The Terror That Lives Within
It was heartbreaking, and yet somehow, heartening; to see the thousands of people that had decided that they want to spend their Monday afternoon walking in the intense Colombo heat from Narahenpita to Borella. Heartbreaking because I think, ‘Where will this end, this tyranny?’, and I am so scared that it will be far worse before it’s over, heartening because Lasantha, even in death, had the power to mobilise people from across classes and cultures, races and religions. Truly, everyone was there. It was bigger than one man. It was about what he stood for, and why he was killed.
Despite this gentle push towards optimism, I’m afraid I have become a cynic beyond reason, one that may never turn back again. Because honestly, what can we do? We are just the masses; we have no power, no authority. What can we do, for example, to ensure that no one else is killed like Lasantha? What can we do?
It will be too late when those supporting this regime of terror realise that it’s not going to spare anyone. It’s not going to matter in the end; who you are, who your family is or whether your Sinhalese or Tamil or Muslim. This particular war is not against the terrorists or against Tamils. It’s a war against opposition. And if you have doubts about any of the decisions this government is making and you care to voice them, it will take you out, just like it did Lasantha.
The state has bred a terrorism of its own kind. All the lives it has taken over the years, all the lies it has told, all the threats it has made, all the covering up it has done, this is where it has gotten us: gunmen shooting public figures in broad daylight, armed thugs burning down buildings. Uniformed policemen and military, openly hostile, stopping us at checkpoints, pointing guns in our faces, demanding answers to meaningless questions. People are constantly scared. I am terrified, of ever travelling alone, even in the afternoon. I am terrified of ever forgetting ID. I am terrified for all the people I love who I know must be on that list of targets.
And yet this illusion of security is only just that: an illusion, a lie told to us to keep us quiet, a veil pulled firmly over our eyes to keep us calm. The only ones who are really secure are the ones they close the roads for, the ones that surround themselves with tens of hundreds of armed soldiers because they live in fear that all their dirty deeds will one day come back to bite them in the ass. The ones that make the world an unsafe place for normal civilians like you or me. What a crazy place this is, when a man is more likely to be murdered by those in power rather than be killed as a consequence of the rampant civil war.
As the corruption and violence in Sri Lanka spirals out of control, I despair: there is nothing we can do.
We can write, and we can talk, we can walk together. But really, what will this achieve? The power is not ours. It is then up to those who have ravaged and killed and tortured mercilessly and meaninglessly to realize that their deeds are too ugly, too dirty. But when? When it’s too late and there is no Sri Lanka left.
I am scared. Truly, properly scared. But there is nothing we can do.
unsupported assumptions and allegations and irrational hysterical exaggerations and paranoia, in is this post is too numerous to detail. (if anyone other than electra here want to challenge me on that statement i will point them out, electra herself needs to calm down and get back to reality).
why is she (and some few others only a little less so) behaving and writing in this fashion? that would be an interesting question.
here is a simple explanation
a certain class of people ( to which electra belong ) are experiencing a long overdue loss of bearing due to increasing untenability of prejudices they have long held about various things, ranging from who should govern sri lanka, to nature of ltte terrorism . murder of mr wickremathunga ( a dirty politician pretending to be journalist) has allowed them ( or so they think)to put a ‘positive’ spin to the loss of bearing they feel, as a loss of power to “tyranny” etc. even though underlying evidence does not support that spin .
it would be an interesting study to observe how they cope when it becomes clear ( as it soon would) that latest spin is as empty and untenable as their earlier prejudices. such as ltte is fighting foe tamils or peace is worth any cost even cost of human right justice , freedom and democracy .
Comment by sittingnut — January 13, 2009 @ 3:37 pm
“I am scared. Truly, properly scared. But there is nothing we can do”
Plenty and you are doing it real well.
By the way where is your post about the LTTE bombs that killed innocent civilians in camps ?
Where was the post about LTTE killing innocent school children ?
Did you write about the LTTE enrolling children and giving them weapons training ?
My mistake entirely.
You are not paid to write about those.
Comment by Hulaga — March 7, 2009 @ 1:08 pm