Building ethnic bridges
We carried a story in our front
page yesterday of a visit by a group of schoolchildren from
Ampara to view the Esala Perahera. It was also reported that
this was the first time in several years such a visit had been
undertaken by a group of schoolchildren from the region.
These young ones naturally expressed their gratitude to
President Mahinda Rajapaksa who met them at the President's
House in Kandy, for liberating the East of the LTTE presence
that enabled them to make the trip.
The jubilation and delight on the part of these children for
the chance to witness the country's premier cultural pageant as
our report indicated is understandable.
It also speaks of the isolation our Sinhala brethren in the
conflict areas had experienced over the years being virtual
prisoners in their own enclaves.
Cut off from the mainstream of activities over a long period
during the conflict the feeling of being orphaned and left out
may have dogged them at every waking hour. Like the Perahera
which they now visited how many other attractions, national
pageants, celebrations and other events of importance would this
segment of our population missed witnessing due the restriction
of movement.
One should not forget that while the South was engrossed in
cricket carnivals or television entertainment a majority of our
brethren in the conflict areas were cowering in fear in their
homes with death stalking their doorstep.
The reaction by the Ampara school children are but
symptomatic of the deep yearning of those in the conflict areas
hitherto consigned to the realm of the forgotten to unite with
their brethren in the rest of the country and participate in all
activities and events that have been taken for granted in the
South.
It is a yearning to build bridges and share a common bond
with their Southern brethren that had been severed due to their
isolation as a result of the prolonged conflict. The Perahera
visit could perhaps be an opening for a larger programme of
excursions and interaction with the with South.
In addition to the Government's initiatives the private
sector too should be encouraged to organise such unions to build
comradeship and foster the spirit of fraternity among these
groups.
This, while helping to shed their garb of isolation, could
also help banish any vestiges of hostility or disenchantment due
to their relegation from the mainstream all these years. The
impetus for this has now been provided by the liberation of the
East.
While programmes of interaction should be fostered in the
South the Government should also make very endeavour to speed up
development in the affected areas to make amends for the lost
years of neglect.
These segments be they students or civilians in general and
should not be made to feel in anyway that they are a separate
entity not worthy of attention. The liberation of the East
certainly has given these people new hope as the jubilation of
the students who met the President indicated.
While the focus so far has been on mending fences with the
Tamil community there could be a tendency to overlook the
concerns of the Sinhalese living in the area who too have borne
the brunt of terrorism.
A sizeable segment of the people in the East have been
displaced and are living in temporary shelters. There is
therefore a need for a refocus on strategy so that they would be
made major stakeholders in the Government's development thrust. |