‘Even fish have an ethnicity’: Livelihoods and Identities of Men and Women in War-affected Coastal Trincomalee, Sri Lanka Coastal War-affected Women in ‘Even fish have an ethnicity’: Livelihoods and Identities of Men ‘Even fish have an ethnicity’: Livelihoods and Identities of Men and Women in War-affected Coastal Trincomalee, Sri Lanka Gayathri Lokuge Gayathri Lokuge ‘Even Fish Have an Ethnicity’: Livelihoods and Identities of Men and Women in War-affected Coastal Trincomalee, Sri Lanka Gayathri Hiroshani Hallinne Lokuge 1 Thesis committee Supervisor Prof. dr. ir. D.J.M. (Thea) Hilhorst Special Chair for Humanitarian Aid and Reconstruction (HAR) Wageningen University, the Netherlands Co-promotors Dr Malathi de Alwis Visiting Professor, Faculty of Graduate Studies University of Colombo, Sri Lanka Prof. dr. ir. Georg Frerks Chair of Conflict Prevention and Conflict Management Utrecht University, the Netherlands Chair of International Security Studies Netherlands Defence Academy Other members Prof. dr. S.R. (Simon) Bush (Wageningen University, the Netherlands) Prof. dr. Jonathan Goodhand (School of Oriental and African Studies [SOAS], University of London, United Kingdom) Dhr. dr. J.M. (Maarten) Bavinck (Amsterdam University, the Netherlands) Dr. Shyamika Jayasundara-Smits (International Institute of Social Science, Erasmus University, the Netherlands) This research was conducted under the auspices of the Graduate School of Social Sciences. 2 ‘Even Fish Have an Ethnicity’: Livelihoods and Identities of Men and Women in War-affected Coastal Trincomalee, Sri Lanka Gayathri Hiroshani Hallinne Lokuge Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of doctor at Wageningen University by the authority of the Rector Magnificus Prof. Dr A. P. J. Mol in the presence of the Thesis Committee appointed by the Academic Board to be defended in public on Monday 3 July 2017 at 1.30 p.m. in the Aula 3 Gayathri Hiroshani Hallinne Lokuge ‘Even Fish Have an Ethnicity’: Livelihoods and Identities of Men and Women in War-affected Coastal Trincomalee, Sri Lanka PhD thesis, Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands. (2017) With references, with summary in English ISBN DOI 4 Contents List of Figures ................................................................................................................................................... 8 List of Tables .................................................................................................................................................. 10 Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................................... 11 Glossary of Local Terms ................................................................................................................................. 14 Abbreviations and Acronyms ......................................................................................................................... 17 Chapter One: General Introduction................................................................................................................ 19 1.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 20 1.1.1. Locating the research .................................................................................................................. 24 1.1.2. ‘Post- war’ Sri Lanka, ethnic narratives and the state ................................................................ 24 1.1.3. Coastal Trincomalee ................................................................................................................... 27 1.1.4. Impact of war in coastal Trincomalee ........................................................................................ 30 1.1.5. Fisheries in Trincomalee ............................................................................................................ 32 1.1.6. Fisher-folk in Trincomalee ......................................................................................................... 33 1.1.7. State and non-state stakeholders in fisheries .............................................................................. 36 1.1.8. Locating the research within the Secure Livelihoods Research Consortium .............................. 37 1.2 Research objective and research questions ......................................................................................... 38 1.2.1 Overall research question ................................................................................................................ 39 1.2.2 Operationalisation of the research question .................................................................................... 39 1.3 Theoretical Framework ....................................................................................................................... 41 1.3.1 Economic sociology ........................................................................................................................ 41 1.3.2 Identity, intersectionality and beyond: Structural inequality and people’s agency ......................... 44 1.3.3 Fisheries compliance and legitimacies ........................................................................................... 48 1.4 Researching on a slippery floor: Methods, tools and positionality ..................................................... 49 1.4.1 Research approach and data collection ........................................................................................... 51 1.4.2 Types of data and tools ................................................................................................................... 52 1.4.3 The field work sites......................................................................................................................... 53 1.5 Profile of respondents ......................................................................................................................... 58 1.5.1 Data Analysis .................................................................................................................................. 61 1.5.2 Positionality and reflexivity ............................................................................................................ 62 1.6 Thesis outline and zooming in on the four analytical chapters ........................................................... 64 1.6.1 Chapter 2: The moral economy of fishing in Trincomalee ................................................................. 64 1.6.2 Chapter 3: Intersectionality and inequality in fisheries in Trincomalee .............................................. 66 1.6.3 Chapter 4: Masculinities and wholesale fish trading in Trincomalee ................................................. 67 1.6.4 Chapter 5: Illegal fishing and legitimacy ............................................................................................ 68 Chapter Two: Risk, Reciprocity and Solidarity: The Moral Economy of Fishing in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka ...... 70 2.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 71 5 2.2 Conceptual approach .......................................................................................................................... 72 2.2.1 Self, society and the moral economy .............................................................................................. 73 2.2.2 Religious values and fishing ........................................................................................................... 74 2.3 Study context and methods ................................................................................................................. 76 2.3.1 Methods and data ............................................................................................................................ 77 2.4 The role of religion in the fishing communities of Trincomalee .......................................................... 78 2.5 The impact of conflict on fisher livelihoods: Shared religious experiences .......................................... 79 2.6 The religious moral economy of fishing .............................................................................................. 80 2.6.1 Hindus and fishing: Reciprocity and social solidarity .................................................................... 81 2.6.2 Buddhism and fishing: To kill or not to kill? .................................................................................. 82 2.6.3 Muslims and fishing: Our families will engage in fasting for us .................................................... 84 2.7 Solidarity and economic justice ........................................................................................................... 85 2.8 Conclusions .......................................................................................................................................... 87 Chapter Three: Outside the Net: Intersectionality and Inequality in Fisheries in Trincomalee District, Sri Lanka ............................................................................................................................................................. 89 3.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................