Happy?

Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations

Editorial-April 28, 2015, 7:25 pm 

Sri Lankans may have thought they were a very happy lot. But, they stand corrected. The latest World Happiness Report (WHR) has ranked Sri Lanka 132nd among 158 countries.

Switzerland is the happiest nation in the world followed by Iceland and Denmark in second and third places respectively, according to the happiness survey. Of the SAARC member states, only Bhutan (79) and Pakistan (81) are among the first 100 nations.

The WHR rankings are said to be based on information derived through the Gallup World Poll besides some nationally determined factors. One may argue that happiness is only an interval between two moments of sorrow and cannot, therefore, be measured. However, most surveys are about quantifying the unquantifiable, aren’t they?

Interestingly, the WHR says there is a new worldwide demand for more attention to happiness as a criterion for government policy. If so, one may argue that countries like the US (15), the UK (21), Germany (26) and France (29) should seriously consider adopting the policies of Costa Rica (12) and Mexico (14) to make their citizens happier. Is it that Sri Lanka should emulate the countries which rank above it including Somaliland regions (91), Sudan (118), Ethiopia (122) and Sierra Leone (123) to improve her people’s lot and make them happier or at least less unhappy?

Curiously, Iraq (112) ranks above India, Sri Lanka etc. Are we to gather that bloody conflicts do not rob people of their happiness? We thought the first casualty of violence and anarchy was people’s happiness.

Among the variables identified by the WHR are gross domestic product per capita, healthy life expectancy, social support, perceived freedom to make life choices, freedom from corruption and generosity. If so, how can countries plagued by conflicts, poverty and large scale human rights violations like Congo - Kinshasa (120), Haiti (119) and Ethiopia (122) rank above any other nation?

Anyone who subscribes to the world happiness rankings should stop cursing Robert Mugabe, the tyrant, because according to the WHR, the people of Zimbabwe (115) are less unhappy than their counterparts in India (117) and Sri Lanka (132)! Most of all, mindless violence unleashed by the militant groups in post-Gaddafi Libya (63) and the attendant suffering have not taken their toll on the hapless Libyans’ happiness! One’s mind boggles at it! And, the protracted economic crisis in Greece (102) has not made the Greeks as unhappy as Sri Lankans! If so, the question is why there are street protests in Greece with irate public demanding that their grievances be redressed.

If the WHR rankings actually reflect the true situation as regards people’s happiness what are we doing in this country which ranks below even most of the conflict-ridden, poverty-stricken nations? Let's all flee to Haiti or Congo or Libya and be less unhappy there! Cynics claim we may have to do so anyway sooner or later. For, what we are enjoying at present is only an interval in hell as it were. We are having a respite after decades of suffering at the hands of politicians because there is a government that fears people. Too weak to try people’s patience with a general election staring it in the face, the current administration is behaving. But, the situation is bound to change and we will suffer the torments of inferno again in the event of a strong government being formed after the upcoming parliamentary polls.

Sri Lanka is lagging behind other countries as regards national happiness because the focus of the WHR is on the ordinary people. If countries are ranked according to politicians’ happiness, you can bet your bottom dollar, this country will rank first easily and remain in that position indefinitely.