The creative side of the soldier

The literary festival organised by the Ranaviru Authority to portray the sacrifices made by our Security Forces through the medium of literature is a commendable move.

The Festival which was held at the Maharagama Youth Centre on Thursday is aimed at setting the platform for the creation of a "Ranaviru literature" from contributions of the members of the Security Forces and their families.

We often come across accounts depicting the various creative talents and other feats of some of our disabled soldiers that appear in the press which goes to show the extent of the sacrifices made by these valiant men for the love of the country.

They could have easily put these talents for monetary gain instead of risking their lives by joining the Security Forces.

A majority of these men in fact had given up their earlier vocations to fight for the country.

It is in this context that the Ranaviru Authority's latest move to bring to the fore the literary talents of our men of valour should be considered.

There is certainly bound to be many an author battling in the jungles of the North who would like to share his experience with the public.

Providing an outlet in this form could also sanitise them from the rigours of battle and provide the public a glimpse of the other side of the soldier.

It would also be interesting to see the contribution given by family members of the Forces who too have been co-opted in the project.

We hope that this will push them into the limelight and pull them out of the status of a fringe people forgotten by the majority.

Hopefully, their creative works would gain the attention of corporate sponsors who shower their largesse on mega rich cricketers and local beauties.

The move would certainly allow Servicemen to demonstrate their literary talents and provide an opportunity to pour out their views on the pathos of war.

Members of Armed Forces only enjoy moments of glory when some heroic deed is appreciated and rewarded by the Government, but there is no lasting impression of these feats in the public image.

Hence, there is a need to accord more recognition and prominence towards individual and collective feats of these valiant men.

We hope that this literary project would help bring the soldier more closer to the public.

A literary feat in this context would earn for him a permanent niche and spur him on to greater deeds.

It would also allow the public to gain an insight into the life of a soldier on the battle field and portray him in a more humane light.

Exhibitions of this nature would certainly bring the soldier more closer to the public and provide them with an opportunity of appreciating his role. We feel that more needs to be done to explore avenues to gain more recognition for our soldiers among society.

True, they and their families receive special concessions and priority treatment at Government Departments and institutions in getting their matters attended to and also in school admissions.

In addition to this, meaningful steps should be taken to give them more prominent and conspicuous in the psyche of the public in a way that would provide them with that added impetus to accomplish their mission.