War Memories and Their Impact on the Ethnic Reconciliation Process in Sri Lanka

Abstract

This study addressed the commemoration of war victims and its impact on the ethnic reconciliation process in Sri Lanka. The purpose of this research was to explore the relationship between memories and personal, interpersonal, social, and political reconciliation in post-conflict Sri Lanka. The general problem statement of this study was, "War memories have a significant impact on the process of post-war reconciliation in Sri Lanka.” Discussion of contemporary essays revealed that memory remains a key factor in the conflict and a critical issue that needs to be addressed by policy makers in a post-war reconciliation process. The purpose of this study is to examine the role of war memories and their impact on the post-war ethnic reconciliation process in Sri Lanka from the perspective of war victims. The main objective of this research is to find out whether the memories are constructed or natural. The study can be classified as both a qualitative and quantitative research design, which is referred to as a mixed research design. With this in mind, the researcher chose a rapid ethnographic perspective for this study. Semi-structured and in-depth interviews were used as the method of data collection. Quantitative data was crucial for the analysis of living conditions before the war, during the war, and in the post-war period. Therefore, a questionnaire survey was used as a quantitative data collection method. Personal war memories become social memories or collective memories, and finally the collective memories were influenced by the reconciliation process in the post-war period in Sri Lanka. Memories have impacted personal, interpersonal, and societal reconciliation and ultimately political reconciliation in post-war Sri Lanka.