When a War is Won
On the streets, I see people celebrating. Dancing, singing, eating kiribath. On local TV, there’s song after song, talk show after talk show, programme after programme about how great our troops are and how our motherland is once again a free land. Some of the talk shows were interesting, some unfortunately used this opportunity to showcase a numner of quacks who made every manner of overly dramatic, aggrandized statements about this victory. There are music vidoes which display strong Sinhalese symbols like images of a lion, kiribath, the Kandyan drum, which people are so used to believing are actually Sri Lankan symbols. Between the local news which is heavily pro GoSL and international news which is almost all heavily pro-LTTE or at least LTTE sympathetic, there’s no one who seems to know what’s really going on. To me, it seems as though all of these people have kind of missed the point.
So it’s over. The war is won. Prabhakaran is probably dead. And am I happy? I don’t know if I’m happy. I feel an enormous amount of relief, yes. I feel a certain amazement, a sense of shock and disbelief as I watch the regular news updates on all the different channels, both local and international. I feel hopeful. But mostly, it still feels surreal. It hasn’t really sunken in.
It feels deeper, more complicated. Not so simple, not so black and white. There is too much baggage, 30 years of it, in fact to be outright jumping-for-joy. It is bitter-sweet. There has been so much death and destruction and torture and trauma. This is allegedly the end to all that, but it did happen. And it is a disgrace to the memory of those that paid the price to act like it didn’t.
Am I happy that Prabhakaran could be dead? I was not happy when they executed Saddam Hussein. I believe that rejoicing about a death, even the death of a man who has terrorised a nation for almost 30 years, is shallow. It’s as shallow and egoistic as capital punishment. It doesn’t acknowledge the reality. It is just a show of power. I think there is more to be gained by learning what makes men like that tick, and trying to understand why they did what they did in order to avoid it happening again, than killing them as a public display of ones own authority. Also it’s a bit too morbid for my liking to party about someone being dead, no matter who it may be.
However, I completely understand the sentiment that many Sri Lankans must feel right now. People have a right to be happy, people have a right to be smug, even. People have a right to sing as loud as they like. Sri Lankans everywhere have suffered enough. They have a right to live in peace now. But maybe it is because I have never truly suffered because of the war that I am not rejoicing. Maybe if I’d lost someone, or had been hurt, I’d be on the streets too. Who knows?
This war has been long and hard, and in one way or another, we have all paid a price: some have paid a price bigger than others. So I think it’s a time to be looking forward for different options and looking back to everything that has been destroyed, instead of standing on the streets with these smug looks on our faces and shouting ‘SO THERE!’. It’s the adult equivalent of ‘Nyah nyah nyah boo boo, you can’t catch me’, except it’s more ‘Ha ha, we got those motherfuckers’. Sure, we defeated them, but it came at a terrible, terrible price, and it’s far too soon to forget that. It’s far too soon to forget the brave young men who died in the service of the SLA, all the innocent children, men and women who died for no reason, all the mislead, misguided young cadres of the LTTE who may have, in another life, lived perfectly content lives free of killing and being killed.
Not to be a downer. This was necessary. Maybe it was even necessary for Prabhakaran to die. This had to happen for anything else to happen in this country. I realise that. But I’m more interested in seeing what will happen now.
Things can go two ways. We can start from square one and create a system that works equally for every law-abiding Sri Lankan citizen. Which means a lot will have to be changed. From the roots, the very foundations of this country’s mindset, politics and governmental system, it will all have to change. I say this, because no matter what, no matter what anybody says, at the end of the day this war really was an ethnic conflict. And although the battle may be won, the conflict will continue unless it is resolved now. Or we can create a military state where everyone is always under careful watch and any source of dissent is ‘taken care of’, whether they be an actual potential threat to society or just someone peacefully voicing their opinion. There is no real way to tell the difference between the two kinds of people until it’s too late, so they’ll all be deemed dangerous.
So what keeps me from rejoicing yet, is that ‘What now?’ nagging me, at the back of my mind.
To me, this is more of a beginning than an end. More a crucial turning point than a final victory. It will be the decisions that will be made following this military success that will assure this island a true Sri Lankan victory in the time to come.
A brilliantly written post Electra, you echo many of my thoughts, which is clear coincidence, but the way you’ve said these things is poignant and touching. Thank you
Comment by RD — May 18, 2009 @ 12:34 pm
Good post.
Comment by Jack Point — May 18, 2009 @ 12:41 pm
This is called egging the pudding. All peace niks and ngos related to peace nicks are at the moment trying extreamly hard to egg their pudding. Has there been a single thought about the poor soldier who lost his life ? Has there been a single thought about the school children that were bombed to death on their way to school in a bus. Nope. Those cause do not egg the pudding.
How predictable is this ?
RD, this post may be “poignant and touching” for you cause you did not pick the pieces of your best friend off the railway track in Dehiwela when he was returing from work.
This could be touching to you cause you did not watch your wife, now a cripple due to fact that she worked in Central bank.
We watched our families live in fear as people like you drove your own vehicles and saved your familes while LTTE bombed the public transportation system.
poignant and touching - That is a sentiment reserved for people who were on the Dialog call list at the blood bank and who got called in to donate blood when there was a civialin death in a city.
We have suffered untold crimes as they came into our cities and bombed us, for the sake of an illusive dream.
Who the hell writes about the father who was killed while returing home from work with two loaves of bread, as LTTE celebrated their heros month each year every year in a blood bath in Colombo ?
poignant and touching ?
RD and Electra , may you never have to abandon your children of your familes in the LTTE heros month in Sri Lanka.
People did moun for Hitler and they had a name for those who did. People did mourn for Idi Amin and they had a name for those who did.
Comment by anna — May 18, 2009 @ 12:56 pm
anna: I’m hardly ‘mourning’ Prabhakaran. However I’m not surprised by your comment. I knew there would be many of this nature when I made this post. I knew there would be many who would deliberately twist what I say and deliberately refuse to see the nuances and see only the stark blacks and whites.
However, I have addressed each of the points you have raised: “Has there been a single thought about the poor soldier who lost his life ? Has there been a single thought about the school children that were bombed to death on their way to school in a bus”
I said : :”It’s far too soon to forget the brave young men who died in the service of the SLA, all the innocent children, men and women who died for no reason…”
I do mourn everyone that has died, be they SLA or LTTE, because I believe that even LTTE cadres were just normal human beings who were brainwashed or intimidated into fighting, and would not have chosen that life had they the chance to choose anything else. But I do not mourn Prabhakaran. He was a maniac and a coward. Just because I say I cannot be happy about the death of another human being it does not mean I mourn them.
And I also admitted: “But maybe it is because I have never truly suffered because of the war that I am not rejoicing. Maybe if I’d lost someone, or had been hurt, I’d be on the streets too. Who knows?”
And for the last time, my family does not own a vehicle. We do not have ‘office’ vehicles. We use public transport just like you do. We are NOT pro LTTE. However hard it may be for your little, narrow mind to comprehend this, do try.
Even after this war is won, it will be bigots like you with your bitterness and hatred that will deny Sri Lanka unity and peace.
Comment by electra — May 18, 2009 @ 1:14 pm
Er, what was the name? Just out of curiosity? and also sorry about your tragic life anna. Word up.
Comment by Hariharan Sivharaj — May 18, 2009 @ 1:15 pm
Anna - I’m truly sorry for the harship that people have faced and lived through, or sadly perhaps not lived through. I’m not mourning the death of VP either.
I’m lucky in that I haven’t witnessed many of the terrible things you talk about. But, I was there in 83 and lived in fear of my life. I heard the mobs looting and burning Tamil houses in CMB and lay in bed fearing for my life and that of my Tamil Uncle and Grandmother.
We got out of the country, I flew back to my cushy home in England. But I know I was one of the lucky ones. I’m currently full of optimism, hope and positivity and that’s mixed with apprehension and a “let’s see” attitude.
Comment by RD — May 18, 2009 @ 1:39 pm
only racists see an ethnic conflict . same racists who wanted to talk peace with terrorist and opposed defeating ltte ( while in most cases not saying what to do with ltte in typical cowardly intellectual dishonest fashion).
dishonest racists pretendingh to be otherwise
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i see rd the bigoted blog banner has made an appearance shamelessly
Comment by sittingnut — May 18, 2009 @ 1:52 pm
btw what one does with rewards of a vile action does not matter , in this regard a person who engaged in conspicuous consumption and a person who remains personally modest and charitable is just as guilty . even whether there was or not reward does not matter
what counts is what you did , what course of action you supported, when you were significantly silent, when did you speak up , etc. not how you used the benefits ( most of which as life in general are anyway are not monetary )
judging on those grounds this blog ( to limit myself to what happened here ) like most peacenik ones, fare badly from an ethical point of view. vile actions remain
Comment by sittingnut — May 18, 2009 @ 2:16 pm
Sittingnut..true to form. My God man..what are you going to do now? The big bad pussy is dead..who are you going to rant and rave about? Hahahah…
Comment by The-Benevolent-Dictator — May 18, 2009 @ 2:42 pm
Hopefully the Voice in Colombo’s and Sittingnuts will now turn their attention to arguing as vociferously against corruption and for equality for all Sri Lankans. I look forward to screeds against ‘asslicking corrupt politicians’ and the like. I won’t hold my breath, though.
Nice post, electra. This situation presents a massive opportunity, who knows if it’ll be used for good or to repeat the mistakes of yore. If indeed there are many like SNut who believe ‘there is no ethnic conflict’, we’re in for some trouble.
Comment by amused — May 18, 2009 @ 3:04 pm
You speak my mind.
It’s no coincidence I wrote a very similar piece today… Me too, is far from being awed, but I do breathe a sigh of relief. It is too good to believe that finally we can walk the streets of this paradise without having to fear our lives.
Having said that, there is a lot of work to be done. More than anything else, the Sinhalese need to win the hearts of the Tamils, which is the only way to prevent another Prabhakaran surfacing. Our children do not want to endure the same pain we did for a quarter century…
Comment by Sachintha — May 18, 2009 @ 3:19 pm
Maybe what bothers you is that the war is over while terrorism and the Tamil aspirations for their own land is not over.
What lies ahead in the next few months is important as I believe it will shape the future of our country for ever.
As for the celebrations, I felt as a Sri Lankan a rush of relief that terrorists don’t hold the sovereignty of our country hostage anymore.
I have met and worked with members of the LTTE who were in Colombo during the peace process ages ago and also visited Killinochchi and Batticloa. They were not very nice people for whatever reason. They were terrorists who suddenly realized that holding a gun to someone’s head vs. verbal negotiations were a completely different ball game. Most importantly it was surprising to realize that their sermons of idealism were complete bullshit, they too were carried away with the love for power and brutality.
So when I heard that it’s over and complete control over Sri Lanka is back with the SLGov I did get a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye.
Yes the human loss and suffering is unbearable and unbelievable, but the LTTE had and have no place in Sri Lanka. That much is important.
So for once in our life lets forget our Sri Lankansisms of the past, lets be quietly proud and unite together to breathe a sigh of relief and look forward to a better future.
Smile. It’s OK.
Fuck the negativity for once, lets celebrate.
Comment by Dhammika Dharmawardhane — May 18, 2009 @ 5:23 pm
it is just laughable that ppl who were supporting the wrong course and did the wrong thing ( in terms of standing up for human rights , justice , democracy and freedom, and defeating terrorism ) think they know what is the right thing to do now . ha! lol
any one who thinks that ethnicity was the cause of terrorism is a racist . that is a simple truth. tamils do not become terrorists by default . tamil grievances ( real ) do not result in terrorism, any more than poverty causes theft or grievances of other communities (also real) world over cause terrorism .
face the facts about the conflict .
but you ppl don’t want to do that but hide behind cliches made from of terrorist propaganda parroted by peaceniks .
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and ppl, don’t worry about what i do. i did the right thing at the right time and was right .
many of you did not .fact
the-benevolent-dictator :
i know it is important for you bc all your posts this year has been about me up to now. (what a silly slave!) just keep on following me that will give enough for you to write about .
Comment by sittingnut — May 19, 2009 @ 6:15 am
Sittingnut: It’s my job to act as a counterpoint to you. Obviously I would make a post giving an alternative view point, where there are so many other blog posts about how great a victory this is. I don’t need to go on about that, so many others have done it already. And anyway, this is just strictly how I feel.
And I believe it was an ethnic conflict. Don’t ignore the reasons that the LTTE took up arms. And anyway they weren’t the only ones who wanted a separate homeland for the Tamils. They may have been the last ones standing, because they got rid of everyone else, but they weren’t the only ones and there must have been a reason for that. There must have been a reason for so much discontentment and anger. Anyone who thinks otherwise is deliberately ignoring the reality.
Comment by Electra — May 19, 2009 @ 6:32 am
Nicely articulated post. People are so caught up in propaganda that they don’t realize that everything isn’t over yet. There is MUCH work still to be done to make sure something like this does not happen again..
Comment by janusis — May 19, 2009 @ 9:20 am
Guys like Snut prefer to see everything narrowed down to a war on terrorism — something that in fact doesn’t exist. It’s like having a war on tanks, or a war on aircraft carriers. Terrorism is a tactic, not a cause. It’s easier to see the war against the LTTE as the sole problem. That way you don’t have to deal with the equally difficult problems that spawned the LTTE. Now that boil of the war has been lanced, we need to heal the poison of the ethnic conflict, so that no more boils pop up.
Comment by David Blacker — May 19, 2009 @ 10:33 am
i agree with blacker. i think its ridiculous to imagine this war was not symptomatic of something deeper that we need to address as a nation in order to move forward. i also think though, that we owe it to the people who were willing to give their lives so we can enjoy peace, to enjoy these few days - because not only is it the end of one helluva a large pain in teh neck, but also because we’re currently standing on the threshold of something that could be so wonderful. not doing that would be like worrying on your birthday because you have test the next day.
Comment by anon — May 19, 2009 @ 3:23 pm
electra:
sorry you logic fails you .
first i did not ask anyone to write only celebratory posts. typical of you to assume so.
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there is always anger and frustration in various ppl for various reasons but not everyone resorts to terrorism. only a small group do so .
and ppl who do so will do so at any excuse.
that is why there are criminals. ltte is just better organized criminals.
(perhaps you think other criminals who use various grievances as excuses have a valid point? if so admit is clearly )
to label such criminals with a name of an ethnic group, and to say violence resulting from that is an ethnic conflict is racist
and you are a racist
to excuse and placate them is not ethical and against justice ( esp to ppl who suffered grievances and did not resort to violence ) and against human rights , democracy, and freedom)
if anyone resorts to violence there should be no sympathy or empathy for them. to show sympathy and believe that some causes justify ( or even just cause )violence of this sort in itself a support to them. ppl decide to cause violence, there should be no sympathy, whatever the excuse they put forward.
to repeat what i have said elsewhere-
tamil grievances, while real, (though some times exaggerated by terrorist propaganda and their peaceniik parrots ) do/did not cause terrorism, any more than poverty cause theft. ppl who peddle in this irrational falsehood forget that vast majority tamils did not support terrorists or its atrocities (does anyone here disagree?), all other communities and groups (upcountry tamils , rural poor etc etc ) also subject to various (probably worse imo) grievances did not resort to terrorism. (same for ppl elsewhere in the world as well who suffer grievances )
now without linking the grievances with terrorism there is room for discussing how to address grievances.
i do not presume to offer solutions nor should anyone else, let process of democracy work .
it is not perfect, it is hard work, it is corrupt ( it is all that everywhere in the world btw not just here). let ppl who represent various interest groups (not just ethnic btw) work within the limitations of the system to get what their respective groups want . it will be compromises, give and take, it will be corrupt. and will not satisfy anybody completely. but that is how it is supposed to be. and we all are in it . ( and it has worked eg enfranchisement upcountry tamils. a sort of thing that usa has found hard to do eg amnesty to illegal aliens there even though percentages of population is lower )
and few ppl disappointed at not getting what they want through that process, after taking an all or nothing attitude, and think they can use that as an excuse to resort to violence should be treated as criminals(without empathy or sympathy from anyone who respect human rights , democracy , freedom and justice ) .
Comment by sittingnut — May 19, 2009 @ 7:02 pm
david blacker :
lol . typical superficiality from you but just don’t presume to attribute your imperfect understanding on me .
there was/is terrorism and a war against terrorism. but i don’t narrow ‘everything’ to it (in fact it is ppl like electra who do that when they choose to see and believe that ethnic grievances cause terrorism when it is more complex.)
i am for addressing grievances separately from terrorism bc they are separate as any clear eyed rational examination will show .
bc they are separate, the answer to each is different .
terrorist violence, past or future, should not be tolerated and any one engaged in that should be treated as criminals and defeated with violence if needs be.
all grievances (not just of one ethnic group. in fact it is unjust and a grievance by itself to give priority to one group bc some criminals used them as excuse for violence) should be addressed through democratic process (imperfect and corrupt as it always is everywhere ). meaning resulting unsatisfying compromises will be arrived at through hard bargaining between various interest groups according to their political weight and tactical effectiveness. that is best that can be had .
if you are not satisfied that your group did not get what they want, too bad . life is a bitch (and btw not everyone gets to be rich either.). just don’t be violent bc if you do, you should be treated as criminal. same as ppl who, unsatisfied at their poverty, try to get rich through violence .
that is how i see it ( and saw it, bc i have said this before )
and it is the most realistic, rational, and ethical, way to see it.
in contrast peaceniks choose to follow the racist understanding of the issue, simplifying grievances as the cause of terrorism. they then working from that racist understanding of situation advocated and supported appeasement of terrorists for ‘peace’( one of the most unrealistic and unethical cause of actions possible; completely against all ‘decent’ principles as well as being unsustainable ) .
and since you bring me to it, i am proud to say i opposed peaceniks then as now while most of the ppl here did not .
unless one is sees reality, think rationally and judge ethically one will be wrong. i was right and i will be right.
Comment by sittingnut — May 19, 2009 @ 8:08 pm
“cause of action” should be “courses of action” . ooops
Comment by sittingnut — May 19, 2009 @ 8:13 pm
For once, an unbiased real opinion/voice about the ending of an era. “at the end of the day this war really was an ethnic conflict” - how many out there understand the basic of this?!?! Just cause weapons were taken to try and resolve a conflict, it doesnt change the casue for what it all started on. Until you understand / comprehend your past and mistakes, your never going to get to the future how you see it. Conflict-less & United SRI LANKA (so called).
Comment by ~ lo$t $oul ~ — May 20, 2009 @ 2:52 am
lost soul:
just repeating the falsehood that it is an ethnic conflict as you do do, not make it true if it does not tally with facts. what do you say when pointed out that same so called ‘causes’ exist for many ppl from various groups but they did not take up violence or support it ? do not forget facts that are inconvenient to you.
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if we miss the real cause of terrorism we will get the wrong ’solution’. peaceniks got the answer to terrorist violence wrong bc they made a similar mistake.
should we follow them now when they are making a similar mistake based on same ‘ethnic grievances cause terrorism’ fallacy?
Comment by sittingnut — May 20, 2009 @ 6:14 am
Hi sittingnut, been trying to read your comments and posts over the last few years. Just out of curiosity, what is it that you do? As in, to make money? Did your parents die and leave you a multi-billion dollar fortune? or do you work a 9 - 5 job? (perhaps at wallmart) Please do let me know. Thanxxxx
Byee
Comment by Curious Frank — May 20, 2009 @ 6:54 am
Lol, it’s always amusing when one is accused of being raacist for pointing out racism.
Comment by David Blacker — May 21, 2009 @ 8:16 am
david blacker :
what about superficiality ? bc that is what you were accused of . thanks for proving my point
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curious frank and his comment is a typical tactic when ppl run out of rational arguments and want to attack me but i will ‘answer’ him )
curious frank
good to know that there are ppl like you who follow me around in blogs and never before asked me anything . or are you someone we all know but too embarrassed to give your blog name ?
you certainly seem to have a limited understanding about how ppl make money in real life.
so keep on guessing . when you have the right one i will admit it .
Comment by sittingnut — May 24, 2009 @ 12:22 am
Wll, Snut, if you respond to superficiality with inanity, I guess that makes us pretty much even. Though I’m sure you’ll disagree
Comment by David Blacker — May 24, 2009 @ 8:02 am
see the above david blacker comment for a classic case of out-of-valid-arguments-so-will-use-empty-words.
does anyone else ( other than david blacker) need help differentiating a description/pointing out of superficiality of a person and his arguments, from anything else ?
Comment by sittingnut — May 25, 2009 @ 3:46 am
Er… what?
Comment by David Blacker — May 25, 2009 @ 8:24 am