New World Outlook - Summer 2017 - Open - 42

PHOTO: ESTATE COMMUNITIES EMPOWERMENT MISSION

42 N E W W O R L D O U T L O O K . O R G

were brought to Sri Lanka as bonded
laborers by British colonists to work
on coffee and tea plantations during
the 19th century. While coffee failed
in Sri Lanka, the tea industry has
evolved into a successful million-dollar business today. The people who
work on the estates speak Tamil,
are of South Indian origin, and represent about five percent of the Sri
Lankan population. Socio-analytically
speaking, we could borrow a term
from India and call them "Sri Lankan
Dalits," a people at the very bottom
of the caste hierarchy. This vibrant
yet most oppressed community has
lived on these plantations to the present day, keeping their distinct culture
alive while playing a significant part in
the Sri Lankan economy. Their dislocated existence and their cry for dignity is mostly unknown and unheard.
The tears of their lamentations are
the tears of pain, hurt, weariness,
and struggle. But they are also the
tears for survival, dignity, love, and
justice. This is the "Cry from the Tea
Bushes," a bitter truth resulting from
colonial commerce and trade. Their
fight for compensation and reparation
has not yet been successful.

Learning from the Margins

The Center for Mission Innovation,
which is a new unit of the Global

Ministries, has expressed a commitment to listen to and learn from
emerging theologies and theologies
from the margins around the globe. I
was invited to share some reflections
on theologies from the margins in Sri
Lanka, my motherland.
One of my colleagues, Devadasan
Sengan, grew up in an estate community and is now a Methodist minister
working for the Estate Communities
Empowerment Mission, established
in 2012 by the Methodist Church in Sri
Lanka (ECEM). I was part of the initial
process that shaped this ministry in
the Methodist Church. Devadasan is
developing a practical mission model
of empowerment rooted in the tenets of asset-based community development. Let me share some of his
theological insights.
The Rev. Devadasan Sengan first
submitted this short reflection at my
request, which was presented to a
group of theological students at the
Candler School of Theology at Global
Ministries headquarters in Atlanta.
"We are the forgotten people of Sri
Lanka," Devadasan began. "While
the rest of the world enjoys our highquality tea, my own people are given
only the dust of tea. Teas produced
by estate workers are very tasty, but
their very lives in the line-houses
leave a taste of bitterness."

Tea is the most widely consumed
beverage in the world next to water,
and can be found in nearly 80 percent of all US households. It is the
only beverage commonly served hot
or iced, anytime, anywhere, for any
occasion. On any given day, over
158 million Americans drink tea.
(http://www.teausa.com/14655/
tea-fact-sheet)
"I see the image of God in my
people and in their communities,"
Devadasan continued. "In the creation of humankind, God created everyone equally and in God's image.
The very first human being created
by God was a laborer (Gen 2:15). The
laborer is the grower, gatherer, and
producer upon whom everybody else
depends. But a laborer's life has always been very hard. Many people
mutter that hard labor is the first step
in the development of humankind,
but however hard the laborer's work,
the laborer has not been recognized.
Laborers rarely reach an adequate
and decent standard of living."
Estate communities live in horrendous conditions of housing, sanitation, and poverty; there is a high
dropout rate of children after primary school, health-care facilities are
inferior, laborers are exposed to pesticides, and women and children suffer from a lack of welfare and poor


http://www.newworldoutlook.org http://www.teausa.com/14655/tea-fact-sheet http://www.teausa.com/14655/tea

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of New World Outlook - Summer 2017 - Open

Contents
New World Outlook - Summer 2017 - Open - Intro
New World Outlook - Summer 2017 - Open - Cover1
New World Outlook - Summer 2017 - Open - Cover2
New World Outlook - Summer 2017 - Open - Contents
New World Outlook - Summer 2017 - Open - 4
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