Unifying to seek unity: Long road ahead
BACK TO BASICS – Renton de Alwis:
Let us take
our minds back to the post-Tsunami period of 2005. We as a
nation responded magnificently to the call of that time and were
all excited about our need to help those affected among us. The
level of commitment and involvement by the majority of Sri
Lankans living here, as well as the Diaspora was of gigantic
proportion.
The will to assist and support maintain and rebuild the lives of
our brethren on our coastal areas was so high, there was nothing
much else on the canvass of the nation’s psyche at the time.
Although the circumstances are different, the current need we
have of feeding and looking after needs of nearly 300,000 of our
mainly Tamil and to a lesser extent our Muslim brethren who are
displaced is much more complex and demanding than that of the
post-Tsunami period.
The Government assisted by some civil society and international
organisations is making a valiant effort to make sure that we
Sri Lankans own this problem and deal with it ourselves without
making it someone else’s. This indeed is, what it should be; our
problem, our effort and our solution.
It indeed will take a while for us as a nation to prove to
ourselves and to the rest of the world that we can rise above
the mistakes we have made in the past. We need to bring the
hearts and minds of our people together to see and share a
common vision. We need to leave the hurting of the past behind
us. Then and only then, can we be content that we have come of
age as a nation. |
In Mahatma Gandhi’s words each of us must be the change we wish to
see in this world. I do not think that there is a single right thinking
Sri Lankan who does not wish for lasting peace and yearn for not having
reason for any form of terror ever to raise its ugly head.
The reality though, is that peace like many other elusive concepts,
does not fall on our lap as a given. As a nation, Sri Lanka will need to
work against a lot of odds and traverse a long road ahead to achieve
peace and prosperity for our nation. While the right leadership,
strategies and effort will be key ingredients, each of our individual
contributions in terms of commitment and positive action will be the
final determinant of its success.
Needs are many
It is now nearly a month after the defeat of LTTE terror and the
exodus of displaced people into the camps. The defence forces, relevant
Government agencies, and an alliance of UN programmes, some INGOs and
local NGOs have taken on the task of setting up and operating the camps
under extremely trying conditions.
Meeting the immediate needs of adequacy of food and water,
maintenance of hygienic conditions, ensuring safety and security,
attending to the wounded and the sick, and dealing with extreme cases of
trauma are among their priorities.
According to reports, at the moment the World Food Programme (WFP) is
providing each of the internally displaced persons with 1880 calories
per day consisting of rice, wheat flour, dhal, 20ml oil and 20g of
sugar, which is the minimum food requirement provided by the WFP for
emergencies.
In addition, the WFP provides supplementary food such as corn and
soya blend as part of their normal food parcel to families with pregnant
women, lactating mothers and children under the age of five. Given the
culturally accepted norms of minimum food consumption needs in Sri
Lanka, this indeed is inadequate.
The Government in the main and other humanitarian organisations have
stepped in to augment these supplies. There were also several instances
when nutritional food parcels were prepared by civic organisations and
business houses that were distributed among the needy.
The enormity of the task of feeding and looking after the needs of
such a large number of persons must be appreciated by us all. Similarly,
we must also appreciate the traumatic conditions under which they fled
and the threats there were on their lives. Being used as human shields
or being caught in the crossfire in a battlefield is a bitter
experience. The influx of persons within a few weeks in May during the
last phase of the war, created challenges for all concerned in setting
up facilities.
The healing will include those innocent victims as well as others who
may have actively participated in the LTTE activities. While the
techniques of healing may differ for each group, both must be on the
basis of expressing loving kindness with huge doses of magnanimity.
Active participation
Within the process, there is a need now for every able citizen in Sri
Lanka to actively participate in this effort. Although several
professional groupings such as doctors, technical persons and
counsellors are already actively engaged in that effort, the buy-in of
the population at large has not been anywhere near what we saw during
the post-tsunami period. What seemingly is missing is the sense of
urgency and the need for ownership of the issue.
Beyond short-term gain
I believe that it is now time that the political leadership mobilised
all citizens of Sri Lanka for this task. As articulated by the head of
state, we now need to join in at all levels. This indeed is not the time
for navel gazing or to seek short-term gain and look for benefits at the
individual, group or enterprise level.
A good beginning will be to form a ‘united parliamentary front’ to
assist the effort. Being divided on party lines when dealing with
national issues and working at cross-purposes, must be put aside for
good. New beginnings must be made to work on a common agenda and
purpose. It was indeed encouraging to see the leader of the opposition
on stage with government representatives the other day at the Armed
Forces Victory Day Parade.
The same unity of purpose is hoped from him and all other political
leaders, in the process of supporting and assisting the upkeep and
resettlement of the displaced and efforts at rebuilding a unified
nation.
Media unity
The media can also play a major role in the mobilisation effort, be
it for provision of food, clothing, drugs, medical supplies,
sanitaryware or calling for help of volunteer service providers for
treating the sick, those with special needs and the traumatised.
In spite of the finger-pointing type political discussions that take
prime time and space in the media, discussions can now be focussed on
nation building with the specific purpose of mobilising citizens in that
effort.
There is at present a multiplicity of visual material, songs and
other creative work on TV channels and radio featuring different artists
saluting the war heroes, singing praises of the leadership and calling
for a unified nation.
It will serve us well if all our media houses in Sri Lanka, formed a
unified front with the same theme, the same song, the same appeal and
branding in working towards the healing, reconciliation and nation
rebuilding process, maintaining a unity within the diversity.
Nation’s dream
The same must be called for from chambers of commerce, business and
manufacturing sectors, regional administrations, professionals and their
institutes, educationists and creative artistes. Seeking a unified Sri
Lanka where all citizens enjoy equal rights and have equal access to
opportunities, must be our goal.
A land where all sons and daughters of Mother Sri Lanka, are able to
live with dignity and honour under the protection of an independent
judiciary where the rule of law is upheld to the fullest, is our dream.
The call and the need of the hour now, is for all to seek such unity of
purpose, to make our nation’s dream a reality.
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Useful web addresses:
Sri Lanka IDP
statistics -
www.resettlementmin.gov.lk/idps-_statistics.html
UK based website Campaign for
Peace and Unity in Sri Lanka
- http://cpusl.org/about.html
Local civil society
effort at seeking unity
through service -
www.unitingsrilanka.com
Mother Sri Lanka Programme ?
www.mothersrilanka.lk
Sewa Lanka Foundation -
www.sewalanka.org
Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka
IDP
assistance programme -
www.idpsrilanka.lk
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