Sri Lanka in peril

Text and pic by S.D. Nishanka

My son Aaron was born in 2009 soon after the conclusion of the war in Sri Lanka. He was born in a peaceful nation brimming with hope, after 30 years of a brutal war. Birth of a child is the most precious aspect of human life. It is what gives the human race hope. That there is tomorrow. That we have to effectuate everything we can to ensure there is tomorrow.

On an Easter Sunday, 10 years after achieving peace, terrorism struck again in Sri Lanka. On the day of celebration of the resurrection, nefarious souls decided to end lives.

Long ago, while I was fleeing as an ethnic Tamil refugee when thousands perished into the darkness of war; I have seen and experienced things that I would not wish for anyone on this planet to endure.

After 2009, I never imagined that there would be a day yet again, that I would be consigned as a father to make intelligible to my sons about suicide bombs, explosions, and death. At least not in the context of Sri Lanka.

Sri Lankans are resilient. After 443 years of colonisation, since independence in 1948, Sri Lankans have sadly experienced traumatic riots, a long brutal war, incompetent governments, derelict political system, unscrupulous politicians and acquisitive business empires. A vast majority of Sri Lankans embraced one another with compassion, mutual respect, and acceptance. It is how Sri Lankans survived. It is why Sri Lanka survived.

Of the 22 million Sri Lankans, nearly 19 million are working class citizens with an average income. They work relentlessly to make ends meet, take care of their families and raise their children. They go through tremendous hardships every day. Yet, ordinary Sri Lankans show remarkable resilience to overcome pain and agony.

Fake patriots, sham pundits, fraudulent business mafia and pseudo sympathisers; all the contemptible rats in Colombo are running up the hill, displaying pretentious concern. Unfortunately, the path that Sri Lanka should take will be shaped by these specimens, as they always did. When will the ordinary hardworking Sri Lankans take control of their future?

After the Easter Sunday carnage, the future is not what it used to be. So where do we go from here?

The writer could be reached via email at [email protected]