How much do we really know about the environmental challenges that Sri Lanka’s northern Tamil communities face? Aside from the on-going issues with wind power projects threatening the future of the Mannar Island and that Tamil Nadu trawlers continue to ravage our northern seascapes, is there much knowledge or exposes that speak about the climate crisis affecting Sri Lanka’s northern peninsula?
A 2018 World Bank study identified the Northern and Northwestern Provinces as top climate risk hot spots. Rising sea levels, soil salinization, floods, droughts, coastal erosion, coral bleaching, extreme heat and weather volatility are natural processes, increased due to human-induced climate change, that are already wreaking havoc on the livelihoods of fishing and farming local communities. Yet there is little media coverage on issues or pragmatic interventions.
Amita Arudpragasam’s ‘Thayakam’ offers us an education on the complexities faced by Tamil communities in this fragile, environmentally sensitive region that still bears the scars of the 26-year war. This character-led documentary follows a disillusioned environmentalist, Edison Marynathan, as he traverses the arid, poorly industrialized Northern province trying to understand the myriad of environmental and climate crises plaguing this region.
From failing sea cucumber harvests to farmers affected by extreme heat waves that influence local livelihoods, Edison meets a cross-section of fellow community members that are disproportionately affected due to human induced climate change.
While it is clear that the knowledge and awareness of changing climatic conditions and its impacts, exists among local communities, solutions to their growing list of environmental pr oblems seems inaccessible to them due to a lack of local representation at the national level.
As ‘Thayakam’ unfolds, the interconnected relationship between people, land and climate becomes increasingly apparent, offering viewers a glimpse into the hardships faced by local communities that are not only disproportionately affected by climate change but also excluded from decision-making at a local level.
The danger of adopting national level development agendas that aren’t site or region specific is highlighted through several community interviews that Edison engages in; a sentiment shared by many local communities across the island.
Through her storytelling skills, Amita juxtaposes Edison’s drive for change within this region and for his community members brilliantly against his brother, Quinson Marynathan’s reserved and realistic outlook on the dire ‘on the ground’ situation.
This visual ethnography which plays out in the backdrop of several critical yet undervalued Protected Areas such as the Vankalai Bird Sanctuary, the Adam’s Bridge National Park and Chundikulam National Park, is must-watch for every Sri Lankan that wants to make a positive impact within our island and this region. As the push for development heightens and pressures on our rural landscapes increases, Thayakam highlights the need for localized solutions, offering much needed insights and perspectives from the North and on the lives of its inhabitants.
‘Thayakam’ was supported by the Pulitzer Center, the Earth Journalism Network and Open Society Foundations.
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