Lights of Hope

A Sri Lankan technician strings lights for Arugam Bay's "Lights of Hope" celebration. Photo: Amy Ellingson/Mercy Corps

The big day is finally here.

Mercy Corps and Sri Lanka's Arugam Bay Tourism Association leadership are all abuzz with plans for this evening’s "Lights of Hope" ceremony. The event has been two weeks in the making, ever since the Arugam Bay Tourism Association asked Mercy Corps to help re-establish the Bay’s famous colorful nightscape in the aftermath of December's devastating tsunami.

One hundred strands of colored lights have graced the town’s restaurants and hotels lining the main street - its only street. A technician has assured that all strands are wired for success when the signal is given. Up and down the street, the word is spreading – don’t turn on your lights until you get the sign – fireworks!

Since it was announced, this ceremony has developed into a symbolic milestone for the small beach town. In the years since 2001's historic ceasefire, Arugam Bay’s reputation as a tourist destination has steadily grown, particularly amongst surfers. In fact, last June, Arugam Bay hosted Sri Lanka’s first-ever international surf competition. A local resident won the title, which made townspeople very proud.

December's tsunami decimated the town and destroyed much of the tourist infrastructure - but didn't destroy the hopes and resolve of Arugam Bay's residents.

These days, everyone involved with a restaurant, hotel, gift shop or other tourist venture is determined to be ready to welcome the tourists back to Arugam Bay for another successful season. Considering that there are over 100 family businesses represented by the Tourism Association in a town of 3,500, you can see that this is truly a community-wide effort.

To honor their efforts and celebrate their achievements thus far, Mercy Corps and the officers of the Tourism Association planned a ceremony that would acknowledge the metaphysical hurdles that Arugam Bay business owners have overcome. “We thought of giving light to the hearts of the community,” said Nowshan, Vice-President of the Tourism Association.

There were five speakers initially invited to share their brief thoughts on the progress of Arugam Bay. But somehow five was not enough, and it seemed that everyone had something to add once the microphone was live.

After the ceremony, when I asked Nowshan who his favorite speaker had been, he thought long and hard before settling on the government representative of the area who had been largely disengaged from the community until very recently. This officer had been surprised by the progress that the Tourism Association had achieved with the help of Mercy Corps, and made a point of congratulating the village on its self-initiative and social concern.

Another speaker pointed out that out of all the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) who came, nobody but Mercy Corps stayed with the people and got to know the community from the inside. “We are very proud of this collaboration with Mercy Corps, an organization that helps even the deep sea fishermen, those who are the lowest and poorest," he said. "Mercy Corps is helping us all get back to work.”

When asked what he took away from the ceremony, Nowshan told me that from the Tourism Association’s point of view, “it meant a lot that Mercy Corps, our funder, really knows our situation and what we are going through, and cares enough to host an event such as this to celebrate our achievements with us.”

Despite my outsider’s hesitancy about a ceremony titled "Lights of Hope", I couldn’t help but get caught up in the moment – especially when the firework signal exploded into a hundred streaks of silvery light reaching for the moon.

Walking through town that night, with all the colored lights blinking, I laughed with the residents of Arugam Bay as we relished the hope for an even better tomorrow.