Humbled by humanity

Saturday, 21 May 2016 00:49 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

More than any other time of the year, Vesak is a chance to give. The central teaching of Buddhism is to give as much of yourself as possible to accumulate good karma to shorten the journey through sansara. This ties in perfectly with the terrible floods and landslides experienced by Sri Lankans and the need to come together to help nearly half a million destitute people.

Sri Lankans have the amazing capacity to come together at the worst of times. Whatever the differences that are made to divide us, when the tough times come, we toughen up to meet them. The rush to get essential food and basic items to the flood affected has been nothing short of a stampede. Shop owners and people working at supermarkets have been working around the clock to stock shelves that are almost immediately wiped clean by people who are hastily gathering as much as they can to drop off at collection centres that have popped up overnight around the country.

Private sector and public officials have come together to collect part of their salary, often one day’s pay, to be deposited to the President’s Fund or donated to other organisations engaged in relief efforts. When a call went out from one media organisation for food, 500,000 people donated their lunch packets within hours on their way to work to help those in need. Owners of vehicles and boats donated them free of charge for rescue operations, volunteers braved disease and discomfort; churches, temples, mosques and kovils were converted into welfare camps and even street dogs were collected in makeshift flotillas as the flood waters rose.

One marked difference from previous floods was the platform provided by online businesses that used GPS location systems to help the navy reach hundreds of marooned people, encourage people to purchase food online and listed places where volunteers could chip in. Facebook and Twitter joined the rush with many people using social media as a way to communicate and connect relief supplies with victims.

The reach and the flexibility of these systems far outweighed the effectiveness of the cumbersome bureaucratic system that took hours and, for those affected, too long to kick into gear. The people were the first to get out there and help other people, often without bothering to see if the Government was doing anything or if politicians were on site. The resentment that many people who lost everything feel is understandable but it still says much for our people, that we did not depend on politicians to help each other.

Of course there are things that only the Government can do. Appealing for foreign aid is one of them and India will be the first country to ship supplies over the next few days. The Government has already ordered that all taxes be removed from aid but despite statements by President Matihripala Sirisena to ensure that supplies are not lost to corruption, there is still the responsibility of making sure they get to those who are genuinely suffering.

Sri Lanka still has a long road of rebuilding ahead but it is heartening to know that even nature’s might cannot sweep away the humanity in our hearts.