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In political conversations in the country the word diaspora usually evokes negative connotations. To many, the diaspora has only one meaning, namely, the pro-LTTE lobby living abroad who have the single agenda of promoting LTTE political goals in the country.

However many have lost sight of the fact that the diaspora comprises Sri Lankans of all communities with no specific political agendas and whose residence abroad is due to diverse reasons including economic ones.

In the past the Sri Lankan State has ignored or neglected the diaspora to its own detriment. Despite the fact that remittances from Sri Lankans abroad have contributed substantially to the revenue of the country, precious little attention has been paid to their welfare.

Diasporas of countries are formed due to multiple reasons but the two main ones comprise those who feel they are discriminated and not treated equally and the other being those who relocate for economic reasons in the belief that the home country does not ensure a reasonably good life for them and their progeny.

This is illustrated by the massive exodus of Sri Lankans following the current economic crisis and even more vividly by the large turnout at the walk in interviews in Colombo for employment at Qatar Airways.

Both these groups therefore have, consciously or otherwise, grievances against their home country.

For example, migrant workers from marginalised sections of society contribute almost their entire earnings by way of their remittances to the country’s economy but have not received the recognition they deserve.

The Covid-19 pandemic brought this to the fore when many of them wanted to return to the country during this difficult period, but were low down in the Government’s priorities of those who were being brought back during the pandemic.

While it is in the national interest that the Sri Lankan State builds and develops links with its diaspora it has not been done in the past.

However it is a welcome move announced by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to set up an Office for Overseas Sri Lankans to reach out to Sri Lankans abroad.

While the immediate objective may be to ensure increased inflow of dollars to the country, it may also be linked to the recent statement by President Wickremesinghe that he is in discussion with Tamil political Leaders to provide solutions to their grievances.

While these efforts are to be welcomed it remains to be seen how far they succeed given the ideological differences between the President and the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) on the subject.

The challenges to restore confidence in the Sri Lankan State has to be met with meticulous planning and led by a non-racist leadership. Most of the thinking of the Tamil diaspora who exited following the several anti-Tamil riots in the country are frozen in time and based on their experiences at the time of their exodus.

They are unaware nor have they been made aware of the fact that while there has been a hardening of views among a section of the political leadership with regard to resolving the so called ethnic crisis, there has also been acceptance among a much larger section of the population that the problem has to be resolved in a fair and equitable manner. One of the tasks of the Office of Overseas Sri Lankans will be to fill this gap in communication.

Another noticeable feature of all diasporas in the world is that the different communities are more divided abroad than at home. Trust building among the communities abroad is another task for the Office of Overseas Sri Lankans.

One way to do so is for the communities to engage in joint activities in humanitarian activities which will build trust among them and bring about positive feelings towards the country.

One good example is the effort by Sri Lankan expatriates living in Saudi Arabia to collect funds for the Sirimavo Bandaranaike Pediatric Cardiac Hospital in Peradeniya in the mid-1990s. This project brought different communities together in an amazing way.

The task of uniting communities here and abroad has to be handled with a great deal of sensitivity. Once the diaspora is convinced that their kith and kin are being treated with dignity in their home country it will re-kindle strong loyalties towards Sri Lanka.

The Government’s new Office for Overseas Sri Lankans will have its work cut out for itself to succeed. But it will be worth the effort. (javidyusuf@gmail.com)