 Black
July:' To me it seems like yesterday'
Can you remember the horror of that terrible
week in July 1983? The Black July, most Sri Lankans are ashamed of and
would like to erase from memory. To me it seems like yesterday, though
it was 15 years ago_.
Thirteen soldiers getting killed in a landmine planted by the LTTE in
the Jaffna peninsula, the funerals being held at Kanatte in Borella, apparently
against the advice of many people and the rioting which shook Colombo city.
For the late President J.R. Jayewardene, who was the head of state at that
time "it was a natural reaction of the Sinhala people."
Was it? Ordinary people like us knew that it was nothing of the sort.
That the common Sinhala man or woman did not go on the rampage, killing
innocent Tamils, making thousands of others homeless, sending families—with
only the clothes on their backs — into refugee camps and creating such
a bloody rift between the Sinhalese and the Tamils-looting and setting
homes and shops ablaze, unleashing terror not only among the Tamils but
also among the other communities.
It is an open secret that several politicians specifically of the then
ruling party, their goons and some sections of the security forces, armed
with electoral registers were the villains of the piece, though, J.R. tried
to pull wool over the eyes of the masses and the international community
by making the Sinhalese the scape-goats.
Yes, it is like yesterday. As my parents were in Anuradhapura, but I
was working in Colombo, I was in a convent-boarding in the heart of Kollupitiya,
along with several other girls from all communities that July. I can still
recall the fear in the eyes of the Tamil girls. The fear that the nuns
may ask them to leave the convent, for the greater good of the others.
The whole neighbourhood knew that there were Tamil girls living there.
But the nuns stood firm. No one would be asked to leave. They consulted
all the boarders and the girls of other communities supported that decision.
We would face any crisis or emergency together. We were like sisters, though
coming from different parts of the country as diverse as Jaffna and Matara.
We had lived under the same roof, eaten the same food, shared our sorrows
and joys, had our arguments and disagreements, gone on trips together.
We would not and could not ask the Tamils to leave. No, we were in it together.
We had even attended the wedding of a Jaffna Tamil girl to a Sinhalese
boy in Colombo. There had been much opposition to their marriage from both
families, but they were adamant. And yes, they are happy now.
I remember going to the "SUN" newspaper, (which has set now)
where I worked at that time and looking out of the fourth-floor window
at the man-made devastation of Colombo. Columns and columns of black smoke
spread a haze across the skyline.
I also remember watching in horror, a man being dragged up the small
hill near the office, assaulted and then garlanded with a burning tyre.
Yes, I was young and also a coward. I did not have the courage to rush
down and interfere. To at least try to reason out with the mob that all
Tamils were not responsible for the terror and violence of the LTTE. I
also see in my mind's eye, a youth lying dead at the Pettah main bus-halt
and an old man with a boy, I think, covered with a bloody sheet, on his
shoulder near Eye Hospital junction, running towards the accident ward.
Memories that you cannot erase, even if you live a thousand years.
After that Black July, the Tamil boarders in the convent were absolutely
terrified. During the riots, there was mayhem all round the convent. Many
houses were burnt and unarmed and defenceless people chased off, by the
so-called "Sinhala heroes." Those Tamil girls who wore nose-studs,
removed them for fear of being identified as Tamils. Why should that be?
Don't they have a right to live as Tamils? Isn't there unity in diversity?
But there were also the small good deeds of decent human beings, which
went unreported - how Sinhalese, Muslims and Burghers gave shelter and
succour to their Tamil neighbours and looked after the property of those
affected, sometimes endangering their own lives. These are the true stories
of heroism and bravery.
The simple and humble people who stood by the Tamils in their need.
I recall an incident described by a friend. An oldish Tamil couple, my
friend knew, had been living in Kalubowila. They had a Sinhalese driver.
When the goons came and asked the driver, where the couple was, he had
refused to tell them and also not allowed them to enter the premises. Even
when they threatened him with death and poured kerosene on him and said
they would set him ablaze, he had stood steadfast.
Fifteen years after, I feel there is hope for this country yet, after
hearing and seeing how the younger generation is reacting to a situation
created by bigots and extremists. I interact closely with a group of young
people, just out of school. There are more girls than boys in this group.
Most of them have got good Advanced Level results after hard study. Though,
unfortunately, there is only one Tamil, there is a nice mix of Sinhalese
and Muslims. They are also from different parts of the country. They tell
me they are the "children of liberalisation". I think they are
also the "children of war," because most of them have only memories
of a Sri Lanka torn apart by a war, where brother kills brother. A war
handed down as a legacy to them by us. Their logical thinking and reasoning
and the way they argue in favour of justice amazes me. They see right from
wrong very clearly. They also see the need for a "Sri Lankan"
identity rather than a Sinhalese, Tamil, Muslim or Burgher 8LABEL. Their
minds are fresh. They are idealistic. And that may be the answer to Sri
Lanka's woes.
They are not burdened with the prejudices of the cynical, jaded older
generation. Most of all they are not racist. The care and concern they
show their colleagues, move me immensely. And I think this group is a sample
of the young people of Sri Lanka. So let's listen to them, their message.
Because from the mouth of "babes" come words of wisdom and peace.
Let's give them a hearing, after all they are the next leaders. Let's make
a Sri Lanka free of strife where they can pursue their dreams. All hope
is not yet lost for this land.
When discussing the tragic ethnic conflict, my husband often recalls
the words - words of wisdom, he says - of Woody Guthrie, America's best
loved country and western musician of a bygone era _ "This land is
your land, this land is my land .. This land was made for you and me."
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