Exemplary Southern response
Today the people
of the South are truly overwhelmed by the unfolding humanitarian
crisis in the Vanni where the deluge of civilians who had fled
the LTTE are languishing in temporary shelters.
During the past few weeks one witnessed the spontaneous
outpouring of sympathy and genuine feeling among the majority
community towards their unfortunate brethren who had escaped
from their captors and are in various states of degradation and
despair.
The flood of donations from cash contributions to various
relief funds by the public to the rallying of the masses at
temples, churches and other centres with food, clothing and
essential items are but a manifestation of this concern and
empathy in the South with these hapless folk.
There is no doubt the quantum of relief will become a deluge
in the coming days as more and more contribute their mite to
ameliorate the conditions of the IDPs going on to supplement the
massive foreign assistance pouring into the country on their
behalf.
But as the famous Christian saying goes man does not live by
bread alone. There is need for nurturing the spirit as well.
It is in this context that the statement issued by Bishop of
Colombo Rev. Dr. Duleep de Chickera the other day assumes
significance. His Lordship said, “We require a visible shift
from sympathy for the IDPs to an affirmation of their rights and
dignity as Sri Lankans”.
Being a man of God it is natural for him to espouse the
precepts of equality and dignity of the human being. Implied in
the Bishop’s statement is that in the melee of the outpouring of
sympathy as manifest in the bountiful largesse of the Sinhala
community one could lose sight of the more fundamental issues
affecting the Tamil community.
Food is essential for survival and there is no doubt that
food and clothing will keep reaching the IDPs in a steady
stream. If there is one thing the civilian exodus in the North
went on to underline, it was certainly that the majority
Sinhalese has no ill will or animus against the Tamil community.
The lighting of crackers and rejoicing in the South on the
capture of key LTTE strongholds were but an eruption of joy on
the vanquishing of LTTE terrorism that brought so much misery to
peoples’ lives in the South.
There was not a single reported incident of harassment of
Tamils in the South amidst this euphoria. This showed that our
people have come a long way since those dark days of July ‘83.
On the contrary they now empathise with the Tamil people in
their plight as the past weeks have demonstrated.
But we should all now move on to the next phase of
reconciliation and rebuilding of damaged trust. For this we
should consider our Tamil brethren as equal partners in the
future journey of this country. This cannot be achieved without
first restoring their dignity and honour as equal citizens.
As the Bishop has noted “These persons simply cannot lose
their rights as Sri Lankans because they were trapped under the
LTTE in the Vanni. In fact they crossed over at great risk in a
courageous demonstration of their right to movement as Sri
Lankans”.
By this alone they earned the right to be treated as equals
and the sooner we shifted from sympathy at their plight to
“affirmation of their rights and dignity” the easier it would be
in the integration process.
The Bishop has made some pertinent suggestions which should
engage the attention of the Government authorities in the
recovery process particularly the call for a multi-task approach
to attaining normalcy.
Here the Bishop has suggested that screening and counselling
of civilians should run concurrent with the process of de-mining
and the building of houses and infrastructure with the people
released in batches to return to their homes and villages.
The suggestion is worthy of consideration as it would shorten
the stay of the civilians in IDP camps for long periods. It
would also help these civilians shed the trauma of their
harrowing ordeal in familiar settings.
But what of their livelihoods and means of existence? These
are people who have been uprooted from their homes and virtually
condemned to a slow death by the LTTE (of course most of them
took a quicker route via LTTE guns).
Mere settling them in their dwellings alone would not restore
their lives. They have to be guided to pick up the pieces of
their lives and this is a task that could not be accomplished in
the short term.
Therefore the Government is confronted with a gargantuan task
in the resettlement process where it would need all the
assistance of not just from international donors but every Sri
Lankan, because it would be question of rising from the ashes.
The Bishop also made a pertinent point that we should
overcome our tendency to see ‘ghosts of the LTTE in every
Tamil’. This his Lordship said would hold the entire community
under surveillance for the rest of their lives.
Going by the exemplary conduct of the Sinhala community
amidst grave provocations by the
LTTE all these years, one can venture to state with
confidence that Tamils will not be pushed to assume a xenophobic
mindset.
Especially after what they underwent at the hands of their so
called protectors all these years. |