In a normal trajectory of human life, once you reach 70 as my father continues to remind me, you know that you have some limitations of time as you are ‘retired’ and just wiling away time. You are unable to actively contribute towards society as you may have done previously. All you can do is provide the benefit of your knowledge, wisdom and experience. You try to look forward and reflect on what you have achieved. You try to see if you can atone for your mistakes but at the same time, try to enjoy the remainder of life.
70 years of a nations history should also accord us the same reflection. As the past been some thing to be proud of or has it been a period where we need to reflect. Did we become ‘independent’ from a colonial power just to become ‘dependent’ on our closed patriarchal and monolithic thinking? to become financially dependent on outside sources? to become dependent on our past to make decisions for the future? are we truly independent as the nation itself is dependent on foreign aid and political influences?
As we celebrate the nation’s monumental independence which in effect meant freedom from the rule of an outside force allowing all people the ability to take part in the decision making of their country, we must reflect whether this has been achieved and what should be achieved?
Sri Lanka’s independence can only be truly manifested once we acknowledge, respect, understand and celebrate the fact that to be Sri Lankan is not a homogeneous monolithic structure but one where cosmopolitans come together to provide agency and expression to the multiples identities that every person has and performs on a daily basis. Your single identity of faith or ethnicity or gender or age can and should not be a limiting factor to your agency of full expression of being Sri Lankan
To be Sri Lankan is to accept that there is diversity amongst your fellow countrymen and as you agree on some things you can disagree on others, and there is space for you here.
To be Sri Lankan is to work towards the fact that the ‘privilege’ that you can have is based on your abilities and achievements not because you were born into wealth or a certain ethnic group or family or in a certain city.
To be Sri Lankan is to accept that those members of society who have suffered and continue to suffer as a result of their circumstances of birth, deserve to be listened to and supported.
To be Sri Lankan is not just to coalesce around a national team or just to celebrate different religious and ethnic festivals or to selectively choose and appropriate different cultural foods. It is not in the rhetoric or the clothes we wear. When people are oppressed due to their ethnicity or their faith; when they make ‘russian roulette’ decisions based on their economic circumstances; when they know their gender might limit their agency; when those in power steal, cheat and lie; then this is a pain that all of us should feel. When one Sri Lankan is hurting, all of us should be hurting.
To be Sri Lankan is to be the living example of ‘Compassion’ as understood by all of the great global faiths that intertwine the fabric of society. To be Sri Lankan is to challenge those who say and do wrong even if they are from our own faith and ethnic grouping simply because this is the right and just thing to do.
To be Sri Lankan is to accept that the country belongs to all
Some of us may not have been in control of what happened in the past, but a majority of us have control of what can happen in the future. There is no political vision for nation building and nothing that respective governments have given us that give us confidence that this will be addressed. perhaps the failure is not with them, but is a collective responsibility as we ourselves in our own daily lives perhaps do not respect the very foundations of a nation. after all, how many of us are guilty of the selfishness of looking first to our own communities, to abusing the environment and also not necessarily understanding the hardships of the most vulnerable and marginalised?
So as Sri Lanka marks 70 days, perhaps we need to reflect what is the country that we want to leave our children’s children.
Finally to be Sri Lankan is to accept that the above though seeming idealistic can be achievable if we can work together. Though we may not all get there in the end and that there will be many mountains to climb, we will persevere on this journey because we are Sri Lankans - who love this island, its different tastes, smells and colours - and this is the right and just thing to do.
Happy Independence Day Sri Lanka
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