Togetherness for growth

Reconciliation is usually discussed as a political imperative but it is also essential for economic growth. When the Easter Sunday attacks took place, Sri Lanka was devastated and none more so than the tourism sector, which saw its 10-year growth run come to a screeching halt in the most unexpected way. The industry was in shock and there were grave projections given of how Sri Lanka was likely to take at least a year to recover. But signalling hope in the darkest hour the Bohra community stepped forward and shifted their Global Convention to Sri Lanka, providing a boost when the industry needed it most. This is what togetherness can achieve. 

The Bohra Global Convention, which kicked off this week, has been hailed by many as a great boost for tourism and consolidation of interfaith harmony after the Easter Sunday tragedy. The first-ever ‘carbon-neutral’ Ashara Mubaraka is scheduled to run till 10 September and has drawn around 25,000 religious visitors from 40 countries. While the economic benefit to the country may well be in excess of $ 50 million, its significance goes far beyond money.  

Collective stakeholders of the tourism industry heaved a sigh of relief as hotels filled up again and bookings spilled over to even apartments as people scrambled to meet demand. The restaurants, tour guides and many other industry employees gathered to welcome the visitors after the initial weeks since 21 April when cancellations flowed in discouraging numbers. The lifeline at a time of desperate need underscored the power of having communities work together. 

Thanks to the conference, tourism officials have upgraded numbers and projected that reduction of travellers could be as little as 10% for 2019. Sri Lanka is also expected to comfortably clear the two million mark, which is a significant deviation from the initial fears of hundreds of thousands of cancellations and earnings losses of $ 1.5 billion. 

The benefits of the conference are more than the total number of visitors or bookings or airline tickets sold but the message it sends globally is that Sri Lanka is a safe destination once again. This conference is particularly important for Sri Lanka, which has for years seen a rise of ethnic and religious tensions between the Muslim minority and Sinhala Buddhist majority. It is important to showcase why communities must work together to combat extremist ideologies, promote tolerance and find common ground. 

In the aftermath of the Easter attacks and in many instances before that peaceful Muslim communities have been attacked and victimised, their fundamental rights infringed on and their peaceful existence overshadowed. Their businesses have come under threat, boycotts have been encouraged and their economic freedoms placed under criticism. This systemic persecution is a serious and ongoing challenge that the Government has appeared unable or unwilling to respond to. 

In such an environment the Bohra Convention as well as the support and togetherness of the Bohra community is something that all Sri Lankans can learn from. Sri Lanka can only see economic progress if there is peace among its different communities. A country’s prosperity cannot be divided from its people. Sri Lanka has already seen this in evidence during 30 years of conflict. There cannot be any doubt that if Sri Lanka is to grow and prosper, we must all stand together.