Abstract:
This study on youth is part of a larger research and capacity building
programme titled Post crisis recovery: researching and teaching across boundaries. The
overall objective of our study - Mobilizing youth for recovery and reconstruction in
situations of displacement - spaces and places of social inclusion - is to explore how
different groups of young people in different situations experience and are affected by
and strategies upon displacement and recovery. It is evident that, with the extensive
transformation in socio- economic, political and religious environments after the war,
Eastern region of Sri Lanka is exposed to rapid change. In order to understand the voice
and agency of youth, we conducted field work in Batticaloa and Amapara districts of
the Eastern province. The research was conducted through die use of group discussion
and in-depth qualitative interviews with youth from various backgrounds and key
informants. During our visits to the East, we have been able to understand the
willingness and ability of youth to bravely endure the past and contribute to build their
future lives and societies. At the same time, we have observed negotiations between
youths' role in the social, political, economic, ethnic, cultural and gender spheres
continue to be difficult and represent a constant struggle for Eastern youth. Our
research findings reveal that youth, are not meaningfully included in development
processes of the region. We argue that, rather than pushing the youth to the margins of
the society again, it is important to bring them centre stage in order to sustain the
expected development outcomes.
