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| Assistant Professor Irna van Molen travels for projects concentrated on conflict and governance in relation to natural resources. (Foto: Gijs van Ouwerkerk) |
Embarking on research trips to worn torn lands and areas of conflict, such as Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Lebanon and India, Van der Molen blended in with the cultures surrounding her, sometimes acting on the wings of serendipity and possessing an innate sense of respect for native cultures. Her next step will involve leading a project in the coastal area of North-Lebanon in cooperation with the Centre for Conflict Studies at the University of Utrecht and with other participating partners. The project aims to identify opportunities for post-war approaches for vulnerability-reduction in affected communities.
Originally, the project concept developed from research carried out by a Lebanonese PhD candidate, Anseel Takshe, under the supervision of Professor Jon Lovett, who works both at York University and University of Twente in the Technology and Sustainable Development (TSD) Group. Tapping in on Van der Molen's wealth of expertise in development work, Lovett asked her to further develop the initial proposal and to lead the project funded by WOTO Science for Global Development. One of the partners is the Institute of Environment at the Balamand University in Lebanon. The project starts at the beginning of the next academic year.
Van der Molen's academic preference for studying conflicts related to natural resources earnestly developed while conducting field research for her PhD thesis entitled `Rains, droughts and dreams of Prosperity.' In northern Sri Lanka, nestled in the Anuradhapua district, she spent 14 months over the course of three years traveling on a motorbike in small villages like Walpola, which at that time had electricity but no phone access. She bathed in the local irrigation reservoir with a wrap-around sheet as was the custom of the local ladies. Considered the `mecca of gossip,' villagers also washed their clothing in the reservoir using stones and soap.
Controlled by government forces, the area was previously a place of armed conflicts involving the Tamil Tigers. At an earlier stage (1987-1989), the People's Liberation Front (JVP), a militant Maoist organization, led their second resurrection in Sri Lanka, which Van der Molen speaks of as `a very cruel period' in which even professors were brutally killed.
Without a doubt, her most harrowing experience was in the company of a member of the parliament and her research assistant Subhashini Seneviratne, when they had heard about a military plane which crashed nearby transporting soldiers who were scheduled go on leave. She was transported in an SUV to the crash site to witness firsthand the consequences of war: burned body parts and no survivors. `You have these contrasting images as you travel through natural reservation areas, and then on another day, you are confronted with such a disaster.'
Questions of safety issues become crucial to conducting research in the area of conflict studies. When is it safe to travel? What is a wise choice in light of travel advice from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs? `It's something you always have to factor in, for example, when your research partners are unable to travel inside their own country or when a conflict erupts during a visiting researcher's stay,' said Van der Molen.
The project in North-Lebanon is still looking for PhD candidates, who have an intermediate knowledge of Lebanon and can fluently speak Arabic, French and English. Community-Based Organizations (CBO) at the grass root level, Van der Molen said, offer the best shot at making a contribution to improve the situation in these countries. `It's a gradual process and the peace process is also gradual. Many people think negotiations and mediations have immediate results. It's not black and white. In a small way, it's making contributions to societies and countries,' she said.
