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by Ravi Perera

In recent times we have seen several newspaper articles on the subject of alleged harassment faced by persons of the Burgher community at the hands of various questionable persons and institutions.

The writers of these articles refer to several instances where persons of this community allegedly became victims of discriminatory and corrupt actions. They further point out that these unfortunate acts were the result of collusion between politicians, criminal elements and the bureaucracy.

We cannot speak to the facts of these incidents but experience tells us that the matters referred to are not uncommon in this country. The unholy combination between the politicians and criminal elements has oftentimes trampled on the rights of citizens with contempt. If it is of any consolation to these writers, we can assure them that when it comes to abuse of basic rights these marauders do not discriminate on the basis of race. We are all fair game to them.

But there is substance in the argument that Burghers being a miniscule number of the overall population do not have the political clout that some minorities seem to enjoy. They do not have the geographical concentration or the numbers to become a pressure group in order to extract concessions from the centre. And even if they had the numbers the Burghers by nature are most unlikely to adopt such a strategy. Politicking in the lowest sense, which many of the other groups appear to be naturals at, is not really the burgher thing.

This community has in fact been one of the most constructive and peaceful races living in Sri Lanka. Their contribution to the weal and wealth of this country is well known and needs no reiteration. The eminence of Burghers like the Broheirs, Spittles, Wilsons, Duncan Whites, Hynes, Colin Thomes, Carl Mullers and a host of others speak for the contribution they have made. These great Burghers have worked with love for this land and have earned the right to live with dignity and acceptance here.

It is however tempting in this era of devolutions and separations to suspend reality and to speculate on the possible outcome had the Burghers in disgust at the state of affairs here demanded a separate State for themselves.

Let us assume for this purpose that Burghers outnumbered the rest in the Central Province. And let us also assume that they, corrupted by the political currents among the larger racial groups in the island, took to demanding a separate State for the Central Province. Their demand, in true European style, would be couched in moderate language and modestly defined.

The Asian habit of demanding much more than they would settle for with the idea of forcing the opposition to bargain them down is not something the Burghers could easily identify with. And if circumstances forced them to take to arms there is no doubt that the Burghers would fight bravely. Some of finest soldiers of our army were Burghers. But a Burgher separatist fighter would not generally throw his life away by committing suicide. In European thought one's life has a different meaning. And no European warlord has demanded the ultimate sacrifice of his followers.

And finally after an exhausting war if a plebiscite is held to determine the views of the citizens of the Central Province it will be an exemplary exercise of the public will.

Things we commonly associate with elections in our country like noisy campaigning, intimidation, thuggery, vote rigging, stuffing ballot boxes etc will be out of place when the Burghers in their Sunday best walk with dignity to the polling booth to indicate their wish. For sure, there will be Burghers who will be chary of breaking away from the rest of the country. And there will be other racial groups in the Central Province who will oppose the idea. They will be accorded the fullest protection of the law and human dignity (Harking back to reality, we have no doubt that the vast majority of the Burghers would rather live in a united Sri Lanka).

For the sake of our story let us assume they chose to separate.

The Burghers being descendants of European races such as the Dutch and Portuguese will set up their State more or less on those models. It will definitely be a liberal democracy with a Parliamentary system. Some of the Dutch Burghers may tentatively advance a proposition that the House of Orange be invited to become titular Head of the infant State but will quite realistically realize that much water has flown down the Meuse river since their arrival on this island and opt for a ceremonial head of State appointed by the Parliament.

The name of the new State will be simply Burgherland. The pompous and meaningless verbiage of the natives who like to use words like Democratic, Socialist, Grand etc to describe their country is generally repugnant to the more austere language of the Europeans. Similarly, most of the streets and road names in Burgherland will be short enough to write on a aerogramme and most times would be limited to user friendly numbers. The State will be secular in a real sense and will not run according to astrological timing. Their Constitution will be an aid to the nations progress and not a hindrance.

The economy of this country will be based on free enterprise. There are good grounds to bet on Burgherland turning into a powerful economic machine. The Netherlands with a population of 16 million in a land of 41,526 square miles has a Gross Domestic Product of US $ 538 billion.

Portugal with 10 million in a land of 92,391 square miles has a Gross Domestic Product of US $ 163 billion. The Burghers given the right circumstances surely have the potential to deliver a blockbuster performance.

The language of the new State will definitely be English. This issue, which appears to have confounded the other races living in this island, will be a matter of practicality to the Burghers. It will be obvious to them, that they cannot run their new State on Dutch or Portuguese.

Burgherlanders will want to keep abreast of the rest of the world. And the Burghers being a cosmopolitan people will be quite aware of the challenges their country will face in the future. So English it will be.

The political culture of Burgherland will be quite different to the tortuous, shabby and bloody politics of its neighbours. In the first place, the politicians of Burgherland will not be the potentates that they are in South Asian countries.

Their role will be mainly policy related and played with a certain restrain. We have the examples of Peter Keuneman and De Souza who are a pointer towards the calibre of politicians the Burgherlanders will have. Very few of them will be lifetime politicians. Most political meetings will be held indoors with the least inconvenience to the neighbourhood.

At the same time other political institutions such as Trade Unions, Newspapers and Special Interest groups will act with responsibility and decorum. They will adhere to an accepted code of conduct. Burghlanders, being of European stock will be temperamentally quite different to their neighbours.

They will generally show a healthy individuality and will resist attempts of organizations like trade unions and political parties to think for them. Although they can claim to have in the past built global empires the Burgherlanders will be convinced that they are superior to their ancestors in both knowledge and capabilities and that the future will be an improvement on the present.

Burherland, a well-managed country with an expanding economy will be the envy of the adjoining countries. It will have streets, which are broad and well designed. The public toilets of the country will be spotlessly clean. Water and power supply will be planned and uninterrupted. Buses and trains will run to a schedule. Stability and predictability will reign in Burgherland.

It will be a country with many small clean restaurants and well-maintained public parks.

Burgherlanders will dine out often and appreciate the splendour of their parks. A large section of the population will be involved in sports and recreational activity. Many people will participate in the arts and the theatre.

And as they prosper Burgherlander will encounter some of the problems that many other prosperous nations face today. Foremost among these would be the attempt of citizens from neighbouring countries to illegally enter Burgherland in search of a better life. Millions of dollars of their taxpayer's money will be spent trying to stem this tide of desperate illegal immigrants. In order to generate economic activity in the countries where the illegal immigrants originate from Burgherland will donate large sums of money as aid. They will also encourage persons from these countries to obtain legitimate employment in Burgherland in order to regularize and control the inflow. Many of these people will find employment as domestics.

It will indeed be a difficult existence for a prosperous enclave in a sea of chaos and poverty.

But then the Burghers are a hardy lot.

A Burgherland? I will raise my glass to that!

STONE 'N' STRING

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