioned how
affected populations continued to receive meaningful and culturally appropriate psychosocial
care in an environment that continued to minimise the suffering of the people who survived the
war. In doing so, the study presented the innovative strategies used by the programmes and
discussed their broader impacts on peacebuilding and reconciliation within a highly constricted
environment. Indeed, non-governmental organizations had to register in the Presidential Task
Force and inform what activities they were involved in. Many psychosocial organizations were
not given authorization to continue their work with victims as victims were perceived as "a
permanent testimony" to the actual post-war environment. The sample consisted of four
programmes that continued to function in spite of this situation. Focus group discussions with
managers of programmes and semi-structured interviews with managers and direct service
providers were conducted. The research results showed that, even though the interventions were
mostly individualistic in nature, they responded to broader issues such as human rights,
reconciliation, peacebuilding on a one on one basis, taking each case separately. Most of the
programmes did not in their mission envisage a need for a larger impact or had not thought
about their potential of having an impact on social transformation.
