The illusion called P-E-A-C-E
“Oh…if only we had peace…”, “When are we ever going to have peace…”, “How can we do anything until we have peace…” Peace, peace, peace, peace, peace…for something so talked about and craved by so many, it’s quite ironic how few of us are actually prepared to face it when it actually comes into being…
If we are to go back in time to the days of our ancestors, way before colonisation…we would have seen a proud Sri Lanka, standing tall, united and independent with this almost inherent need to be self-reliant and communally productive, irrespective of superficial man-made boundaries! This is not to paint a naïve picture of the past but rather, to say that even though there was conflict it was not essentially ethnicity oriented. Needless to say, somehow, somewhere down the line this spirit of yesteryear seems to have died a natural death.
So what is it then that we have eventually “evolved” into? Selfish, indifferent, dependent, shadows of our past??? I refuse to accept that this is what has become of us!
Fundamentally we cannot be that much different from what we once were right? So, why allow ourselves to disintegrate into this sorry semblance of humankind, when there’s an abundance of untapped potential waiting to be utilized (or ‘tapped’ so to speak)?
Must every generation henceforth continue to uphold all our years and years of fear, prejudice, pre-conceived notions and personal hang-ups/baggage? Must they have to cling on to the grudges, hatred, despair and bitterness of their ancestors, even though they see no just cause in harbouring these ill feelings? Do we even have the right to impose our thoughts or feelings on the generations to come, simply because we know or choose not to know any better?
At the end of the day, it really doesn’t matter “how it all began…” or “whose fault it is/was?” or “who started what, when?” Sooner rather than later (we hope), all that’ll matter will be the very basics.
Can we sit side by side with a fellow Sri Lankan from the North or East and have a decent conversation with him/her, completely devoid of prejudice, resentment or judgement and visa versa? Can we be completely at ease if a Tamil/Sinhala family moved in next door? How comfortable would we be if our children were to regularly play or closely associate with our neighbour’s children? Can we honestly give a warm welcome to a potential son/daughter in-law who just happens to be from the opposite ethnicity (Sinhala or Tamil to be precise)?
Off the top of our heads, I’m sure many of us would seem to have no problem at all…but, let’s try and be a little realistic here. Having friends, colleagues or employers belonging to different ethnicities, doesn’t automatically attain yourself the title of Mr./Mrs. ‘Impartiality of the Year’. There’s way more to it than just that.
If we think twice before sitting next to a lady or gentleman with a ‘Pottu’ in the bus…that’s prejudice. If we hesitate to employ a particular interviewee based on his ethnicity…that’s prejudice. Regardless of the reasoning behind our behaviour/actions, be it fear, bitter past experience, pre-conceived notions etc., at the end of the day what it all boils down to is that, we’ve got one more obstacle to battle with, if we are to coexist with one another.
Thus, none of us can actually “sit on our high horse” and say that we’re 100% beyond reproof or unscathed by the shroud of prejudice. It is and will always be all around us…surrounding us and almost engulfing us in our day-to-day lives. The only question really is…can we or more like, do we really care enough to rise above it?
