A midst the troubles that Cyclone Nilam brought to the island, life in Sri Lanka continues on as usual and by usual I mean the usual nonsense of bad governance, worsening human rights and deteriorating social and economic conditions. We are true blue islanders because at the end of the day none of the events that are systematically ending the rule of law in this country affects any of us (myself included) seriously. How many of us are actually concerned about the fact that the judiciary is being crippled and we cannot expect the media in the country to report it properly because the media has been crippled and that actually happened a long time ago. Do we worry about the fact that if someone gets abducted in Sri Lanka (and as we all know abductions are not a rare occurrence over here) you probably cannot rely on the police to help solve the crime. Free education is on a downward spiral and its the Urban and Defense Ministry that continues to get the biggest share of the financial budgetary pie.
Why-o-why do we not CARE? We the public, the people of this country, the so called patriots, who carry citizenship cards and proudly proclaim that Lonely Planet has named Sri Lanka the No: 01 destination in the World to visit in 2013! Why do these issues not dominate our day to day conversations and plague our subconscious when we go to sleep. More importantly why is it that even if we talk about the issues and gripe about all the corruption and inadequate leadership we are still not motivated to personally take on the challenge of doing something to change the status quo. Instead we are happy to complain, to gripe and to draw cartoons but we are not willing to actively take a stand and fight corruption at the micro level, stand up for the rights of the poor and the downtrodden, highlight injustice and speak up against violence, intimidation and hate rhetoric that have become very much part of Sri Lanka's socio-political culture. Instead we buy into all the defamatory rubbish re-hashed by politicians and the media alike that replaces the serious issues with character assassinations and demonizes anyone or anything that stands in their path. Because we have bought into the propaganda of the powers that be, we do not even realize it, but we have begun to associate terms like 'dissent' with traitor and 'foreign conspiracies' with civil society, NGOs and people movements.
Basically we are an apathetic nation and when our apathy ends it usually takes the form of violence, racism and chauvinism This is why we had an ethnic conflict that begun not in 1983 but probably in 1956 and 1958 and beyond as its history spans back to the end of the 19th century and some will argue to the beginning of time. This is also why we have had two youth insurrections in the south. The boil eventually comes to ahead and then bursts and in Sri Lanka when it bursts it has so far not ushered in an era of good will and peace whatever they may have you believe. Instead it has ushered in more evil and more violence and more impunity even if it can be temporarily hidden under slogans such as "Miracle of Asia", "Suba Anagathayak" and "Land like no other".
Today the Daily Mirror and Groundviews carried Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu's article on the proposed impeachment of the Chief Justice. He points out the lack of interest the public have in issues that do not directly affect their lives.
"the public at large were unmoved by the dismantling of the Seventeenth Amendment and its unseemly replacement by the Eighteenth. The slow death of the Thirteenth is very much on the agenda and now the possibility if not the probability of a frontal assault on founding principles of democratic governance - the separation of power and the independence of the judiciary.
It has been argued that the public-at-large is unmoved by constitutional issues or indeed any outside the cost of living that directly impacts their daily lives. The regime knows this and through its extensive apparatus of propaganda, coercion and intimidation it will have its way.
L'etat, c'est moi, - The state, it is I
It is time to show the regime otherwise and that time is surely now!"
Like he said the time is surely now but will we rise up to the challenge or will we mirror these words, written by the prophet Ezekiel for another time, place and nation but yet capable of striking a chord within me
"I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land ............ but I found none"
