Time and fate have collided and peace hangs precariously in the air. She hangs nonchalantly everywhere. Wherever one looks, just pick up a newspaper, a magazine, switch the TV or radio on, look at whatever text updates are sent and its color washed in patriotic grandeur. I am at home supposed to be studying for my marketing communications exam which is in 2 weeks or less – and to give me credit I’ve done a fair deal of studying so far - but I’ve been having this itch for more than a few days that I can’t bear to ignore the righteous mayhem around me. Mayhem for peace if you’ve ever heard anything like it before. So here I am caught between a dilemma and feelings I hate to understand.
The day is a sickening grey; rain washes down not in its naturally purifying manner but rather like tears of angels gouging out their eyes on ominous clouds. This country of ours likens the rain to a divine sign – one to wash away the crimes, the treachery, the terrorism and pain of a 30 year old war.
The last few days have consisted of rallies transcending to riots, thousands of people of ALL classes either traveling in their monstrous pajeros and defenders splashing mud and filth everywhere with national flags displayed on them, buses and three wheelers with people either intoxicated or high on “peace” waving and brandishing the flag, hoards and mobs of ‘overjoyed’ folk blowing up their fingers and limbs ecstatically with fireworks and firecrackers, men, women and children dancing on the streets.
Right now helicopters keep roaring above us, the shouts and howls of the multitudes fill our ears as public rallies continue and that’s exactly why I am listening to the new Dream Theater album at the moment ‘Black Clouds and Silver Linings’ to numb myself from the ‘joy’. Great record by the way.
I generally refrain from blogging about political or sociological stuff; not because I have no opinion on these subjects but merely because it is subjective and we all know that when it comes to politics that only the opinions of the majority are tolerated.
Now… something very interesting happened a few days ago. Upon hearing and seeing the widely propagated and broadcasted news that the war was finally over I didn’t know how to react. On one hand I was happy that the war was done with and that in the long run there would certainly be a more positive outcome. At the same time I felt a dark tide claw at me, because I realized how the masses would respond and react. Let’s just say that I am attuned to my dark foreboding generally and therefore myself and others like me realized there would be chaos following the ‘catharsis’. Looking at how many people were plastering their profiles with patriotic pics which is the latest fad in town and messages were sent all over the place with no bearing that a large portion of our country consists of people who are not just Sinhalese Buddhists. My status message carried my personal opinion on how the victory is not complete till the racism is eradicated and the ’15 minutes patriots’ realize that the country doesn’t belong to us but we the people belong to the country. My status message raised considerable controversy. Many agreed and of course some didn’t. They felt I was being non-patriotic, shadowing our great moment of triumph. It was said that I was being pessimistic when I should join and collaborate on the bliss trip mania. I responded in the only way I know how.
My middle finger cast forth with acerbic literary design.
Sri Lankans are a great people. But divided we are only fragments of individuals who lack vision, foresight and sincerity. Make no mistake… I am proud to be a Sri Lankan. I am not proud to be classified or slotted into a racial slot so that I could either be an opinion leader, opinion former or an opinion follower.
Terrorism exists because it has been nurtured, nestled, provoked and been given the necessary nourishment to exist and this is true around the world. Look at the larger picture. The margins of right and wrong tend to get smudged in time. The world powers seek to empower nations that are developing with the tools, the knowledge and the infrastructure to advocate, assimilate and attack the evils of this world; evils necessary or not that are created by somebody or someone, somewhere.
The potter they say is only as good as his or her clay. Others say the potter is only as good as the tools he or she uses. Either way… Terrorism is evil and terrorism of any kind should not be tolerated. Injustice, corruption, violence, apathy, racism, antagonism should also not be tolerated. But a tree without branches is hardly a tree at all. A tree without its roots will not exist.
My point is this. The seeds of terrorism are sown by decision makers around the world and then it is left to be harvested by people who have no real concept of what they are dealing with. What begins as a justifiable cause soon becomes a killing joke as power, influence, status, control and megalomania sets in. So if one looks at the human condition terrorism is created by one party, set to spread by another and then all the intermediaries in-between the power corporations, the economic monoliths and the humanitarian puppets water the sapling till it grows.
Anyhoooooo (as a rather favorite person of mine says) my views are this. Thousands of lives are lost in war. Families lose their loved ones. Wives lose their husbands, mothers lose their children and a country loses its people for a greater cause. In the name of the greater good. The Sri Lankan war has had its toll on the nation, on the economy, on society. And I salute and congratulate the real heroes and martyrs of the war who’ve ended this 3 decade long debacle. A catastrophic circus of blood and guts that has shadowed many lives and tainted the development of this country for too long.
But make no mistake. Our war wasn’t just a civil war. It was a racist war. An ethnic conflict that has been sugarcoated by too many people through the broken passages of time as something less severe, something brittle and cyclical, feigning the complexity of the issue. Right and wrong once again has become a conscious blur within its framework. People are crying, ripping their hair out, rolling on the streets because many of them are so happy and in a way too terrified to NOT be happy. This 30 year old conflict has subsided, but is it over? Will it ever be over? I don’t know… because so many people have taken justice to their own hands now and believe that this country is a Buddhist nationalistic country that should be cleansed of every other race… it’s not openly said however the actions of the overzealous crowds kinda enforces that fact like a nail driven into the wrists and feet of a man about to be crucified… not everyone shares this view but a great many are behaving in ways that are ridiculous.
The little I know of Buddhism – it’s philosophy has never encouraged or compelled its followers to indulge in racist squabbles, over power, authority, over right and wrong and most of all… over money, class, origin and land.
I am a Singhalese. I am also a Christian. I do not hate anyone. I do not feel that anyone is more significant or less significant (unless they are cold play fans or hip hoppers – I couldn’t resist that… sorry) because they are born wealthy or poor, powerful or weak, ignorant or wise. Some of my closest friends are those from all racial backgrounds and they are more worthy of been called TRUE friends than most from my own racial/ethnic backdrop. Right now however the country is in bedlam; ‘cos the Singhalese are on a rampage to dictate and prove to the rest of the communities, the so-called minorities that they are kings of the fucking hill. The big guns and the rightful beneficiaries of this wonderful triumph.
They feel it is their victory. They feel it is their insignia and emblem of power. They feel it is their right to shed their skin and spit society in its face now. People who can’t tell their elbows from their assholes, and people who’ve been reserved, silent and almost invisible are having their turn at power poker now.
Violence is a brewing now in our nation in the name of peace. Power and ignorance make poor bed fellows. This victory is a symbolic victory that mars the concept of tragedy, but only really anesthetizes it. How ironic. While the multitudes ‘celebrate’ for peace I can also hear an entourage of ambulances and sirens screaming in the distance. The loveable folk who one week ago practiced and preached equality and equilibrium are now toppling vehicles, setting vehicles on fire if they don’t sport the national flag… the protests and celebrations are only furthering the point that the minorities are still minorities irrespective of what anyone has to say. Hundreds of people have changed their profile pictures on Face Book to the national flag and pictures of soldiers, and that’s very convenient at this time frame.
Do as others do so you will be sheep among sheep and wolves among wolves.
What about all the lives lost? What about all those who sacrificed their own for a cause? What about everyone whose dreams and hopes of a better future now lie in the comfort of a 6 by 6 death bed? The young and the restless, the bold and the beautiful and the absolutely enthralled rich kids are partying non-stop; drugs, alcohol and cancer sticks must be running out of stock pretty fast I reckon. People are actually ‘partying’. The silent are now more vocal than ever and the ignorant have become arrogant. The circumference of serenity is being given a make-over.
The international community is also fairly giddy now because in a way despite all the excuses, the humanitarian tête-à-tête and all the foreign policies to eradicate warfare being yo-yoed for the world to see… in this little jewel of a nation a 30 year old war has actually been climaxed. That naturally triggers concern that a third world nation has taken matters into their own hands and decided to do something for the betterment of its own future. To safeguard its legacy and history. There are things though that the international media continues to exploit that has its say alright. At the same time though in 3 decades apart from chit chat and political propaganda no one’s taken a REAL step to pull the plug on terrorism in this country. Now that someone finally has its ushered the world into a deep, thoughtful silence.
If a third world country the size of Godzilla’s left nut can stop a war… then many are saying what the fuck are WE honestly doing and why are WE incapable of pulling the plug on our wars? Aren’t we greater in terms of infrastructure? Aren’t we more evolved in terms of technology, strategy and influence? Why isn’t our Big Brother Complex paying off?
That’s ‘cos peace is a concept to merely soften the ideology of war if not war itself. You can’t have one without the other. One war ceases in one part of the world, the powers that be make sure another war begins in another part of the world. The mighty balance must be retained at all costs. Because if a war stops; a lot of people become jobless. Guns, bombs, landmines, claymores, missiles, rocket launches and everything else don’t just grow on trees right? Somebody designs them, someone else manufactures them, somebody packs ‘em, somebody distributes and sells them, wholesale meets retail, so many intermediaries in-between who have the required licenses to help ship the shit before people shoot the shit, somebody’s gotta use ‘em, somebody’s gotta re-sell ‘em. Even killing’s a business right? And when killing’s good business is great.
Economies of scale baby.
We’ll have to see if the hype will dull and the vicious rip tide of war’s aftermath which is ironically ‘peace’ will calm. Will people get over this anytime soon? I doubt it. Does this mean terrorism is completely obliterated from our beautiful shores made ugly by violent hatred? I don’t know. Are there coalition groups that may spring up from time to time to carry out an antagonist crusade of reprisal? Hopefully not.
This is a time that all of us must put our differences aside and work together to build this nation back to what it once was in a realistic way, in a holistic way… so that it will be a place void of terrorism, void of racial degradation and void of bitter rivalries and prejudices. How can this be achieved? I don’t know. The mental barricades and walls of ethnic differences and diversity must be broken down and shattered to its very last brick. We must all act promptly and united to ascertain that no more malign seeds are sown in the soil of ours souls. The future depends on it. The integrity of our people depends on it.
I say ‘fuck you’ to terrorism because the means cannot justify the ends in every context, in every situation and instance. I say ‘fuck you’ to evil, to hatred, to prejudice, to political and religious differences.
We must celebrate with the silence of thought, and rejoice with deep acquiescence never forgetting that lives have been lost, and sometimes when the margins of right and wrong are smudged you’ve got to do whatever it takes to solidify an outcome. The ends don’t justify the means either. But you can’t win wars if you’re not prepared to sacrifice some lives. I don’t condone it. I don’t condemn it. What I do believe is that once the damage is done and a problem exists then whatever means necessary should be implicated to find a solution, but responsibly, bringing all aspects of humanitarianism and human rights into consideration. Calculated risks must be taken. Knowledge is power but power is not knowledge.
We’ve won a 30 year old battle… the war still rages on… till we can lay our differences aside and every single one of us is prepared to stop calling ourselves Singhalese, Burghers, Tamils or Muslims… and we call ourselves SRI LANKANS.
Till that is achieved the war in my opinion is far from over.
Till that is accomplished this ‘peace’ is only a five letter word.
Fuck majorities and fuck minorities.
Either we are all SRI LANKANS or we are nothing at all.
Whatever you have to say... it's the truth. I am clearly the victim in this rare occasion. 
) but spent most of my day doing some Band promotional stuff on line and coordinated a photo shoot and interviews for a leading publication later this week. The friend just sat bored out of his skull watching me work. What to do... it's Monday right? 
