TOGETHER

Togetherness was the key message to all Sri Lankans in rising up in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday terror attacks and moving forward with resilience when 

Weekend FT’s Ruwandi Gamage spoke to a cross-section of personalities for their thoughts on our journey forward

“WE WILL REBUILD JUST LIKE WE DID BEFORE”

SONGSTRESS, VOCAL TRAINER, ARTIST, ACTRESS AND ACTIVIST KUMUDINI DAVID

We have survived civil wars that have lasted longer and have destroyed us. We expected this incident to escalate to a civil war, but we are seeing how Sri Lanka is resilient and is coming back. Token racists are poking their heads through these horrific attacks, but their efforts aren’t successful as many people are standing to shut them down. People are being more vociferous and this is having a huge positive impact. We will rebuild just like we did before. We’re a country with a big heart and I have absolutely no doubt we will come out of this stronger.

“WE ARE MORE UNITED THAN WE THOUGHT”

OPEN UNIVERSITY OF SRI LANKA SENIOR LECTURER AND POET DR. VIVIMARIE VANDERPOORTEN MEDAWATTEGEDERA

The recent terror attacks have forced us to remember the beauty of human connectivity. The queues to donate blood, the coming together in prayer, in collective mourning and bearing witness. We have been compelled to look at racism in the eye and confront it, and to have conversations about it. This is important, since in order to get rid of something we first need to acknowledge that it exists. We have seen the compulsion of religious leaders to respect one another’s faith, to meet, to invite another faith into their religious spaces. These all tell us that we are more united than we thought.

“UNITY AND RESILIENCE OF SRI LANKANS REMARKABLE”

FOUNDATION OF GOODNESS FOUNDER/CHIEF TRUSTEE KUSHIL GUNASEKARA 

The unity and resilience of Sri Lankans is a truly remarkable aspect to emerge from a tragedy of this magnitude and those of the past. It is now time for action, not just words, being proactive instead of reactive to arrest such situations in the future. This means the time has arrived to effectively restructure our systems, standards and procedures through discipline and smart vision, uncompromisingly. It’s about renewing ourselves to unite the country, making things happen with strong leadership through example and steadfast values. The apprehension of the unexplainable collection of arms by the security forces shows how well our nation can be protected if we care genuinely to sustain the future wellbeing and safety of all people.

“I HAVE HOPE IN US”

FILM COMPOSER AND CLASSICAL MUSICIAN LAKSHMAN JOSEPH DE SARAM

We have been let down before, we have bounced back. We almost always find a way. I have hope in us, to live and love.

“OUR NATION WILL RISE UP AGAIN”

SINGER-SONGWRITER, FILM PRODUCER, RECORD PRODUCER AND ACTOR ALSTON KOCH

As Sri Lankans we have survived some of the worst disasters in the past few decades; a war lasting 30 years and a tsunami where in most instances the innocent were always the most affected. To all Sri Lankans, may I send a few words taken from the great Martin Luther King Jr.: “If you can’t fly, run. If you can’t run, walk. If you can’t walk crawl, but by all means you must move forward.” 

Our nation will rise up again to be one of the world’s greatest, and much sooner than anyone anticipates. I am sure of this.

“THIS IS OUR MOMENT TO RISE”

COLOMBO FASHION WEEK FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT AJAI VIR SINGH

Yes, the times are challenging, what happened was unfortunate, it has the capacity to bring the mood, the confidence, the market, the economy, the industry, the country down. Yes we are sensitive to what happened, compassionate to our brothers and sisters who lost. But are we defeated? NO. Are we victims in our attitude? A big NO! For the sake of all who we lost and for our country, this is our moment to rise. We need to first have confidence in ourselves, and that confidence is what will show the world that we are ready, we are prepared to stand taller. This will be a fitting reply to all who tried to bring us down and to show the world, that not Madrid, not Bali, not Paris, but it was Sri Lanka that bounced back quicker and stronger. Because our spirit is stronger. I have gone back to the drawing board to take stock, plan and get back, to lift Sri Lank back to glory. We can collectively do it, don’t look to the next person and don’t look down. Look at yourself and up and ahead!

“THE SHOW MUST AND WILL GO ON”

THEATRE PRACTITIONER AND LECTURER JEHAN ALOYSIUS

As an artiste who has witnessed first-hand the capacity of Sri Lankans to triumphantly overcome 30 years of conflict and natural disasters, I know that life and progress will resume, hopefully with stronger bonds and more empathy as a community. I hope that artistes will use their skills to benefit the community, rather than for mere commercial gain. In my humanitarian work since the 2004 tsunami, I have found that theatre is indeed a powerful tool for social change, psycho-social rehabilitation, and education. There’s a transformative power through theatre from negative to positive which comes from overcoming challenges, once we identify them. There is so much we as a community can do if we look at ourselves though other’s eyes, as we look at a character on stage. We should judge ourselves and our actions before we judge others. We all have the capacity to celebrate and sustain Sri Lanka as a paradise with a triumphant future. The show must and will go on. The positive ending to our story is in our hands.

“LET’S GIVE OUR CHILDREN A FUTURE!”

LEADS CEO ROSHAN MENDIS

Let’s give our children a future! The dawn of Easter – a day of hope with a message of life for many across the world – turned instead very quickly for us in Sri Lanka into a day of death. Pain and grief and mourning was the experience for several hundreds of families in Sri Lanka. In a most unexpected way all of us were affected. The image of a bomber who ruffles a child’s head as he heads into the church and then blows up scores captures graphically the anesthetisation that radicalisation brings. How could a man do this to one another? “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that,” said Martin Luther King, Jr. These acts are also foreshadowed by the words of Christ who said, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” So as Sri Lankans let us this time at least say ‘never again’! And let not this terror define us, the fear confine us, or politicians determine our responses and suspicion, and prejudice mar the harmony that we are striving to rebuild. Let us not let our identity, or the essence of community, who we are as brothers and sisters of the one land, be stolen by the same hatred that kept us captive and bloody for the past 30 years. Let’s say enough is enough!

May the true light of Easter break the darkness of this dark Easter day!

“STAND TOGETHER IN HARMONY”

FILMMAKER BOODEE KEERTHISENA

We need to set aside our political differences and get together as a nation to stand up and to rebuild. We all should stand together in harmony as one nation, not as individuals with different religions and different races. We have faced disasters and have overcome them stronger and better; we can do the same this time and overcome this disaster, stronger and together.'

“HAPPINESS IS HERE AND NOW”

ACADEMIC, MUSICIAN, WRITER AND GRATIAEN PRIZE WINNER LAL MEDAWATTEGEDARA

Regardless of our social and cultural standings, there are undeniable features of human life all around us: across space-and-time life is fluctuating and evolving—at times in complex and confusing designs—and it does require some effort to manage this process. That’s why inflicting violent suffering upon the living and attaining ‘happiness’ in super-natural realms, is an idea that lacks substance; it’s an idea that rejects human and humanity. A short cut to nowhere. Happiness is here and now, not elsewhere. It’s out there where people meet life every day and anxiously attempt to cloth it in meaning. Violence is the misplaced stitch on that meaning.

“OUR BIGGEST STRENGTH IS THE UNITY OF OUR PEOPLE”

COMEDIAN AND DIGITAL MARKETER GEHAN BLOK

We must create a positive conversation that focuses on unity and equality. It is we who decide how history will record the days following the aftermath of the bombs. I hope the story of our unity, regardless of our political differences, religion and race, will drown out those extremists’ voices that have a chokehold whenever people are fearful or vulnerable. Our biggest strength is our people and the unity of our people; this is how we have overcome everything that has been thrown our way. Let’s help families that were affected, let’s support our security forces to ensure safety in our country, and let’s eradicate this cancer called terrorism for good. Sri Lankans have an important choice to make; this would decide the future of our children and the generations to come.

“EAT, PRAY, LOVE”

GIOVANNI’S OWNER/HEAD CHEF DIMUTHU GAMAGE

My advice, based on personal experience, is to never be in a rush to do anything. I’m a firm believer in the saying ‘slow and steady wins the race,’ which can be applied for any scenario in life. 

As per the recent events, we must not lose our inner peace, regardless of what has or will happen around us. Even if everything seems to be in utter chaos right at this particular time, with heightened emotions of hurt, anger, remorse and pain of loss all around us. Living in harmony with everyone is the key to a peaceful life. To achieve this, our rigid and narrow mindsets need to change, by eradicating old barriers we have set for ourselves. If you really want to conquer fear, don’t sit at home thinking about it, get out and get busy, keeping your goals in focus. But most importantly for me, as a restaurant owner, I follow the motto “Eat, Pray, Love”.

“TOGETHER WE CAN MOVE ANY MOUNTAIN”

MR. SUPRANATIONAL ASIA TYMERON HUBAN CARVALHO

We as a nation have always been united, no matter what the situation has been. We enjoyed Tamil food at our saiver kades, delicious meat at our own nana kade, and homemade helapa from our Upali uncle next door. If we can have faith and enjoy all these foods with no restriction, with the same faith we can overcome any hurdle. We must trust in our faith, and together we can move any mountain!