Self-reflection

Saturday, 26 September 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

As September draws to a close and we reach the home straight of yet another year, self-reflection begins to creep into our thoughts. What did I accomplish this year? What did I hope to, but couldn’t? What can I do better? For Sri Lanka - the island in the sun where talent is perennially mismanaged and underutilised - reflection of this sort is most common. Every so often, we wonder, where did it all go wrong?

Taking a quick trip down memory lane; after years of being colonised, gaining independence seemed like a fresh start but it was not to last. The end of a 30-year war then seemed to usher in a new era, but alas, that too brought its own brand of unfulfilled resolutions. And now here we are again, 2016: a momentous year, in that it gives us yet another (relatively) clean slate.

And there is not an ounce of hyperbole in the use of the word ‘momentous’ either; 2016 is the first year in living memory (of roughly 40% of the population) that the country is genuinely free. No, we are not just free to travel on public transport without the fear of bombs but unreservedly free in the most democratic way possible, even if the public (and media) are still getting accustomed to it.

With this freedom however, come new responsibilities. Responsibilities previously cast aside for more important matters at hand. Responsibilities that if shirked, the public would forgive. Responsibilities put off for the next year.

But the next year eventually comes.

Here are some figures from the Sri Lanka Tourist Development Authority: the first eight months of this year have seen a 17% increase in tourist arrivals compared to the corresponding period last year. That 17% reveals the presence of a monthly increase. In raw figures that’s 170,822 more people that came to Sri Lanka this year than last. This shift signifies, more than anything else, a global shift in opinion with regard to the country following the events of 8 January and 17 August. It also illustrates how brightly the world’s spotlight is shining on us.

It is against this backdrop that we greet the United Nations’ World Tourism Day tomorrow. For Sri Lanka, a nation which thrives on and encourages tourism, the world finally sees us as how we have long aspired to be seen; we’ve averted an authoritarian future, and following the announcement of a co-sponsored UN resolution, look to be heading towards a more inclusive one.

However, in seeking out our primary goal have we let ourselves go? Several reports have emerged recently of violence against women, children and the disabled. In some cases those who are put in charge to protect us are the ones culpable.

These problems are by no means new, but with no ‘great evil’ for the world’s eye to focus on other problems ingrained in the system will come to the forefront. So while even the most cynical of observers would concede that Sri Lanka has done well over the last nine months, well might not be good enough for tomorrow.