Portrait

I may have come off as negative or pessimistic in my post before. Don’t get me wrong, I feel this. I feel the relief, and the joy, and more than anything, I feel the hope.

The President’s speech in Parliament was impressive. He said everything that was expected of him as a President. He reassured the people that there would be no more talk of ‘minorities’ and that all would be treated as equals. He gave the International Community a resounding and confident ‘fuck off’. And he established that there would be only those that love this country, and those that don’t: a patriotism which would of course be measured by their standards of what is love for one’s country and what is not. Despite this last point, he gave me hope. He convinced me that he is not racist. That his government is not a racist government. I hope I am right. He gave me hope that his intentions are good. That their intentions for Sri Lanka are pure. There is a lot of change to be made, and he gave me hope that they are ready to make these changes, no matter how challenging they may be.

But he has a little more convincing to do. And he has a lot to prove. He has to convince me that he will stand against corruption just as strongly as he stood against terrorism. That he will fight for freedom of expression just as he has fought for freedom from the LTTE. He has to prove that their armed forces will never again rape and pillage and assassinate. That they will never plunder and molest and murder. He has to prove that they will never lie to or betray or steal from its own people. He has to earn my trust, whatever that may mean to him. But I am willing to wait. I am willing to give them a chance. I am willing to hope.

All this won’t happen over night. And certainly, all this, one man and one government alone cannot do. It is up to us. It is up to each individual to reverse the terrible vicious cycle that this war has created. The vicious cycle of violence: the armed struggle of the LTTE began because they felt as though they weren’t being treated with equality. But because of the war, the ethnic divide has deepened. Because of the war, racism has increased. Because of the war, some Tamils are reluctant to trust the Sinhalese and some Sinhalese are uneasy about standing in a bus with a Tamil. It is up to each one of us to end the distrust, the suspcion, the hatred, the paranoia, the bitterness towards each other. It is up to each one of us to grow bigger than revenge. It is up to each one of us to foster an atmosphere of trust, kindness and security for each other.

I hope those who left this island will return. I hope they will stop being so angry, forgive the feeling of betrayal, and return home to give Sri Lanka a chance. I hope they will see that not everyone is out to get them. I hope they understand that the longer they insist that there is no other way, there actually is no other way.

I hope we have it in us. I hope we have the sensibility, the sensitivity. I hope we have the strength, the maturity. I hope we have the determination, the commitment. I hope we have the patience to work for the change, and then that we have the good karma to live long enough to see it happen.