A
tale of two scenarios of Sri Lanka 2020
By Random Access Memory (RAM)
Imagine all the people who deserved better, who dreamt of a better
tomorrow for themselves and for their children, now let down by
our leaders for they drove their own selfish agenda.
There is only
a bleakness all around. What was once dubbed 'a land like no other'
is once again struck by irrationality and is in a state of chaos.
'Paradise lost' is yet again the popularly used acronym by the international
media to describe what was once, the 'Pearl or the teardrop of the
Indian Ocean' where serendipity was more than just a state of mind.
Since the breakdown
of the peace talks in late 2003, when our leaders missed the boat,
not heeding good sense to agree to work together on a common programme
for peace and development, this 2020 Sunday scenario for our motherland
had to be one of mayhem and chaos.
The commentator
appearing on my 2002 model television screen, that is nearly tearing
itself apart, describes the footage of skirmishes in the areas that
were once territory of a united Sri Lanka. Several thousand villagers
have lost their lives and women and children are among them. The
next story is of military men and firemen clearing the debris of
the deeds of a suicide bomber yesterday in the heart of Colombo.
Once known as
the business district, it is today a pile of rubble where charred
bodies of innocent victims are being unearthed. The death toll has
arisen to 78, the commentator states.
The leader
of the 'United Gangs of Peoples' Urumaya' now ruling 'Paradise lost'
appears on television to address the broken people of the 'nation'
or what little is left of it to appeal for calm.
Several fully
armed militiamen stand guard beside him and others keep sending
him scribbled notes with the latest statistics of the death toll.
The ten-hour daily power interruption is to begin in half an hour
and the queues for kerosene and petrol are reported to be miles
long. The rationed provisions of rice, sugar and dhal for the next
month were issued yesterday at what's left of the now defunct super
markets.
cenes of angry
mobs fighting for the merger provisions, recreated mental images
of the aftermath of the now forgotten invasion of Iraq by the allied
forces a little over a decade and half ago. On foreign news, a feature
on the emerging nations of Africa is announced for later in the
day, but with the power supply cut off, there is no way that I will
be able to view the stories of those who have made it good.
On the contrary,
imagine all the people in a state of content and bliss, led by our
leaders who only meant what is good for us. Leaders who had the
courage and the conviction to put aside all the petty differences
they had earlier, and joined minds and hands for our sake, to give
us the citizens of this 'land like no other' what we truly deserve,
a prosperous and joyous future of peaceful coexistence.
The decision
made by these rational leaders of the Southern polity in a united
front towards the end of 2003, had paid rich dividends for us today.
I join the many middle class Sri Lankans to watch morning news on
the interactive digital screen mounted on my wall.
The national
anthem preambles a special programme to celebrate the seventeenth
anniversary of the day when our leaders decided to work together
to set up a common agenda for peace negotiations and development.
Hundreds of
thousands of grateful Sri Lankans have come from the South, the
North, the east and the Central hills to join in the celebrations
about to begin in the provincial capital of Trincomalee.
The smiles of
joy and the fragrance of the little white flowers they carry in
their hands tell the whole story. Sitting in the comfort of my living
room, I press the 'I approve/ yes' button on the hand held interactive
remote device to register my own elation of the path our leaders
took to enable us to truly regain our motherland. |