Tamil speaking people from all over the world grieved for the plight and predicaments of Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka. The warfare in Sri Lanka lasted for a disastrous 33 long years and the tussle ended in such a painful manner that those affected are quite certain of the fact that the “wound” might not even heal. The military conflict may have lasted for 33 years but historical records dates back to 2000 years ago where the conflict brewed between the Sinhalese King Asela and the Tamil Chola Prince Elara in the northern Sri Lanka. The bloody warfare between the Sinhalese army and the Liberated Tamil Tigers of Eelam (LTTE) finally ended in a rather conventional way which any other war may end i.e. a gain for one party and pain for the other. The world saw the (self-proclaimed) victory of the Sinhalese Government and a dreaded defeat for LTTE. Whichever way the war meets it’s end, the most important part would be to make right all the “damages” left by the war and the task to treat all the defect should rightfully be far more important than celebrating the victory itself.
Now that the war is declared to have ended as per the master plan of the Sinhalese government, it’s about time they abandon the course of life that left many with nothing but sufferings. The focus should by all means be on the people. It’s now time for a change, a positive one (hopefully). As for that, I wish to throw some light to the changes that have already taken place within the people thus far and I wish to be fair here, we shall acknowledge the changes experienced by the PEOPLE of Sri Lanka, well, never mind about the politicians and the top guns behind the war.Like said earlier, since I am touching on the PEOPLE of Sri Lanka and as such I won’t shut my eyes to the rarely discussed reaction of the Sinhalese civilians to the government troops’ victory over the LTTE. I could still recall the reaction of one Sinhalese youth of Sri Lanka who said that he now he feels the Sri Lankan national flag “heavier” when he hoisted it and another Sinhalese youth who quipped that he never felt as proud as he feels now upon wearing his jersey bearing their flag.
These are normal civilians who yearn for peace in their country more than winning the war itself. They claim that they look forward to live an unprejudiced life with their fellow countrymen, the Tamilians and assured that the victory of the government troops means nothing if their island can’t be freed from the terror that struck them. There were also many Sinhalese who expressed relief that the war is now over as they too lived in fear that they might be victims of random bomb blasts all these years. After all, they too experienced the trauma of losing their beloved family members and valued friends in terror attacks due to the war state in their country. In spite of this, their joy over the end of war will only survive if they could eliminate the prejudices and differences buried in their hearts. All these are just matter of conscience and the only perfect option would be to finding a right formula to set aside their bitter past within the complex environment and embrace unity.
The people deeply affected by the warfare definitely are the Tamil civilians of Sri Lanka and it is difficult for me to fathom the depth of their predicament being a mere onlooker who was not even born when the war was begun in Sri Lanka (thanks to dad who furnished me with ample details). Though the time now calls for peaceful life for the new generation of Tamil community but the tussle all these years has made worst the ethnic divide amongst the people in Sri Lanka. If the government troops’ victory is mistaken for a “license” to discriminate the Tamil population, the hope for a peaceful life that the Tamilians have now will die instantly (well, this better not happen…). The Tamil community’s dissatisfaction should be acknowledged by the ruling government and they should be accepted by the majority population of Sri Lanka if they really look forward for a better future. In fact, the Sinhalese and Tamilians were said to have lived happily in the early 70’s even though the Tamil population felt the tension arising through the struggle for political power during that period. A peaceful resolution must be invoked in due time in order to address the ethnic divide in the country and rebuild a better future for the well-being of the country.
The exceptional misery suffered by the Tamilians ever since the war begun in Sri Lanka, an island likened to the shape of a “tear drop” grieved the merciful minds of all over the world. Currently the Sri Lankan government still hesitates to allow complete access of aid workers to civilians who remain in camps with an unconvincing “excuse” that the government is still trying to weed out “rebels” hiding among the refugees. Whilst the government “works” on weeding out certain quarters who they tagged as “Tamil Tiger infiltrators,” let us hope that the Sinhalese population will extend an olive-branch to the Tamil population when they are freed of their misery. The end of the war hasn’t promised an end to the ethnic grievances but it did leave the ethnics with an option to live in unison as the PEOPLE of Sri Lanka. It now depends largely on the people’s decision; either to celebrate a peaceful life or to abandon it.
Now that the war is declared to have ended as per the master plan of the Sinhalese government, it’s about time they abandon the course of life that left many with nothing but sufferings. The focus should by all means be on the people. It’s now time for a change, a positive one (hopefully). As for that, I wish to throw some light to the changes that have already taken place within the people thus far and I wish to be fair here, we shall acknowledge the changes experienced by the PEOPLE of Sri Lanka, well, never mind about the politicians and the top guns behind the war.Like said earlier, since I am touching on the PEOPLE of Sri Lanka and as such I won’t shut my eyes to the rarely discussed reaction of the Sinhalese civilians to the government troops’ victory over the LTTE. I could still recall the reaction of one Sinhalese youth of Sri Lanka who said that he now he feels the Sri Lankan national flag “heavier” when he hoisted it and another Sinhalese youth who quipped that he never felt as proud as he feels now upon wearing his jersey bearing their flag.
These are normal civilians who yearn for peace in their country more than winning the war itself. They claim that they look forward to live an unprejudiced life with their fellow countrymen, the Tamilians and assured that the victory of the government troops means nothing if their island can’t be freed from the terror that struck them. There were also many Sinhalese who expressed relief that the war is now over as they too lived in fear that they might be victims of random bomb blasts all these years. After all, they too experienced the trauma of losing their beloved family members and valued friends in terror attacks due to the war state in their country. In spite of this, their joy over the end of war will only survive if they could eliminate the prejudices and differences buried in their hearts. All these are just matter of conscience and the only perfect option would be to finding a right formula to set aside their bitter past within the complex environment and embrace unity.
The people deeply affected by the warfare definitely are the Tamil civilians of Sri Lanka and it is difficult for me to fathom the depth of their predicament being a mere onlooker who was not even born when the war was begun in Sri Lanka (thanks to dad who furnished me with ample details). Though the time now calls for peaceful life for the new generation of Tamil community but the tussle all these years has made worst the ethnic divide amongst the people in Sri Lanka. If the government troops’ victory is mistaken for a “license” to discriminate the Tamil population, the hope for a peaceful life that the Tamilians have now will die instantly (well, this better not happen…). The Tamil community’s dissatisfaction should be acknowledged by the ruling government and they should be accepted by the majority population of Sri Lanka if they really look forward for a better future. In fact, the Sinhalese and Tamilians were said to have lived happily in the early 70’s even though the Tamil population felt the tension arising through the struggle for political power during that period. A peaceful resolution must be invoked in due time in order to address the ethnic divide in the country and rebuild a better future for the well-being of the country.
The exceptional misery suffered by the Tamilians ever since the war begun in Sri Lanka, an island likened to the shape of a “tear drop” grieved the merciful minds of all over the world. Currently the Sri Lankan government still hesitates to allow complete access of aid workers to civilians who remain in camps with an unconvincing “excuse” that the government is still trying to weed out “rebels” hiding among the refugees. Whilst the government “works” on weeding out certain quarters who they tagged as “Tamil Tiger infiltrators,” let us hope that the Sinhalese population will extend an olive-branch to the Tamil population when they are freed of their misery. The end of the war hasn’t promised an end to the ethnic grievances but it did leave the ethnics with an option to live in unison as the PEOPLE of Sri Lanka. It now depends largely on the people’s decision; either to celebrate a peaceful life or to abandon it.
over 80 000 or more is predicted have died in Sri Lanka since the conflict broke at 1983
ReplyDeletebut now the Sinhalese government have announced their victory. but will this bring an end to this ethnic problem,maybe we should put a question mark there cause we can be so sure all this have come to end so easily...there are still rumors that the LTTE leader still alive....whatever the truth is we cannot take any assumption before it is really proven that this problem have come to end. The problem i mean here the racism of ethnicity. Both the lion and tigers have caused this chaos which taken a great price to be paid which is the life of the innocence. This fight to be the king of the jungle of Sri Lanka. Who is rite or wrong does not matter anymore compared to the tears and blood dropped. What we can hope now is this ethnicity problem comes to an end and the people lives as brothers and sisters as a human being who have basic humanity.
yeah, let's hope!
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