2013

My name is Manori, I am a Sri Lankan journalist reporting on human rights violations.

After completing my secondary education at the St. Joseph’s Convent, Kegalle, in 2001 I was selected to the University of Sri Jayewardenepura in 2002. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice in 2007, I joined in the same year Rights Now Collective for Democracy, a local organization working for the promotion of human rights and democracy.

In my organization, Rights Now Collective for Democracy, we have been engaged in building a broad democratic movement called 'Platform for Freedom' among political parties, trade unions, media organizations and public spirited citizens. I handle the publications and even edited the propaganda newspaper for a couple of months. For the last 4 years I have been editing a 40 page monthly journal Samabima on democracy and human rights issues. I also provide training on media and human rights to the young undergraduates who participate in human rights training programmes conducted by Rights Now.

Since 2007, I have assisted in documenting special incidents related to attacks on journalists and media personnel by visiting Northern and Eastern provinces. The main purpose of this engagement was to strengthen the international advocacy conducted by the International Movement against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR) in Geneva related to attacks on free media which was prevalent during the height of the conflict. This information was also translated into Sinhala by me as part of the campaign among the Sinhala speaking human rights activists. At the time the Sri Lankan government had been launching repressive attacks on media personnel, I had to do this work and faced several security challenges. This involvement challenged my organization to develop a communication strategy in order to reach the wider progressive Sinhala reading community.

During the height of the war in 2008 I traveled to the war ravaged North and the East to document stories on the victims of the conflict. I then translated my findings into Sinhala and published them for the benefit of Sinhala readers. At a particular check point, a Sinhalese soldier allowed me to pass knowing I was a Sinhalese woman but detaining the Tamil civilians there. I protested and told him I'd prefer to be treated in the same manner that other Tamil civilians were treated. I later realized that this expression of concern prompted the army to put surveillance on me. Even though I file stories using a pseudonym in our weekly national newspaper supplement, the security personnel have tracked down the whereabouts of my organisation and myself.

I realized that what we are doing is important work and it is not a risk free business.

This experience shocked me, it was a good learning point. I realized how important it is to follow protection guidelines when engaged in human rights work. I decided to continue my mission with my organization, but the threats have prompted me to take more cautious and measured steps in work. I also realized that what we are doing is important work and it is not a risk free business. One can only mitigate the risks by reducing vulnerabilities. By following this golden rule, I was able to continue when most journalists were forced into self-exile. 

In the present Sri Lankan context, where journalists and human rights defenders are often subjected to public vilification campaigns by the State, our human rights work involving the media exposes individuals engaged in such activities to risks. We always try to mitigate the risks by reducing the vulnerabilities. 

As a woman who writes and speaks out against injustices, standing up for rights of the minority communities in Sri Lanka and campaigning to combat ethnic and religious discrimination in Sri Lanka, I am often threatened with sexist, violent and abusive language. I have been abused and threatened with violence on Facebook and on other social media sites.

I have worked in print media and have been involved in mass campaigns and advocacy for peace and reconciliation in Sri Lanka. Communicating the message is my priority as politics and human rights intertwine. Discourse on human rights is very limited in Sri Lanka, where 30 years of ethnic war has greatly polarized the society. The State calls human rights a Western conspiracy to destabilize the country and labels human rights defenders as traitors. The general public blindly follow this propaganda. My work has been to challenge this mythology and enrich the human rights discourse. The present fellowship at the University of York has immensely helped me to grasp the latest human rights discourses.

2015

Manori Kalugampitiya is a journalist who reports on the human rights issues permeating the Sri Lankan society. Her work often focuses on the promotion of democracy and advocating for a fair and just society. Manori's work speaks on behalf of the marginalised and the oppressed and the many throughout Sri Lanka who remain voiceless in the face of great injustices imposed on them due to their gender, ethnic and religious identities.

After completing the Protective Fellowship Scheme, Manori returned to Sri Lanka, her home country, to continue her human rights advocacy work with the Rights Now Collective for Democracy. She was eager to share the knowledge she gained on the programme with the Collective. The initiatives she helped to implement at the Collective all draw heavily from the Protective Fellowship Scheme's training.

With its multifaceted approach to supporting the development of human rights defenders the fellowship scheme focuses on helping defenders improve on their leadership skills, while giving them in-depth knowledge on how to manage risk and security. Recognising the importance of this training, Manori believed that she could successfully aid in improving the organisational processes at the Collective. Manori explains, "we had leadership training with John Gray so I learnt from that training what is the life cycle of an organisation [and realised] that we needed to change our direction". Manori also trained mainstream journalists and human rights defenders in physical, digital and legal security.

Manori further initiated change in the manner in which the Collective promoted issues regarding human rights, which ultimately aided in diversifying its organisational reach, activities and processes. "We added two supplements to [the] main newspaper… we do one supplement based on capacity building of journalists on digital, legal and physical safety. [The] other [one is] on new theories and practices on human rights and politics. We have a new radio programme. We have a national broadcasting station. We are conducting a 30-minute programme on human rights issues. We are writing scripts and reporting ourselves." Manori asserts that the good practices she learnt on the fellowship has helped to improve the Collective considerably, helping it to develop seamlessly into a stronger human rights advocacy centre. "Before York I didn't know about human rights core values, didn't know of any trainings in [Sri Lanka], we didn't know about the concepts behind human rights practices. In York I got the sense of the core values we should learn. I collected inforation of the core values and now [I am] conducting trainings on these core values."

Before York I didn't know about human rights core values, but now I am conducting trainings on them.

Manori also credits the Friends Scheme and working with the coordinator of the Protective Fellowship Scheme as additional highlights of the fellowship. For Manori, witnessing the manner in which the coordinator conducted her work and managed the programme, interacting with her own colleagues and the HRDs, was enlightening. "Every time I observed how you deal with different types of people, with different styles, it is one of the best things, and how to cooperate in a very hectic environment." She also recognised that the Friends scheme for adding another facet of necessary support to the fellowship programme. "We had time not only for studying but also for going out, talking with normal people, like Friends. [The] Friends scheme is one of the best things."

Like many of the other HRDs, Manori also credits the artistic component of the fellowship for providing her with the confidence to express herself and to attend more public speaking engagements. It helped to empower her as a journalist. "Maybe she [Juliana Mensah] also doesn't know how much she gave us…Within these creative writing classes we record some of our memories and we learnt how to put these experiences in a particular context and how to use this productively. How to communicate some difficult experiences to the people. As a journalist you can do wonders. I actually miss that." Manori further explains the impact of these sessions on her personal and professional development, "In my culture, in my context, normal women cannot express some feelings, ideas directly… I learnt how to express our thoughts and feelings without making problems …When the language is very concrete they cannot ignore us … as a journalist it was very helpful to improve my writing."

Her experiences on the Protective Fellowship Scheme encouraged Manori to establish an internship at the Collective that is modelled on the Protective Fellowship Scheme. The training she conducts has enabled her to share what she learnt with more than 300 people which includes over 200 people who were involved in Sri Lanka's election monitoring in digital security. She also provided a further 100 journalists and interns with training in security, leadership, creative writing and video editing.

Joining the fellowship programme was Manori's first exposure to intensive long-term training. She believes that the programme enabled her to enhance her skills, knowledge "capabilities and attitudes" and gave her sufficient exposure to working with diverse group of people. Manori defines the fellowship simply as a "golden opportunity".

Manori was interviewed by CAHR staff in August 2015.