Since I was a kid, whenever I’m asked to write an essay under the topic “My country” there had been few lines that I never missed out to include. “Sri Lanka is a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic country. Sri Lankans live in peace and harmony”. No matter whether it is a grade 3 five sentenced essay or advanced level paragraphed description. Those two sentences would always pop up. Well not only mine, these lines have been favorite of many in my age. But looking at the incidents of last few weeks I couldn’t help but to question myself “Will our next generation be able to mention the same in their essays?”
Sri Lanka; the small plot of land that stand in the Indian Ocean had been the home of DIVERSITY. Unfitting to its miniature size; the landscapes are DIVERSE, climatic conditions over the country are DIVERSE, fauna and flora are DIVERSE, above all, the beliefs, traditions and qualities of its inhabitants are DIVERSE. It is not always easy to maintain peace when there is diversity. Misconceptions, splitting ideologies and battles are inevitable. Up to now, the danger is always kept at bay through long laid trust and strongly held patience among communities. Sri Lanka can be praised for thousands of reasons. Our geographical position is strategic, our soils are rich, our forests are green, our resources are abundant…… still our leaders are poor and our political trends are cheap. As a result all Sri Lankans suffer.
Few wrong deeds nurtured under the light of politics dragged us in to a war of 3 decades. The whole country had to pay its price in terms of many aspects. Thousands of lives were taken and thousands of kids were orphaned. Our economy, prosperity and development was drawn backward from several hundreds of years. We were a nation just trying to raise from our failures and now where are we heading again? In to a war of another restless 30 years? To become a nation that have lost its values of co-existence? To remain as a third world developing country for many uncountable number of years?
NO!!! This country deserve more. It has been drained in enough blood. It has witnessed enough violence, screams and cries. It yearns for long years of peace, prosperity and love. And it is high time for us to pause a little bit and think “Are we marching in the correct direction?” Beaten and bruised neighbors, fired churches and shattered livelihoods. Did we regained the lives we lost? Did it heal the injured or mend the torn hearts? Did we claim justice? At least did we find some sort of peace in heart by doing so? Oh no …. We just created more and more victims of the consequences.
Igniting fire cannot be undone by lighting up another. It just double the fire. Not that all Sinhalese and Muslims are terrorists or extremists. It is a small group of people that fuels the fire. Anger and fear drive the rest in to it. The only way to bring down the fire is to remove the fuel or cool down the fuel. Let us be mindful to not to spread seeds of hatred and revenge. Let us not thrive in to another ethnic war that hammer all good and living things in to ashes. Let us not press our friends to become terrorists. Let us not take away the chance of our younger generations to introduce Sri lanka as a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic country where people live in harmony. LET US NOT FAIL SRI LANKA ONCE MORE!!!
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