In Memory of Many Gemunus

Gemunu Kumaraya is much celebrated. An energetic, warlike prince. The one who unified Rajarata. Later projected his power across the country .Overthrew Elara. He embraced Buddhism. Garned Buddhism. Was delighted by the maha sangha. Even made Ruwanwelisaya to house Buddha’s people.  Gemunu is a success story of war, a war between two nations. They were the Cholas from India versus SriLanka.

Starting from the tidbits of Ramayana, when Ravana fought with Rama for Kidnapping Rama’s wife – Sita, comes all the way to 1980’s where Tamils and their political leaders begin to wane. 1983 marks the watershed of the ethnic conflict following the killing of 13 soldiers in Thirunuwelli.

We ended the war. Prabhakaran died in 2009. But still the pieces seem to be lagging.

We’ve heard of America, we’ve heard of their alleged human rights, we’ve heard of arbitrary arrests and killings of the British Army.  Does anyone bother to question them?  Ironically, we have become the heat of discussion for months and months. We tried. We lost though.UNHCR approves the U.S backed resolution calling an independent inquiry into the alleged war crimes of SriLanka. Pakistan denies, India abstains.

We were born into this war. We curled on beds with killing horrors. We were dragged away from schools by our desperate parents, in broad daylight when there were rumors about bomb- blasts. Every inch of the road was guarded by green or brown suits. No man was allowed to any premises unless they were monitored from clothe to shoes, passports and identity cards. We have lost kins and friends to bomb blasts at bus stops and train stations. We’ve lost someone for this war. I do still remember the blast in Nugegoda. I had just left the bus halt and walked up to home when that dreadful noise was heard. Only a SriLankan would know how comforting it is to not to know or hear about bomb blasts in 8’o clock news.

Pic by Ushan Gunasekara 

There is some hope for us. There will be better days. Roads are coming up, schools are been built. Industries, hotels and hospitals equipped with the latest technology are in construction. People travel north and south often now. Viden is a friend of mine, studying in Jaffna University, born and educated in Colombo. He travels on and off to Jaffna and Colombo every weekend. He chats me often about their kovil visits to hear lord Murugan, the sunsets in Nandikadal lagoon, visits to Iranamadu tank, sangili nadagam shows, the cleansed water wells in Aiyyakachchiya and the evening tea retreats of university students at a saivar kade followed by Tamil songs. Indeed they are living epic moments, despite who is Sinhala  or who is Tamil. He says it worths a life time. People are safe and fine except for living conditions like housing and infrastructure which is yet to come. But they’ll have it soon. They’ll be happy, perhaps.

Tamils aren’t new people to us. It’s just that we missed them for thirty decades.

Development and reconciliation is possible. Remember that it cannot happen overnight. It’s a continuing process. One need to work up a lot to make things happen. So the roads are open. It’s a matter of getting worked up a bit for the good sake of this country. Yet our parliament is a sump. We lack responsible and accountable people. Criminals everywhere. They only know to grab commissions to their pockets and let the work happen for several cheap bucks.Many of them are busy cooking tales to divide the people covering themselves in a so called blanket of “harmony “and” co – existence”.

So where can be a development when it’s very owned people create separatism?

However despite all these we still respect people like Mr. Lakshman Kadirgamar or Muttiah Muralitharan. Both are Tamils by birth, some rare kind who attempted to restore peace through foreign means bringing all people together.

I’m not supportive to any political agenda. War is a bitter story and the stories of a thirty year war are going to be unpleasant. But I would make a humble request to all SriLankans and even my international friends to be mindful of what is been set up before you by any media, news or whatever when making a judgment regarding this matter.

While this could be a headline for many people out there, war was a horror we lived through and some of us even made it alive.