Plus - Letter to the Editor

Let us take a vow to end discrimination

Anne Abayasekera’s letter, “Thinking and feeling Sri Lankan” (The Sunday Times, June 21) brought back the memory of an incident I was witness to, at the Office of the Registrar of Marriages, Ratmalana Divisional Secretariat, a few years ago.

My husband and I were asked to be the attesting witnesses at the marriage of a Tamil couple. The bride and her family had fled to Colombo from the war-torn North, and the groom (a relative of mine) had come down from overseas for the marriage.

After the initial formalities, the couple were asked to take the marriage vows in Sinhala, repeating each line after the Registrar of Marriages. When we made a request for an English or Tamil version of the marriage vows, we were told very courteously that the text was available in Sinhala only. So both bride and groom had to repeat the vows without understanding a word of what they were saying, in addition to having great difficulty pronouncing the words.

My husband and I were indignant, and we wrote to a few authorities about the incident. The matter was soon forgotten. It is interesting that, although my husband and I were irritated, the couple showed not the least surprise or dismay. It was as if they had not expected anything better from the system.

At this point in time we live in expectation of the dawn of a new era. I fervently hope that incidents of the kind I have described, trivial though they may seem, will not continue to mar the harmony of our country. May the authorities make sure that matters like this are addressed, as we strive to build a united Mother Lanka.

A. M. Karunaratne, Via email

 
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