An important part of this trip has been balancing the ethics.
Once it was enough just to travel, then the authors of Europe on $20 A Day came out and made frugal travel all the rage when Tom and I made our first trip to Europe (that was 1985, for those of you trying to work out exactly when you could get by on an amount that would now only represent a daily budget to cover lattes). Then we started to worry about carbon miles, until Leonardo DiCaprio's hypocrisy when he travelled 8,000 klms by private jet to collect a 'green' award. Now it is important to be aware of animal welfare - and yes I do feel bad for riding elephants in Nepal with the boys when they were little.
But I have taken ethical travel to a new level on this trip. During the planning stage I was flipping through some promotion materials and came across many references to being a responsible traveller in Sri Lanka. Some of the more extreme commentaries even advocated boycotting travel to Sri Lanka.
Tourism is currently one of the country's major income streams, and increasing. So surely tourists are good for the country, and for the people who want to move on from the war years and share, in the new prosperity. But it's the sharing part that is the nub of the issue. The Campaign for Peace and Justice has highlighted that the spoils from the development of tourism have been inequitably dominated by the government, the military and their cronies. Admittedly since the change of government in 2015 there have been some improvements, but the government and military still own and operate airlines, hotels, resorts, nature reserves and other facilities, thereby locking out smaller, locally owned operators.
So we decided on this trip to avoid staying in, or supporting, any operations that were military run or linked to some of the less savoury members of government linked to past war crimes, or general corruption. I think our poor travel agent, a charming Sydney based gentleman of Sri Lankan background, thought I was barmy, it seems he has never had anyone voice such concerns before. But he cheerfully (at least cheerful on the outside) found new places for us to stay and things to do as I crossed some items of the list.
This has resulted in our first two hotels being very small B&B types, and it has turned out to be quite charming. Maybe the internet is a bit erratic, and our current place only serves vegetarian meals, and no liquor. I'll just let you digest that last statement... yes, no liquor. But we have been well looked after with the usual legendary Sri Lankan hospitality.
My stance came a little unstuck when Uncle Manu (our charming guide form the last post) took us to visit the old Dutch fort. Little did I realise that this was in the grounds of the naval base on the tip of the peninsula. Sri Lanka is dotted with military bases, even more so in the north and east, the stronghold areas of the LTTE. As they regained ground the military sequestered local land for strategic purposes, but they continue to hold great swathes of this land, and this particular land and fort have been developed into luxury accommodation. But I was a guest and had no right to preciousness when our charming host was taking us to this special place. And I discovered a dilemma, yes the place was run by the navy, but they were employing locals who would possibly otherwise not have a job. It is a quandary.
Tourism numbers are down this year and small family run establishments are competing with larger hotels and operators either run by the military or consortiums with links to government officials- Sri Lanka is very much a country where things get done by knowing the right people and greasing the right palms. So we have tried to support local enterprises. I had planned to do all my souvenir shopping at the end of my trip to save carting it around, but when I saw this delightful outfit for Siena in the Jaffna market I thought why not grab it now and spend some money in the less economically wealthy north. And then once I had bought something for Siena of course I had to even up by getting a gift for her brother Jack as well.
But I have taken ethical travel to a new level on this trip. During the planning stage I was flipping through some promotion materials and came across many references to being a responsible traveller in Sri Lanka. Some of the more extreme commentaries even advocated boycotting travel to Sri Lanka.
Tourism is currently one of the country's major income streams, and increasing. So surely tourists are good for the country, and for the people who want to move on from the war years and share, in the new prosperity. But it's the sharing part that is the nub of the issue. The Campaign for Peace and Justice has highlighted that the spoils from the development of tourism have been inequitably dominated by the government, the military and their cronies. Admittedly since the change of government in 2015 there have been some improvements, but the government and military still own and operate airlines, hotels, resorts, nature reserves and other facilities, thereby locking out smaller, locally owned operators.
So we decided on this trip to avoid staying in, or supporting, any operations that were military run or linked to some of the less savoury members of government linked to past war crimes, or general corruption. I think our poor travel agent, a charming Sydney based gentleman of Sri Lankan background, thought I was barmy, it seems he has never had anyone voice such concerns before. But he cheerfully (at least cheerful on the outside) found new places for us to stay and things to do as I crossed some items of the list.
| Fishing boats on the west coast of the Peninsula |
My stance came a little unstuck when Uncle Manu (our charming guide form the last post) took us to visit the old Dutch fort. Little did I realise that this was in the grounds of the naval base on the tip of the peninsula. Sri Lanka is dotted with military bases, even more so in the north and east, the stronghold areas of the LTTE. As they regained ground the military sequestered local land for strategic purposes, but they continue to hold great swathes of this land, and this particular land and fort have been developed into luxury accommodation. But I was a guest and had no right to preciousness when our charming host was taking us to this special place. And I discovered a dilemma, yes the place was run by the navy, but they were employing locals who would possibly otherwise not have a job. It is a quandary.
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| Fort Hammenheil |
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