There’s a lot more to being Sri Lankan than koththu and cricket. But I have to say, they are really high up on my list of all that’s great about us! These days, when emotions are high and discussions are plenty, I feel that I too should add my two cents worth of what it is to be Sri Lankan. And to do that, I’m going to hold up my favourite poster boys of national unity – our cricket team.
You only have to look at the names in the line up to know that Vandort, Murali, Maharoof and Sanga don’t all practice the same faith or speak the same language. Yet as a team, I think they’re the best! Forget Vass and Mendis crossing themselves or Jayasuriya’s pirith nul, they are out there because they are good at what they do and together they make one hell of a team!
Since independence, we have been so busy trying to define our ‘Sinhala-ness’ or ‘Tamil-ness’ that we seem to have all but forgotten how to be Sri Lankan. The petty politicking for votes and territory only pushed the wedge deeper between us. For folks like me, whose ethnic background is an achcharu at the best of times, still had to tick a box next to ethnicity…. because there was no option for leaving it blank. And look where that got us. We forgot how to be Sri Lankan and concentrated instead on how deeply and radically we could embrace our ethnicity. I know I did. I defined myself by my surname and not by my mother tongue (which is Sinhala). And what did I end up being? Confused, confused and confused! Seriously though, while I’m very proud of my dual heritage, growing up, I felt I couldn’t comfortably be both – I had to choose and stick with one identity….when the audience is Tamil, my Sinhala self ceased to exist and amongst Sinhala friends and family, my Tamil self was forgotten.
There have been so many politically defining moments in our post-colonial history that have nurtured radical sentiments and ensured that we became a nation divided, that to go down that road will be pointless. But I will say that as a country we have wasted too much time and shed too much blood in trying to move away from a common identity….and not to mention how we keep blaming the colonial types for our lack of unity. Sure, they practiced a ‘divide and rule’ policy that was only to their advantage, but after 61 years of doing things our way we should have more to show for ourselves than a bloody war and severe mistrust of each other.
And that’s why we need to start thinking outside the box (which we’re all had to tick at one time or another). The hurting and misery that this war has caused will take time to heal and the government has its work cut out. It also needs to be sincere in its commitment to a lasting peace and the ‘no more minorities’ concept. In the meantime, we as a people have to take stock of the situation and put our differences behind us. As Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslim and Burghers and everything in between, we have a lot to offer each other and the world. So, instead of using our diversity as an excuse to hate, let’s make it a platform to celebrate….like when we win the next match!
Enough said.