Make amity the speciality

I have always taught my children that they are Sri Lankan – what their race or religion is not of relevance. My children, like hundreds of other Sri Lankan children, are a part of a new generation to whom religious and racial lines are not significant. They live in a universe, which harnesses the talents and abilities of every nationality and every religion.

We have to pass on a message of tolerance and harmony to them – if not, they could see an unwanted repetition of the war we just finished. They need to know and understand that there are good people everywhere just as much as there are bad people. They need to be taught to look at each individual with open eyes and not prejudice.

There are dangerous precedents being set all around us – as one group attacks another whether over religion or race, it takes the country one giant step backward. There are issues that must be addressed within each community that could be stepping on the toes of the other; such issues must be addressed in forums that do not involve violence and intimidation. If not, the message we send out to our children can be very dangerous.

Social integration

My son attends the esteemed school by the sea, which has admirably always maintained its truly multi-cultural and multi-religious outlook although it is primarily a Christian school. From Grade One, there have been Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim boys in their classes, which are mixed up.

The English medium boys sit in Tamil or Sinhala medium classes and never think twice about being different. Christian boys attend Chapel while Hindu, Buddhist and Muslim boys attend prayers on their own. Admirably, there is no room for seeds of hatred to grow – all boys regard each other as Thomians and Thomians alone. I am certain old and present Thomians would agree with me on this. My daughter’s school, Ladies College, maintains the same status quo when it comes to multi-religious, multi-ethnic nature practiced by a Christian school. It is refreshing and wonderful to see little girls representing all communities and all religions take their little places in the classrooms, not at all divided along ethnic or religious lines.

Nurturing that multi-cultural, multi-ethnic spirit in schools is important because that is where you first pick up the seeds of social integration. It is where you learn to co-exist and share.

Although we live in an island, we are a mere few flying hours away from the rest of the world that is marching on. The world walks today to a different drum – one of enterprise and hard work, opportunity and economic empowerment that does not divide along religious or ethnic lines. It is the 21st century – an African American is the President of the United States of America. People no longer are limited by geographic or national borders; it is a seamless world connected and powered by technology and communications.

If we are to allow our children to succeed in that world, we need know what they need to learn. Harking back along religious and ethnic lines will only mar that.

Sri Lankan identity

We have a rich and proud history of over 2500 years and if that rich heritage is to be of significance to us in this century, it must enrich our promise as a multi-religious, multi-ethnic nation that is proud of its legacy and its future. Children learn by watching the adults act. If we act right, chances are they would too. No child is born prejudiced; all people are conditioned later on to become prejudiced against a religious or an ethnic group. No group or a religion can call itself superior to others; we are all born equal and can live in harmony. Respect, after all, cannot be demanded but earned.

We owe it to our children to leave them a country that is richer by the experience of a true Sri Lankan identity. From the time of ancient kings, we have been always inclusive – of the foreigner, the traveller, the stranger. For we ourselves are visitors. Who can claim to be pure Sinhalese, pure Tamil or pure anything? We are an island and people have been crossing the Indian Ocean to arrive here throughout the centuries. There is no way anyone of us can aspire to be pure at all. We are all mixed whether we like it or not. No one can trace ancestry back to a pure lineage. That’s how human civilization is and has always been.

It is still not late for us to unite in harmony as Sri Lankans. Let us strive to do just that because we need to set an example for our children. May their tomorrow be better and brighter and include every Sri Lankan and exclude none.