A Lookback On 2015: May You Live In Interesting Times

By Yudhanjaya Wijeratne –December 31, 2015

Yudhanjaya Wijeratne

They say the Chinese have a curse: may you live in interesting times.

We Sri Lankans have definitely been cursed by the Chinese. This isn’t just a pun on the Port City: In the space of one year we, as a nation, have toppled a dictatorship, installed another one, cried out against Saudi Arabia and argued passionately the subject of bras being thrown at concerts. We’ve watched from afar as the specter of war spread throughout the world. We’ve battled inflation, corruption, and idiots crossing the street. Interesting times, indeed.

I can’t deny that much of it’s been disappointing, especially the political situation. While still nowhere near as bad as the Rajapakse regime, the current government seems to be well on its way to proving that the leopard is truly incapable of changing its spots. But all that aside, as the year draws to a close, I’d like to make a few notes:

• Sri Lanka is (still) not a truly multicultural society, but we’re getting better

Consider the current situation: certain parts and social circles of Colombo are multicultural, but the rest of the country is a mess. Pockets of “Sinha Ley” Buddhists over there, pockets of visually segregated Muslims over here, the Hindus hanging out doing their own thing over there, Catholics in their own communities over here, and so on. People only really associate within their bubbles, and assimilate only with reluctance.Colombo is a good example: Colombo 03, 04 and 07 are multi-cultural, and the rest of the city is largely racially segregated into communities. In the same way that Kandy is largely Sinhala Buddhist turf, Dehiwala, Wellawatte and Attidiya are Hindu / Muslim. While culturally diverse, we haven’t really melded together that well.That’s largely a problem of mentality. Right now, we seem to be in a curious limbo where we’re celebrating our differences more than our similarities. Case in point, the current crop of “Sinha Ley” stickers.Read More