Don’t Cry For Me Sri Lanka

By Suranimala Umagiliya –MARCH 30, 2018

“We are what we do repeatedly. Excellency, therefore is not an act but a habit” 

Oh what a country Sri Lanka is. On the surface everything seems Hunky Dory. Scratch the surface if you will and Lo and behold the worst is in plain sight. Warts, burns and scars. God bestowed a natural bounty and asked the simplistic peasants to enjoy it. They became thespians over time.

Lasantha

Hark back to the recent history of this nation. Vile as any can be. Led by politicians whose only focus is to gain and retain power, they appealed to the basest instincts of man. Having jostled a majority to fall in line with narrow, divisive politics in addition to a few through crumbs being thrown their way, the politicians helped themselves to disgraceful amounts of money through graft, bribery and corruption. Of course they justified the corruption as a necessary evil to raise party funds for their re election which will ensure that the peasants get a few more crumbs thrown their way.
The icing on the cake is that the peasants yet have faith and belief in them. And so as time went by it became worse and the loot got inflated. Another dangerous game was invented. Divide the people between the majority and the rest. Add religion to the race if you must, to bolster the equation. That is what we face, in Sri Lanka today.

With each President the levels of accountability, good governance slipped downward.

Corruption and the amounts involved climbed upwards. Greed has reached “No Limit”, a la the clothes outlet. Add to that murder, abduction and the infamous white vans, not to speak of murdering a journalist or few along the way are necessary evils to “Save the nation” from being divided. Can a country survive in this fashion? Yes. Subject to the vilest amassing filthy money and retiring in comfort, within the country or without, leaving the peasantry to eke out an existence. Generation after generation. The rest of the world will give us loans.

Prageeth

The Burghers were chased out in the late 50’s and 60’s. They went to UK and Australia. The third generation of Burghers are Doctors, Lawyers, Accountants, Public servants,living comfortable lives. They pay their taxes and their adopted countries give them living wages and more, to enjoy a very comfortable retirement with five star medical benefits.

The Tamils were accepted into more countries in the West after 1983. Their next generation are in Universities if not already serving as Doctors, Lawyers and Accountants. They too will get a more than a living wage, own houses, pay taxes, bring to them their extended families, who will also become Doctors, Accountants, Lawyers. All of them too will pay their due taxes and will benefit by getting a comfortable retirement with five star medical treatment.

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