Garments for reconciliation

With the loss of GSP+ companies are looking for cheaper opportunities and retrenching themselves to the north. This is a positive development on several levels but the concern is how it would affect the reconciliation process.

Fortunately there is already an example ready at hand in the Eastern Province where Brandix has set up a factory in Punani that proved to be a stepping stone to reconciliation. It grouped women from all three communities and the unique home grown training methods that they were equipped with, resulted in unprecedented reconciliation between the people of that area.

Surprisingly urbanised people assume that people of different ethnicities in the east are familiar with each other, but as it turned out that the opposite was true. Despite living next to each other the villagers had little or no contact with those who were ethnically different; but their employment at the apparel factory formed the foundation for them to connect with each other.

The trainers divided the employees into groups and made them do tasks together, gradually making them surmount their language difficulties and build strong friendships. The company took it a step further by refusing to brand anyone, and journalists visiting the factory were stoutly told that the rehabilitated suicide cadres could not be interviewed, ensuring that they become just another worker. This infusion of equitable normalcy formed the right backdrop for people to build strong relationships with each other and obtain a livelihood at the same time.       

Brandix Limited, Hirdaramani Limited, Timex Garments Limited, MAS Holdings, and Omega Line Limited are reported to be interested in setting up shop in the north. Accordingly they are considering Omanthai, Nelunkulam and Cheddikulam areas in order to provide employment opportunities for the youth of the Northern Province.

These are positive developments but what all these companies must be aware of is that they have a much larger role to play than just making profits.

The north has many social problems. Over 200, 000 people, approximately one third of the entire population of the North are unemployed — among them are 3000 graduates. There are thousands of war orphans and war widows who need to be drawn into the larger economy so that they can lead stable lives. Companies must protect the environment and provide room for sustainable development as well.

Perhaps the most crucial of their roles is to make a platform for reconciliation so that these communities can finally heal their scars and move on. This is simply good business. With the loss of GSP+ the Joint Apparel Associations Forum (JAAF) devised a three year strategy that clearly outlined goals to minimise production costs and find niche markets. Moving to the north gives them the opportunity to do both; the infrastructure facilities there being better than what they would find in the south of the country.

Giving back to the community is a roundabout way of returning value to themselves; a strong community can provide a business enabling environment that fuels growth. So, this is clearly a win-win situation for all stakeholders. A philanthropic vision is not a weakness – it is in fact a great strength. Some of the greatest business ventures in the world have sprung from good intentions — take for example the nano car or Microsoft. The latter became a global revolution because Bill Gates wanted to create a level playing field in society by giving poor people access to information, and the personal computer was born. TATA created history with the world’s cheapest car to transport millions of India’s emerging middle class. These are all based on good intentions that have made business history, and it’s time for Sri Lanka to make our own.