Around the World

Journal from the War Zone - Part Two

I just got back from the war zone.

Ten refugee camps in four days. Unending checkpoints, military convoys, and government soldiers stationed about every 50 feet. The stench and squalor of refugee camps during the day, and artillery fire rattling my bedroom windows at night.

I gave up a weekend at the beach for this trip.

My trip to the Sri Lankan northern and eastern war zone was uneventful, in that I got there and back without any additional holes in my body. Although I visited 10 refugee camps, there were many, many more for me to visit.

Howdy—

Life here in Sri Lanka continues to slide downhill. People seem to have forgotten the relative peace and prosperity they experienced just a few short years ago during the ceasefire.

My Mission…

Two hundred thousand faces form a crowd, all gathered in a peace meditation. In August 1999, the Sarvodaya organization began its peace initiative in Sri Lanka by calling 100,000 people to mobilize and meditate for peace.