The Peeping Tom Of Our Republic

By Grusha Andrews –NOVEMBER 6, 2018

There is a popular folk saying in Sinhalese that reads: “even if you take the coconut scraper to Europe, all you can do with it is scrape coconuts”. Our grand mothers who lived in an era where travelling to Europe was a mark of social mobility tried to infer that a limited man is a limited man in spite of changing location or position. Maithripala Sirisena, who showed his treacherous, undemocratic disposition by the coup he implemented against our very democracy proved our collective grannies correct when he stooped to a new low. In fact he stooped to the abysmal depths of human indecency showing the poverty of his soul. Yesterday at the Mahinda- Maithri rally at Battaramulla, he referredto Prime Minister Ranil Wikremesinghe and his political associates as “butterflies” – a derogatory term used to refer to gay men in the Sri Lankan context.

When this despicable, ill-disciplined statement which insults the very office he holds was delivered by the President of our republic, all the politicians visible in that video were laughing like hyenas, clapping. They were, namely, Mahinda Rajapaksa, Dinesh Gunawardena, Bandula Gunawardane, Susil Premjayanth and Lakshman Yapa Abeywardene. As expected the crowds gathered at this meeting were enthralled and they were screaming in ecstasy with their hands raised to the sky. To speculate the homosexuality of another, to insult a person based on that and to state that a weakness or a character flaw of a person is due to his or her purported sexual orientation shows how uneducated, imbecilic and narrow minded our President is.

So This Is The “Clash Of Cultures”!

To discriminate or debase another based on their race, religion, caste, sexual orientation or place of origin is a violation of their fundamental rights. Further it is lowly, unsophisticated, cruel and an act that can be carried out by an uncultured coward. By his own admission Sirisena confirmed that there were irreconcilable “cultural differences” between himself and Wickremesinghe. Sirisena was clearly correct. To keep what’s in the bedroom inside the bed room is cultured. To watch sexual intercourse through key holes and to fantasize of the same is uncultured. What we have in our republic is not a President but a Peeping Tom.

The Facebook page “Dedunu Sanwaada”, in an eloquent post summarizes the social tragedy of this uncultured-ness in the following manner:

“Our society that calls itself moral suffers from generalized sexual frustration. We are all experiencing it. While fathers sexually molest their daughters, clergy also molest children. Authorities seek sexual bribes from mothers to admit children to schools. The law maker politicians are even more sexually frustrated. They take sexual bribes even to enter a name to an electoral register. Meanwhile allegations of sexual exploitation are aimed at the police and the armed forces. Further ,the traditional family structure is also eroding. Even the judiciary that exists to deliver justice is full of sexual misconduct. On the surface all these appear as unsolvable problems. When the deer ransack the’ chena’s and escape ,the farmer, out of his frustration beats up the deer skin at home  to vent his anger. The homosexual in our society is the scapegoat or all of society’s apparently unresolvable ills”. 

So When Did Sirisena “Choose” His Sexuality?

From the sardonic statement he made and the sarcastically triumphant laughter he displayed, it appears that Sirisena thinks that homosexuality is a laughable weakness. He seems to believe that it’s a “faulty choice” and hence a laughable. This begs the question: does this uneducated President truly believe that sexual orientation is a conscious choice? That at the dawn of adolescence humans choose to be hetero or homosexuals? Like you choose between a blue shirt and a pink shirt? If so when did Sirisena choose his sexuality? 

Further, as stated by Sirisena, he first approached Karu Jayasuriya to become Prime Minister. Is he sure that Jayasuriya is heterosexual? How about Sajith Premadasa whom he also approached? Is he sure that Sajith is heterosexual? Was he a Peeping Tom at their doors too? What about Dinesh Gunawardena clapping away? Has he no brother, no relative who is a homosexual? Is Sirisena confident that the General Secretary of Pohottuwa, G.L. Peiris, sitting there is conclusively heterosexual? 

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Constitutional Governance in a Parliamentary Democracy

2018-11-07 00:00:02

President Maithripala Sirisena has purported to govern this country during the last week by presidential decree, without explaining to the nation how he placed a Government in office on October 26, 2018 without summoning Parliament.  The Constitution does not permit him to administer a Government of his choosing without fulfilling his responsibility to Parliament.


Article 33A of the Constitution states clearly that the president “shall be responsible to parliament for the due exercise, performance and discharge of his powers, duties and functions under the Constitution”. It is very clear that despite any legalistic and technical arguments, the basic principles are that the president is governed by the Constitution and must act with accountability to Parliament.  His prorogation of Parliament is unconstitutional and flouts this basic principle of governance in a parliamentary democracy.

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• The citizens of this country have a right to demand that parliament be immediately convened
• History has shown that would-be dictators take office promising stability and the well-being of the country

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It was earlier announced in the media that the President had agreed to convene Parliament on November 7. Now a Gazette notification has been issued indicating that Parliament will meet on November 14 , two days before the prorogation expires.  This postponement is contrary to his obligations to respect and safeguard the Constitution and is a violation of the rights of the people. Presidential power is subject to the concept of the sovereignty of the people and the president’s obligations under Article 33A.
When Parliament cannot meet until November 14 it has no opportunity to discuss the current crisis in governance or to facilitate the formation of a lawful Government.  The President  has appointed an ‘interim’ Government, replacing at his will and pleasure, a Prime Minister, a Cabinet, senior Heads of State institutions and public servants. The newly appointed persons have taken office, accepting the President’s argument that he is exercising lawful powers under the Constitution. This is despite a powerful alternative opinion that has challenged the legality of his action.  Unfortunately for the country these opinions expressed by diverse individuals and groups, especially lawyers, supporting or challenging him, are now being perceived as partisan.

The newly appointed persons have taken office, accepting the President’s argument that he is exercising lawful powers under the Constitution. This is despite a powerful alternative opinion that has challenged the legality of his action. 

We as citizens must recognise the importance of Article 33A of the Constitution. The President must therefore summon parliament immediately and not wait till November 14.  It is Parliament that must decide whether he has acted lawfully from October 26, 2018, and clarify the Prime Minister and Government that comes into office.  The only other alternative is for the President to go before the Supreme Court, the third agency that represents the sovereignty of the people under Article 4 of the Constitution, and seek a clarification on the legitimacy of his actions in this time of crisis.
In this critical time of national crisis day by day there is speculation that Members of Parliament are crossing from one party to another for large sums of money and the plums of office. Shamelessly, political leaders supporting the President’s action are claiming that they have obtained the magic numbers to form a Government. The fact that corruption is entrenched in the body politic should not deter us as citizens from expressing our disgust at these acts of treachery to the voters, at a time when the country is facing an unprecedented political crisis in governance.

The only other alternative is for the President to go before the Supreme Court, the third agency that represents the sovereignty of the people under Article 4 of the Constitution, and seek a clarification on the legitimacy of his actions in this time of crisis

We remind the President that it was he who promised to introduce limitations on presidential powers under our Constitution. When the 19th Amendment was passed in Parliament, it was in response to the persistent public demand to reduce presidential powers.  Therefore the 19th Amendment limited the presidential term of office, established a Constitutional Council and independent commissions, and repealed the discretionary power of the president to remove the Prime Minister. It is a shameless disregard of this political mandate given to him by the people, for the President, some ministers, political leaders and members of parliament   to use technical legal arguments to undermine the fundamental constitutional changes introduced by the 19th Amendment.
There are several MPs and holders of ministerial office who were rejected by voters, but were sent to parliament by the President on the national list. They joined the President in passing the 19th Amendment. They have now become spokesmen for the authoritarian exercise of this same presidential power. We must not permit such politicians, or a president who does not exercise his powers with accountability to parliament, to be considered the saviours of the nation. We must not be misled by the money being poured into public cutouts and the efforts taken to make heroes out of individuals who have subverted parliamentary democracy.

Article 33A of the Constitution states clearly that the president “shall be responsible to parliament for the due exercise, performance and discharge of his powers duties and functions under the Constitution

The citizens of this country have a right to demand that parliament be immediately convened in a conflict-free peaceful environment where all members behave with dignity and accountability to electors who voted them in to office. If the Government can’t lawfully govern this country and its Prime Minister cannot be identified, we call for a dissolution of Parliament under the exceptional provisions in Article 70, so that the people can decide for themselves who they will place in office.  An interim Government cannot seek to administer the country without a vote in Parliament or the President asking for an interpretation from the Supreme Court under Article 129(1).
History has shown that would-be dictators take office promising stability and the well-being of the country.  History has also demonstrated repeatedly that once in office they consolidate their grip on power and suppress the rights of the people. President Maithripala Sirisena came into office in 2015 on a majority vote where the people expressed confidence and a deep desire for accountable democratic governance.  Let him not go down in our history as the person who trampled on parliamentary democracy and the rights of the people. (Media Release from The Friday Forum)

It is a shameless disregard of this political mandate given to him by the people, for the President, some ministers, political leaders and members of parliament   to use technical legal arguments to undermine the fundamental constitutional changes introduced by the 19th Amendment

(The authors have penned this article on behalf of: Mr. Sanjayan Rajasingham, Dr. Dinesha Samararatne, Mr. Priyantha Gamage, Mr. Faiz-ur Rahman, Dr. Upatissa Pethiyagoda, Prof. Ranjini Obeyesekere, Prof. Gananath Obeyesekere, Prof. Arjuna Aluwihare, Bishop Duleep de Chickera, Dr. A.C.Visvalingam, Mr. Chandra Jayaratne, Mr. Daneshan Casie Chetty, Mr. Tissa Jayatilaka, Mr. Prashan de Visser, Mr. Pulasthi Hewamanna, Mr. S.C.C.Elankovan and Mr. Dhammapala Wijayanandana.)
The Friday Forum is an informal group of concerned citizens pledged to uphold norms of democracy, good governance, the rule of law, human rights, media freedom and tolerance in our pluralist society.

MANAGEMENT OF NATIONAL MONEY: NEED FOR NEW TECHNIQUES

P. Samarasiri-Wednesday, November 7, 2018

My article published in Daily News “Economic Insights” on November 1, 2018 covered how banks manage credit in banking business. Credit is the source of creation of national money. Bank credit is only the middle layer of credit/national money pyramid. The bottom is the credit/money printed by the Central Bank (CB). The upper pyramid contains diverse credit markets, both organised and informal. Financial crises that erupt from time to time are the cracks of the pyramid at systemically important points, i.e., some banks or credit markets or both.

How Credit Creates Money

Money in the economy is created by risky, pyramidal business of credit. The CB is the guardian of the credit pyramid through the legal tender/currency on behalf of the government. Each currency note in the pyramid is a liability of or credit to the government. Consider following transactions.

* The CB lends Rs. 100 to the government and stops any further money printing.

* The government takes currency and spends.

* Public receive currency (Rs. 100) as income.

* The general banking habit of public is that they keep a small portion of income as currency and the balance in deposits at banks for transactions. If the public’s currency holding is 10% of income, Rs. 90 is deposited at banks.

* Bank business is the lending out of deposits after keeping a portion of deposits as reserves with the CB (statutory reserves, 7.5% at present) and at hand (e.g., 3.6% for internal payments). Therefore,
banks deposit Rs. 6.75 at the CB, retain Rs. 3.25 at hand and lend the balance Rs. 80.

* Bank borrowers (households, companies, investors and government) spend the proceeds of bank loans.

* The money so spent is received again by public as their income. They keep 10% as currency and deposit the balance Rs. 72. Therefore, Rs. 72 out of Rs. 80 loans have become new deposits.

* The national money at this stage is Rs. 262 (i.e., Rs. 100 in currency and Rs. 162 in deposits), i.e. Rs. 100 printed and Rs. 162 created.

* The same process continues on new deposits of Rs. 72 also several rounds between lending and deposits.

This creation will stop when total Rs. 100 of currency is completely absorbed into currency holdings of the public and reserves of banks as no further credit can be granted by banks due to non-availability of currency reserves to be kept for new deposits. The time taken/speed to finish the process depends on banking habits. If banks reduce reserves, they can further expand credit and deposits. At the end, the public will hold more money than money printed by the CB due to creation of money.

The public does not stop at banks. They deposit, invest and borrow from non-bank financial institutions and credit markets. Therefore, this layer also creates credit and money. The total national money that serves the economy is the sum of all credit in the pyramid. Therefore, the national money is nothing but national credit. However, for policy purpose, we count national money created at the banking layer only (i.e., bank money). See graphic and table

National Bank Money

The CB is the printing layer for grant of credit to and purchase of foreign exchange from banks and government. The purchase of foreign exchange is also credit as the CB has to sell it back when demanded for foreign payments. The CB buys foreign exchange without letting the currency to appreciate in the market. When same foreign exchange is demanded later, it is not proper for the CB to suddenly decline it and let the market to determine the currency value. Banks grant credit depending on the public’s banking habits and demand for credit by various sectors of the economy for consumption and investments determined by the macroeconomic momentum and expectations.
Nobody can have a correct economic model or divine wisdom to determine the volume of national money required or desirable to fuel a level of the macroeconomy, as measured by the growth or employment or general price level or any other variables, desirable for the public. If something is produced too much than needed, its price will plummet causing bankruptcies. The same applies for national money too. Therefore, the control of national money stock is a need-based judgement to keep the economy going without confronting bankruptcies.

Managing National Money

The national money also is a product that has a value/price determined by demand and supply. This value has two components. First is the recovery value of underlying credit which depends on credit risk. The second is the purchasing value or what credit/money can buy which depends on inflation risk. The price actually charged is the interest rate on credit to cover both risks. The higher the risk, the higher is the interest rate. Therefore, national money management involves in managing the volume of money/credit at a reasonable degree of two risks.

* Credit Risk

Deposits perform as money only if borrowers repay underlying credit. The credit or default risk varies across banks. The CB also does not have means to redeem all paper currency and foreign exchange. The excessive currency depreciation is partly about poor repayment of foreign exchange. The general public confidence keeps the credit pyramid performing as the public rarely demand their money in herd. The prudential regulation largely keeps the confidence and banks safe and sound, but never guaranteed. Therefore, the public also need to be patient and prudent in managing their money to control underlying credit risk within their appetite. Unmanaged credit risk cracks the credit/money pyramid. Runs to banks in herds serve no purpose other than bankruptcy to all.

* Inflation Risk

Inflation risk occurs when prices in general in the economy are to rise. The domestic value of money and international value of money are the two concepts that separate the inflation risk between domestically produced goods and services and imports. In modern economies, no pure domestic inflation can be calculated due to international trade and global value chains. Therefore, inflation is a risk combined of both domestic and foreign factors. The recent excessive currency depreciation is a good experience how unmanaged national money gets eroded in value due to inflation risk. Unmanaged inflation is a risk to living standards of fixed income earners being the majority public. Protracted deflation also is a risk as it causes economic recession, e.g., Japan, the US and Europe during the past decade.

As such, national money management is part and parcel of the national economy management as the money fuels the economy. The CB is the authority for policies to manage both risks of national money in Sri Lanka. Prudential regulation and monetary policy are the mutually supportive mandates. The Monetary Law Act has provided a wide framework for the past 67 years to manage both national money and national economy. Therefore, risks to national money and economy can be exacerbated by the failure of the CB too.

A Way Forward for New Techniques

We need to review whether our credit pyramid is effective to minimize risks and promote the quantum of macroeconomy desirable. All advanced economies have got to this stage by managing the wider credit pyramid to cater to various sectors of the economy irrespective of the scales

Sri Lanka also had an active credit delivery policy through the banking system until early 2000s. The policy had specific focus on sectors of the economy based on setting up of development credit institutions, the CB refinance, foreign credit funds and bank credit for rural agriculture, small and medium industries, self-employment, export industries, rural housing, etc.

1) Monetary Law Act (MLA)-CB/Monetary Board (MB) as the National Money/Credit Manager

* Section 5

Securing the objectives of economic and price stability and financial system stability, with a view to encouraging and promoting the developments of productive resources in Sri Lanka as the authority responsible for the administration, supervision and regulation of the monetary, financial and payments system of Sri Lanka by actions authorized in the MLA.

* Section 63

i) Regulate the supply, availability and cost of money as to secure, so far as possible for above objectives, having regard to the monetary needs of particular sectors of the economy as well as of the economy as a whole.

ii) Determine domestic monetary policies especially by considering their effects on Sri Lanka’s international financial position as evidenced by the relation of domestic to world prices and costs, by the level and composition of exports and imports, by the international balance of payments, and, ultimately, by the ability of the Central Bank to maintain the international stability of the Sri Lanka rupee and its free convertibility for current international transactions.

* Section 65

Determine the international monetary policy to maintain the par value of the Sri Lanka rupee or exchange arrangements as are consistent with the underlying trends in the country and so relate its exchange with other currencies as to assure its free use for current international transactions.

* Section 101(1)(b)

Fixing the maximum percentage of loans to be extended to any identified sector of the economy by commercial banks or specialized banks.

* Sections 30

Actions in respect of a bank insolvent or likely to become unable to meet demands of its depositors or that its continuance in business is likely to involve loss to depositors and creditors.

There is a large number of policy actions permitted to the MB/CB for above duties.

2) Solution to Problems

Despite above mandates, significant problems in the volume and distribution of national money across sectors continue. The depreciating currency is a fine eye-witness for huge loss to public’s funds due to sudden CB decision without pre-research to let the market mechanism to determine the exchange rate without due regard to requirements of the MLA. Everybody knows the difficulty in getting credit to micro and SME sector. Modern private credit channels remain suppressed due to stringent definition of deposits and unfriendly regulations which make almost all investment trusts unauthorized deposit-takers.

The monetary policy remains inappropriate for an active credit/money pyramid. First, the policy is unreasonably focused on flexible inflation targets monitored from the weather and subsidy/administrative prices-driven cost of living index. Second, the overnight inter-bank interest rate target-based bank liquidity management is adopted to transmit the monetary policy to the wider credit pyramid without any assessment of sectoral credit needs. The CB does not have empirical research on success of its policies to manage national money and economy within the MLA. Even the US Fed has credit and regulatory policies to promote wider credit delivery to address sectoral credit needs.

The current monetary policy model is a result of the CB modernized for a lean central bank in early 2000s as recommended by the IMF/World Bank in western versions although the CB was the central bank of Sri Lanka. Western central banks have changed their monetary policy version to aid recovery from the global financial crisis 2007/09. When the initially modernized monetary policy framework was submitted to former Governor A. S. Jayawardena in December 2000, he commented “this sounds like changing the pillow for headache!”.

The CB’s modernization eorked only for a lean monetary policy by abandoning active credit channels while all concerned agency functions continued with huge conflicts of interests and irregularities. Therefore, we need to reactivate the full potential of the Sri Lankan monetary policy to serve for all economic sectors in compliance with the MLA. Without innovating the pyramid’s core, the government cannot promote it with ad-hoc credit schemes through state banks.

Therefore, we need to have a strong policy discussion. The CB’s young economists who have interests in the country need to rethink and start economic research to assess sectoral credit and economic needs (under section 25 of the MLA) and implement monetary and regulatory policies to promote a credit pyramid that can serve the majority public while preserving its stability. There are ample success stories from the world. Those are not rocket-sciences, but ways of doing things for the benefit of wider public. Otherwise, the present economic management model of gambling on children would be catastrophic.

(The writer is a recently retired public servant as a Deputy Governor of the CB and a chairman and a member of 6 Public Boards. In his nearly 35 years’ service in the CB, he also served as Director of Bank Supervision, Secretary to the Monetary Board and Senior Deputy Governor and authored 5 economics and financial/banking books published by the CB and 49 articles)

Concept note: Linking ‘Grama Shakthi’ program with export-oriented agricultural value chains

Technology transfer, capital investments, production efficiency and involvement of ICT have limited our capacities to harness benefits from export-oriented agricultural value chains – Pic by Shehan Gunasekara

Wednesday, 7 November 2018

Sri Lanka’s economy is built on agriculture. Sri Lanka is rich with biodiversity, climatic variations, water sources and soils that can accommodate large number of agricultural crops. Regardless of whether these crops are native or introduced our farmers are pioneers in growing anything on this land.

We were once a proud self-sufficient nation. Economic liberalisation exposed us to imports and exports, giving our agricultural producers the opportunity to earn export income. However, our opportunities have been constrained by many factors. Technology transfer, capital investments, production efficiency and involvement of ICT have limited our capacities to harness benefits from export-oriented agricultural value chains.

Therefore, to this date, most of our agricultural value chains are primitive. Information asymmetry on prices and markets have limited our farmers to be price takers leaving no power to bargain. Inefficient agricultural advisory services have convinced our farmers that there is no help, giving more room for private entities to promote their own products, not for the benefit of farmers but for their own private gains.

Quality standards are hardly practiced and there is no traceability at all since the market does not adjust the prices to provide enough signals. Limited capital investments and technology transfers have pushed our farmers to produce raw materials only, leaving no room to attract higher prices. At the end of the day blood and sweat of our farmers are being bargained and sold for pennies at regional economic centres such as Dambulla resulting almost 40% post-harvest losses. All this has resulted in tying our framers into a vicious cycle of poverty, with no hope of achieving SGDs. This is not the agriculture development we dream for, this does not justify our proud history.

Therefore, we need to think outside the box. We need to provide enough incentives for farmers and major stakeholders in agricultural value chains to think in terms of export-oriented value chains, use of ICT technology and more and more value addition. On average close to 40% of the rents in agricultural value chains are being extracted by middlemen. This is highly inefficient and that money should in fact go to the agricultural producers.

The Grama Shakthi program provides a unique opportunity for farmers (producers) and well as buyers (in this case exporters) to work together to harness the benefits of an efficiently managed export-oriented agricultural value chains. In order to understand this, I will first explain the incentive structure around farmers and exporters. Grama Shakthi program could become the vehicle that provides the necessary incentives for both these parties leaving no room for the middlemen to exploit the rents of the value chain.


What are the incentives for the exporters? 

What exporters are interested in is a quality and a continuous supply. This can be raw materials or value-added products. Ideally to have both these conditions an exporter has to invest in a field officer network, a collection centre arrangement, cold storage facility, a value adding processing centre and a logistic network (probably with a cold supply chain). This is a larger transaction cost for the exporter therefore his incentive to invest in these is very less.

Today only a limited number of exporters have field officers on ground, but that is mainly to manage their loyal producers which they have also invested in. Only a handful of exporters are running logistic networks with cold storage and supply. Therefore, at the moment collectors have evolved in agricultural value chains to cater logistic demand where they extract the most rents out of the value chains.

For example, during the regular season OKRA is demanded at Rs. 35 per Kg at Dambulla market. At the same time exporters pay Rs. 130 per Kg if farmers can bring this to their factory to the required quality. However, there are collectors/middlemen who work with farmers on cost recovery programs (they provide seeds and fertilisers and recover the cost when the harvest is bought from the field) who will pay just Rs. 50 per Kg to the farmer. Therefore, at the end, middlemen attract most rents from the value chain.

Since exporters do not directly deal with farmers, middlemen have the ability to control the flow of demand side information to the farmer, such as, what crops to grow, quality parameters and prices and opportunity for value addition. Now, the question is ‘Can the Gram Shakthi program replace the middleman and make sure the agricultural producers have most of the rents from value chains?’


What are the incentives for the farmer?

It is clear that, getting in to an export-oriented value chain requires money. Inputs are costly. On average, for a crop like OKRA, one acre of land will need around Rs. 20,000 for seeds only. While the return is high most of our farmers are not capable of mobilising these input costs. Labour is not a serious issue since most rural farmers have their own labour invested in to agricultural activities. Therefore, farmers look for a cost recovery program (we call this a buyback program as well) with a forward contract. A forward contract is an agreement with the farmer or a farmer organisation where it specifies the cultivation process, buyback process, quality parameters, supply frequency and prices. Therefore, the incentive here is a “forward contact”.

Since quality is the most important aspect of an export oriented agricultural value chain, crop cultivation information, pest and disease management, harvesting, packaging and transportation with traceability is very important. For this farmer need advisory support. For the moment, farmer can get this knowledge from an agricultural extension officer or from 1920 agriculture advisory services. However, these services are also constrained with necessary knowledge to work with new improved (hybrid) seed varieties. Up to date knowledge on these management practices are with seed importers and agricultural exporters. This knowledge needs to be transferred to the farmer and then to the agriculture extension services and well. Therefore, the incentive here is an “efficient agriculture advisory service”.

Value addition should be a primary objective of an export-oriented value chain. For example, Moringa leaves have a high demand in the local as well as international market. However, the price paid to the product can be easily doubled if leaves are exported as dried leaves. A simple drying process can help farmers to attract a higher price.

Others examples are products like ginger, turmeric and vanilla. All these are attracting higher prices in the international markets, however with value addition agricultural producers can earn a very high price. For an example, 1 Kg of mature vanilla pods are bought from farmers at Rs. 6,500. Cured vanilla (a drying process) is bought at Rs. 32,000 per Kg. Vanillin extractions attract an even higher price in the export market. Therefore, value added products have the capacity for farmers to earn more, but they need investments. Hence the incentive here is the “investments for value addition”.


How can the Grama Shakthi program link farmers and exporter incentives?

Being a Government-headed program, Grama Shakthi has its own perks. The program is structured at divisional, provincial and national level linking the existing Government management system together. It has the blessings of the President himself, therefore any private initiative such as exporter associations have enough incentives to trust and depend on its sustainability.

The program is based on transparency and accountability, therefore involvement of different stakeholders in the value chain is visible leaving no room for rent seeking. At last, it aims to eradicate poverty from Sri Lanka, which is the primary objective of any government.

• Getting demand information to the producer

To date, we do not have a fully functioning common platform where exporters can inform about the orders that they have. However, I am optimistic since there are several private as well as donor initiatives working on this. For example, agriculture modernisation project under the funding of the EU is planning to build a web portal that publishes all the export related information including demands, prices and quality requirements. This web portal will be managed by a government entity, such as the EDB, or government’s e-gov program.

At the same time there are several private initiatives that have produced mobile application where exporters can publish their demands. Therefore, Grama Shakthi program does not have to re-invent the wheel. Rather, it only needs to make sure that farmers have access to ICT where they can either visit these web portals or download these mobile applications. Tools are there, we just need to make sure there is enough access.

However, we do not have to wait till these digital platforms are fully developed. Grama Shakthi program can start working with the exporter associations, for example National Chamber of Exporters, Lanka Fruit and Vegetable Producers, Processors and Exporters Association, International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements, Good Market, Spices & Allied Products Producers’ & Traders’ Association, etc.. With these organisations, demand can be identified and transferred back to the farmer/farmer organisations through the exiting provincial and divisional structure of the Grama Shakthi program.

• Agricultural advisory services

It is important to note that our existing agriculture advisory services do not have enough information on the new crop varieties. This is understandable since the department of agriculture (DOA), unless the crop variety is developed by them, will have no information on the new crop varieties.  For example.

‘Thinnaveli’ is a bitter gourd variety developed by the department of agriculture and is in high demand by the export-oriented value chains. However, ‘Maya’ is a bitter gourd variety which is more demand but the DOA does not hold research information on that since it is being imported to Sri Lanka by a private seed importer. Therefore, we need to link these information sources together.

The Grama Shakthi program can effectively do this linking process and transfer the knowledge to the agriculture extension officers at the village level who work closely with the farmers. Once this is done, they can transfer this knowledge to the farmers and they do not have to run around looking for advice whenever there is a pest and disease attack.

We can go one step further and make this information available on a digital/mobile based platform. For example, the 1920 agriculture advisory service (of the DOA) can be equipped with this knowledge so farmers can call and receive information free. ‘Govi Mithuro’ is another private owned initiative (headed by Dialog in partner with DOA) that we can use to communicate crop related information. ‘Crop Advisor’ is a mobile application (hosted by DOA, Developed by LIRNEasia) that can be downloaded freely which carry information on Good Agriculture Practices (GAP) information. Grams Shakthi program can depend and use all these resources for advisory services on export crops.

• Getting into forward contracts 

This is a crucial element of the export-oriented agriculture value chains. When exporters are linked with the farmers, some might agree to implement a forward contract backed by a buyback program, but some might not. The buyback component of the forward contract is important since the input costs are high.

We can do several things here. One is to form community level organisations or farmer associations and then link them to exporters. An organisation then can pool the necessary money together and labour can be shared.

If this is not possible, Grama Shakthi program can offer them micro-finance or recommend the farmer organisation to a private micro finance organisation. Micro finance organisations have less risk since the farmer organisation is backed by a forward contract, this is similar to a ‘Letter of Intent’ (LOI) where organisation usually submit for private investments.

Or, if the Grama Shakthi program is giving money directly to the household as an income support initiative, we can suggest them to use that to buy necessary agricultural inputs. We can easily link up with seed importing companies to provide a good discount on seeds for the farmers. Since a particular seed variety is imported by a single company they are in a better position to do this as a business promotion.

The same can be done for fertiliser and other inputs. In addition, we can explore local knowledge in managing pest and diseases and making organic fertilisers as a substitute for chemical input usage.  Knowledge on these are with farmers and research entities such as universities, DOA and SLINTEC.

Crops such as Gliricidia are good source of N, and can be grown as a fence crop in any agricultural land. On average one acre can accommodate 1,000 trees and close to 15 Kg per tree can be harvested every six months (in the wet zone). Leaves and the bark of the Gliricidia tree is rich with many nutrients. On average 30% of the annual requirement can be substituted by Gliricidia leaves only. Mixing this with other ingredients will result in an efficient organic fertiliser that can be manufactured at household level. This way farmers in the value chain can reduce the input cost, preserve the environment and support the government’s initiative on sustainable agriculture. Biomass supplies private limited is a company that engages with more than 100,000 smallholders planting Gliricidia in many parts of the country.

Logistics is also an important element in a forward contract model. Exporter sometimes will come to the farmer to collect, and that is the ideal situation. However, sometimes producers will have to take care of the transport either to a collection centre or to the factory. If this is the situation, rather than depending on an outside transport network, farmers can get-together and share the cost by suing a transport medium they already have. This can be a simple three-wheeler or a small lorry.

I have seen these transport networks evolve very easily, where farmers (these can be farmers who cultivate or just interested in transport only) buy small vehicles on a lease base to transport what the farmer organisation produce. They have little risk in doing this since the value chain is backed by a forward contact with a clear idea on how much to transport and what they can earn.

One threat to the forward contract model is the limited availability of crop insurance schemes. This has been a challenge for most insurance companies since it is not clear how to assess the damage and there is a question on the farmer willingness for crop insurance. However, in these high value chains, crop insurance is an important aspect.

There are several entities in Sri Lanka, both government and privately owned who provide crop insurance. They have identified that index-based insurance is better than indemnity-based insurance and now practicing that. However, farmer willingness buy insurance is still low, but that is predominantly in local oriented agricultural value chains. This is understandable since farmers are not clear on their earning capacities. But under a forward contract model, farmers will have a clear idea of their earning capacity, they will know the importance of their crop, and that will give them enough incentives to buy insurance.

Traceability is also an important element of a forward contract agreement. In order to establish traceability, value chain must have ICT facilities (QR codes) and crates. While exporters are very familiar with QR codes and use of crates most farmers are not, unless they are already in an export-oriented value chain. DOA is already establishing QR codes and promoting use of crates under the GAP program. Therefore, frameworks are already there on the best practices. With little investments it is possible to introduce QR codes and crates to Grama Shakthi companies.

• Investments on value addition

Value addition ventures will require larger investments. Therefore, this perfectly aligns with the concept of “Grama Shakthi Companies”. When the exporter is interested in a value-added product such as dried moringa leaves or dried/powdered ginger, the processing facility can be established by the Grama Shakthi Company, and an investment can be done under a loan program.

Since these companies are working for a dedicated order reducing the exporters’ transaction cost, grace period can be increased and it might also be possible to get in to a public private partnership (PPP) with the exporter/exporter association. PPP initiative will be ideal for a larger Grama Shakthi company who works on a high value product, such as essential oil extractions.

In addition, there are plenty of donor organisations that will fund such entrepreneurial activities, especially with a female farmer focus. Organisations such as FAO, ADB, WB and IFC are already investing on export-oriented value chains with a focus on value addition and women.


Summary 

Grama Shakthi program is in a great situation where it can easily link the agricultural producers in to high value chains and achieve its objective of eradicating poverty among rural agricultural households. Ideas that I have discussed here are already being practiced in the field, they only need to be scaled up. Little by little our agricultural efforts can be expanded in to GAP and organic value chains as well where farmer will earn even more.

Models I have discussed here will not cost much to the farmer or to the Grama Shakthi program. These models are interdependent and they use existing resources effusively and collaboratively. Once we identify the transaction costs and incentives, we only have to make sure one stakeholder is complementing to reduce the others transaction cost. With this majority of the rents will go to the agriculture producer helping to eradicate poverty.

(Dr. Chatura Rodrigo is an agriculture economist. He can be reached at chatura_rodrigo@yahoo.com, 076 35 99 243)

Stolen childhoods: Gaza's injured children struggle to complete education

Children shot by Israeli forces during protests find it difficult to go back to school and continue their education due to their injuries

Bashar Wahdan, 12, is being tended to by his aunt as he lies in a hospital bed with an external fixator on his left leg (MEE/Halla al-Safadi)

Fidaa Shurrab-Monday 5 November 2018

GAZA STRIP - For 16-year-old Gaza teenager Abdallah Qassem, getting to school every day is a challenge. 

Just a few months ago, it would take him only 15 minutes to walk to the Julis public high school. But after losing both of his legs during the Great March Return protests, he is now confined to a wheelchair, making the journey much more complicated. 

Qassem lives in Gaza's Sheikh Redwan neighbourhood in an apartment situated on the second floor. With a small entrance and no ramps to accommodate Qassem’s wheelchair, he has to be carried down the narrow stairwell by his two older brothers. 

The road to school is sandy and unpaved, making it both difficult and dangerous for Qassem to navigate his way there.

After leaving his home, his brothers carry him to an awaiting taxi and place him inside. Once he arrives at school, the driver lifts him out and puts him back in his wheelchair where he can make his own way to his lessons.

Abdallah Qassem is still recuperating at home after having another surgery on 24 October (MEE/Lara Sirdah)

Although the school opened a classroom on the ground floor for Qassem and other students with disabilities, the school is lacking facilities that are accessible to them, such as toilets, a library and a laboratory.

On the days Qassem does make it to school, he can only attend his first three classes as he then must rush off to his physical therapy sessions.

I have always dreamed of studying electronic engineering, but with my new condition, I am no longer sure how life will be

– Abdullah Qassem, 16

“I have always dreamed of studying electronic engineering, but with my new condition, I am no longer sure how life will be,” Qassem tells MEE. “However, with the support of my family, I hope I can get through this stage.”

To compensate for the English and maths lessons that he misses at school, Qassem receives private lessons with a tutor twice a week that help to some degree, but the sessions are never enough for him to fully catch up with his classmates.  

Last month, Qassem had to miss mid-term exams after he underwent surgery on 24 October to stabilise leg bones that were beginning to protrude from his injury. In addition to a week-long hospitalisation, he is now at home still recuperating from the operation and will not be able to attend school until he has fully recovered. 

'Unlivable' Gaza

The Gaza Strip, which has been under a suffocating Israeli blockade since 2007, suffers from sub-standard infrastructure such as unpaved roads and lacks any kind of public transport system, let alone one that's wheelchair-accessible.

These conditions make it difficult for people who are not physically challenged to get across the Strip; for those in a wheelchair, it is a feat. Ramps, lifts and accessible toilets are rarely seen in the impoverished Strip.

Suddenly, I was shot in my right leg and [then] the bullet went into my left leg

– Abdullah Qassem, 16

In July 2017, a United Nations report revealed that the living conditions of nearly two million residents - including 1.3 million refugees - are dramatically worsening and the Strip has become “unlivable”.

Mostasem al-Minawi, international public relations director at the Ministry of Education (MOE), says that resources are very limited.

“Due to the current political situation and the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip, this has reduced MOE’s resources. Making public schools accessible requires great financial resources which MOE does not have due to the lack of funds. A few measures are carried out by NGOs to improve the situation, but this is not enough.”

Tensions have soared in Gaza since 30 March when Israel met largely peaceful mass protests near the fence separating Israel from Gaza with lethal force. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, more than 210 Palestinians have been killed, with 19 percent of them being children. One Israeli soldier was killed during the same period.

Around 10,000 Palestinians have been injured during protests, including more than 1,800 children. According to al-Minawi, 210 of these children are registered in Gaza’s public schools and 92 of them have stopped going to school completely or are missing many classes due to their injuries.

Abdallah Qassem makes up missed classes at school with the help of a tutor (MEE/Lara Sirdah)

On 14 May, Qassem recalls he was sitting in Malaka square, approximately ten steps away from the barbed wire fence separating Israel from Gaza, which is in the northeast of the Strip. It was 1pm when a bullet fired by Israeli forces penetrated his right leg and then hit his left leg, where it settled.

“I was watching how eager the protesters were to remove any barrier [the barbed wire fence] to our occupied land. Suddenly, I was shot in my right leg and the bullet went into my left leg,” he says.

Qassem was taken to al-Shifa, Gaza’s largest public hospital, which was overwhelmed with casualties from the protest that day. He had to wait until 10pm to get urgent surgery after having lost much blood. Later, he had to endure two more operations, with the final one ending with the amputation of both of his legs.

Qassem needs extensive physical therapy for six months, and after this, he should be ready to be fitted with artificial limbs.

Qassem comes from a modest family that was already struggling financially before his injury. His father, who is the sole breadwinner, works in the archives department at the Ministry of Health (MOH) and receives a monthly salary of $400.

Read more ►

Great March injuries pushing Gaza's hospitals to brink of collapse

Before Qassem’s injury, money barely covered the family’s basic needs and now their expenses have doubled. Due to a shortage of medical supplies in public hospitals, Qassem’s family has had to bear the cost of medications such as antibiotics and pain-killers, which cost from $30- $50 every two weeks.

In addition to private tutoring, Qassem needs a taxi to transport him back and forth from school and to physical therapy sessions three times a week. 

According to the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, 38.8 percent of Gaza residents are stuck below the poverty line as a result of the Israeli blockade, while a staggering 45 percent of people in Gaza are unemployed.

'We were peaceful'

On 8 June, 15-year-old Waseem Mahmoud was watching dancers perform dabke, a traditional Levantine line dance, in what residents call “tent city,” in the Abu Safiya district of Jabalya, north of the Strip.

A Palestinian is wearing a traditional headdress as he dances the Levantine dance called dakbe (MEE/Mohamed al-Hajjar)

In March, “tent city” was erected along the border of five governorates of the Gaza Strip as part of the Great Return March protests, around 700 metres away from the separation fence between Gaza and Israel.

As he was enjoying the performance, Mahmoud says he suddenly felt as though his right leg could no longer carry him and he found himself collapsing to the ground. He had been shot by an Israeli sniper.

Read more ►

Tent city nights: Gaza's dance of resistance unites Palestinians

“We were peaceful. We did not constitute any danger,” says Mahmoud. “That moment changed my life.”

Mahmoud is in the ninth grade at the al-Baneen public school, north of the Gaza Strip. Just a kilometre away from his home, he would walk to school every day. But after doctors put metal rods in his legs, he says it is still too painful to walk on crutches.

Waseem Mahmoud was watching dancers perform dabke when he was shot by an Israeli sniper (MEE/Yousef al-Rozzi)

Taking taxis is not an option for him as his family is already under financial duress after losing his father three years ago. The family receives a pension of $350 a month, which barely covers the family's essentials or Mahmoud's weekly physical therapy sessions.

“I want to go to school, but my injury makes it difficult for me,” Mahmoud says. “My mother helps me study at home.”

Dreams of returning home

It was 30 March, the first day of the protests, when Israeli forces shot Arafat Harb in his abdomen while he was in Gaza's Abu Safiya area.

The 15-year-old had managed to cross through the barbed wire fence separating Israel and Gaza after other protesters had removed parts of it. He was on the Israeli side of the fence when he was injured.

Read more ►

'We have the right to live': Why Palestinians in Gaza will keep protesting

“I have always dreamed of going back to our occupied land. This is why I had the courage to pass through the barbed wire fence. I was not afraid at all,” he says. “I stayed there bleeding for almost fifteen minutes until one of the medics managed to pull me to the nearest medical point on the Palestinian side," Arafat says.

Arafat Harb, 15, was shot in the abdomen by Israeli forces (MEE/Lara Sirdah)

The bullet caused severe damage in his pelvic area, resulting in Arafat having to undergo multiple surgeries in Gaza's Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip. But according to his father, Walid Harb, his case required an urgent referral to Egypt for more advanced medical treatment.

His father’s medical insurance covered part of the travel expenses, but he had to borrow an additional $1,700 in order to be able to pay for the rest of the costs.

I dream of owning my own workshop, but my injury has caused me to lose two academic years

- Arafat Harb, 15

He spent three months in Egypt, where he had two operations, and returned to Gaza in June, where he continues to attend physical therapy sessions. Doctors estimate that it will be at least a year before his bones heal and he fully recovers.

Arafat is in the tenth grade at the al-Taqwa public high school in the west of Gaza city. He lives with his parents and eight siblings in Gaza's Sheikh Radwan district.

Although Arafat has gone from using a wheelchair to using crutches, his body is still weak. And because his home is on the fourth floor of a building, his mobility is limited.

Due to his injury, he has not been able to attend his classes at all since the beginning of the school year. He also missed last year's exams.

Arafat dreams of becoming a carpenter and completing education at a vocational school.

“I dream of owning my own workshop, but my injury has caused me to lose two academic years,” he says.  

'In honour of his father’

In 2004, Mohamed Sarsour’s father was killed by an Israeli air strike. In the 2014 Israeli war on Gaza, his family home was bombed by Israeli forces.

Mohamed Sarsour, 14, was shot in the lower abdomen during protests. He lost his father to an Israeli air strike in 2014 (MEE/Yousef al-Rozzi)

So when the March protests started, the 14-year-old was eager to take part in them in honour of his father.

On 8 June, while chanting in Malaka square for the Palestinian right to return to their land, he was shot in the lower abdomen.

I want to be a doctor. I know that I will face difficulties due to my injury, but it will not stop me

- Mohamed Sarsour, 14

“Mohamed still has shrapnel in the lower part of his spine that causes him pain. He cannot sit on a chair for long hours,” says Ameera Sarsour, Mohamed’s mother. “The doctors said that if they moved it, there might be negative consequences leading to permanent disability.”

Despite the challenges, Mohamed's mother tries to encourage him to attend his grade nine classes at Dar al-Arqam school, in the al-Sha’af area east of Gaza. But due to the pain he experiences after sitting in a chair for hours, it is not that simple.

Though he can walk and does not need a wheelchair, he is still not able to run or carry heavy objects, and sometimes he gets infections. Additionally, Mohamed must miss school twice a week to go to his therapy sessions.

“I want to be a doctor. I know that I will face difficulties due to my injury, but it will not stop me,” Mohamed says.

Nowhere to go, nowhere to live

Omar Arif Bisharat stands in front of the rubble of his home in al-Hadidiya.
 Annelies Verbeek

Annelies Verbeek- 5 November 2018

With attention focused on the planned demolition of Khan al-Ahmar village, other areas of the Jordan Valley have fallen off the radar.

Out of sight, however, Israeli consolidation over the Jordan Valley is continuing apace. Last month, the Israeli army demolished several Palestinian structures in the communities of al-Hadidiya and the al-Musafa area east of Jiftlik village.

In al-Hadidiya, in the northern Jordan Valley, the bulldozers arrived on the morning of 11 October leaving Omar Arif Bisharat and eight relatives, including five children, homeless. Doles of doves soared over the rubble of his home. He raised his hands, struggling to convey the calamity of what had happened to him. In addition to his home, the army demolished six other structures, including several animal pens.

The doves, Bisharat explained, had been raised by his family. Their pen – with baby doves inside it – had been demolished along with the other structures and the birds were now circling their old home. The family’s sheep, too, were homeless.

“I had no idea they were coming,” Bisharat told The Electronic Intifada. “When I saw the military jeep, I thought they were coming for my neighbor’s house,” he added, saying that while he had received a demolition order, he thought the case was pending and he never received notice when his home was going to be demolished.

The threat of home demolition is an ever-present danger for Palestinians in the Jordan Valley, part of the so-called Area C of the occupied West Bank over which Israel maintains full military and civil control. As a consequence, Palestinians are not allowed to build houses, put up tents, dig water wells deeper than 100 meters, build roads or install solar panels or water pipes without Israeli-issued permits. These are almost never granted.

Bisharat and the 112-strong community in al-Hadidiya are now left trying to carve out a life with what little resources these livestock farmers have. The villagers live in sheet metal shacks and tents due to a lack of building permits and limited funds.

The Israeli authorities also refuse to connect the community to the electricity or water grid. Even accessing the village has become a great challenge. The village used to be accessible through a paved road. But when the nearby illegal settlement of Roi was built in 1976, settlers put up gates to block Palestinian access.

Constant struggle

The community was forced to dig a dirt road from the main highway to their village. Without a four-wheel drive vehicle, this road can only be driven down at an arduously slow pace. In winter, the road becomes muddy and cars often get stuck.

In parts, the road coils around piles of soil the Israeli authorities dumped there in attempts to block access.

A child is surrounded by the debris of al-Hadidiya, a poor farming community in the northern Jordan Valley.
Annelies Verbeek

The sides of the road are cluttered with the remains of water pipes the Israeli army cut after villagers had attempted to connect to the water grid in the nearby village of Tamoun.

Bisharat does not know what to do. The soldiers told him he could not rebuild his house again. But he has no choice. For the time being, he and his family are staying at a neighbor’s house.

The Jordan Valley has always been an area of strategic importance. The strip of land in the east of the West Bank is seen by Israeli military planners as providing vital strategic territorial depth, separating it from its Arab neighbors to the east. As a result, whether the Oslo process was on or not, Israel’s leaders never considered relinquishing control over the area after its occupation in 1967.

Geographically, the Jordan Valley bisects the West Bank. Khan al-Ahmar’s impending demolition comes in part because of its location next to the Jerusalem-Jericho highway. Israel wants to use this area for settlement expansion as part of an overall plan – the E1 plan – to connect illegally annexed East Jerusalem to the Jordan Valley, encircling the city with settlements and dividing the West Bank in two.

The area also holds one-third of the West Bank’s water reserves. Once the bread basket of Palestine, it has great potential for development and would be essential in the building of any future Palestinian state.

But some 90 percent of the Jordan Valley consists of Area C, under full Israeli administrative and military control. Israel uses these areas for the expansion of illegal settlements and obstructs all types of Palestinian development.

Al-Musafa

On the same day that Bisharat’s home was demolished, Israeli occupation forces also demolished the home and several animal pens farther south in the area of al-Musafa.

The house and pens belonged to Odeh Naji Abu Saoud, 23, who recently got married and has a 14-month-old son, Khaled.

“I have a lot to say,” he told The Electronic Intifada, “but I don’t know how.”

Abu Saoud struggles to find the words while setting up a tent – donated, he said, by the Red Cross – for his family, homeless for a second time. Abu Saoud’s previous house was destroyed last year.
“It was a good house. Concrete, with a tin sheet ceiling,” he said.

The Israeli authorities had told him then that he lived in a firing zone, a closed military zone, and told him to move 100 meters down the hill. Abu Saoud and his wife moved to this location and lived in a caravan donated by the European Union, Abu Saoud said. Only two months after moving in, they received a new demolition notice.

“The European Union, the Red Cross … It would be great if they could actually protect the materials they give us,” Rashid Sawafta, a coordinator with the Jordan Valley Solidarity group of activists campaigning for Palestinian rights in the area, told The Electronic Intifada.

From 1970 until 2012, Israel designated approximately 56 percent of the Jordan Valley as a closed military zone. According to Sawafta, this has little to do with military needs and everything to do with land appropriation. Declaring an area as a military zone, he said, often precedes the establishment of an illegal settlement.

A Palestinian presence in closed military zones is formally prohibited. Still, and according to human rights group Al-Haq, 38 Palestinian communities live in such areas across the West Bank, of which 80 percent are in the area of the Jordan Valley and Dead Sea or the South Hebron Hills.

A dole of doves flies over the rubble of Bisharat’s home in the small community of al-Hadidiya in the Jordan Valley.
 Annelies Verbeek

The Israeli military regularly organizes combat exercises in these areas, during which the army temporarily expels Palestinians from their homes. Fatima – who preferred for her real name not to be used – was given notice in September for her and her family to leave their home in the community of Ein al-Hilweh ahead of military exercises.

When they returned, the family found several of their cows shot. Two were dead, two others died later of their injuries. The death of the livestock was an enormous financial loss for Fatima’s family.

One of the cows had not had calves yet and was worth as much as $3,800, said Fatima.

Still visibly troubled by what happened, Fatima said she was certain the Israeli military was planning to expel her and her family eventually.

“But we have no other place to go,” she said.

The Bisharat and Abu Saoud families expressed similar sentiments.

“What can I do?” Bisharat asked. “Wherever I move there will be a racist occupation.”

The Israelis are not interested in Palestinian rights on the land, he added. “The Israelis do not want coexistence. They only want a Jewish state.”

Abu Saoud is now planning to build a home for the third time. This is not just an act of resistance, but one of necessity. There is nowhere to move to and nowhere with the space for livestock to graze.

“I will rebuild my house, and maybe they will come and demolish it for a third time,” he said,
shaking his head. “How does my house harm Israel that it needs to destroy it?”

Annelies Verbeek is a Belgian journalist based in Ramallah.