What it means to be patriotic: A citizen’s view (Sri Lanka)

Source : http://viewsbyw.wordpress.com/2013/11/17/what-it-means-to-be-patriotic-a-citizens-view-sri-lanka/

I don’t belong to the majority Buddhist population of our country, nor am I a minority Tamil. I don’t have political agendas, nor do I idolize the likes of the international community. All I am is a more fortunate Sri Lankan youth, lucky enough to be brought up in the urban sector who is indeed privileged than a lot of people in this country. Within the little bit of democracy that’s left in the land I love, I still get to express my views publicly in a less publicized forum like this, and I am afraid the day is near where such simple luxuries in life could be a thing of the past.

I grew up in the midst of Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict. I tried to avoid using busses, just for the fear of being blown into bits. I despised the LTTE. They are as effed up as it gets. Just as you, I was hoping for the day this country will see the end of the war. But to date I will not forget the stories told to me by my elders as to why such a situation arose in the first place. And the disturbances towards racial harmony throughout this year were just another constant reminder of the stories from the past.

Sri Lanka taking the international stage

In the last few days, our country has managed to successfully take a share of space in many international news entities such as BBC, C4, Reuters, CNN, TheGuardian, Sky News, Aljazeera so on and so forth for all the wrong reasons.

So here are the top ten things that are being reported

1. War Crimes in the last stages of the war with 40,000 (as per the UN report) civilians being killed mostly by government forces
2. Stories of post war torture and rape, from as recent as this year.
3. Grabbing of land in the north
4. Not looking into missing people – post war
5. Slow growth of development / reconciliation in the north and east
6. Racial Extremism (which evidence suggests that this has partially to do with the government)
7. Freedom of speech
8. Violence against journalists
9. A broken legal system
10. Amendment to the constitution that advocates higher gain in government power

Are we criticizing the right entities?

The educated and non educated patriots of this country have taken a prideful stance of criticizing those who agree with international entities who present our country’s government in bad light, under the argument that these entities have their own agendas. Some, including our glorious honorable Excellency claim that this is an international conspiracy due to our ability to defeat terrorism and show signs of rapid economic development.

You know, I couldn’t agree more with the fact that every entity involved in this mess have their own personal agendas which includes personal gain. But does this mean they are not right to a certain extent?

Have you stopped to think for a second that the ONLY people who claim that our country has ‘no faults’ are people who

1. have some connection or the other with the government (political agendas of course)
2. and the ones who are in their own shell and have no clue what’s going on

I mean come on, any war has its civilian casualties. Can our government really make a claim that there were “NO” civilian casualties which the army was responsible for? That sounds like a heap of bollocks.

Agreeing with your government does not make you patriotic. Agreeing with a third party does not make you unpatriotic either.

So what does it really mean to be patriotic?

Lately I’ve been called a suddha and was also accused of running our country’s name down for simply expressing my views on social media.

The definition of patriotism is “love for or devotion to one’s country”. Not its government. One can argue that it’s the people who elected the government. But understand that governments have a history of changing their values once elected. Very soon your vote as a Sri Lankan citizen will not count due to the increasing gain in power by the government. We are moving from pretence democracy into established dictatorship.

I love my people, my kottu’s and the cultures I’m exposed to, but I will not pretend that everything is okay if I am questioned outside my country. As a patriotic citizen, I will endorse the right and condemn the wrong as I want to see my country flourish for the right reasons.

The Past, Present and Future

S*** happened in the past. Civilians died. Some of our patriots acknowledge this fact. Yet, they including Muttiah Muralitharan say that we must forgive and forget. Not tamper with the wounds, just let them heal.

It is not a case of tampering with the wounds. It is a case of not doing enough to let those wounds heal. And of course, not inflicting more wounds.

Yes there is infrastructure development in the north. But one of the primary methods of healing is justice being served. The government cannot do anything about it because they are partially responsible for it.

If you are happy that our country was able to host CHOGM, though it backfired in style, you are guilty of being selfish. Imagine, if all the millions of dollars we spent could have been pumped into the reconciliation and development of economic growth in the north & east, we would have been in a shallower s*** hole.

Today, you applaud Dr. Chris Nonis for doing the job he is supposed to do. As someone very rightly posted on Facebook, he was “Eloquent, yes. Truthful, no” I agree with gayan’s tweet below. Its sad.

Gayan Wijewickrama @GayanMW

Follow

We live in strange times where we idolize diplomats for doing what they are supposed to. Shows how innefective others are doing their job.

12:21 PM - 17 Nov 2013

But is this the kind of arrogance that our government can afford? We are financially tiny and weak in our alliances. If sanctions come into play, and if we become internationally isolated, you and I, though in the urban population will get fucked in style, that is if we decide on not skipping the country, being the patriots we are. We need our stakeholders. Our arrogance towards the international community will be our downfall. And it’s sad that we think we are being patriotic.

It is you who have “fight racism” as your profile pictures that advocate false patriotism. Do not forget, the tamils in the north don’t share your luxuries. They have been reduced from a house with beds and appliances to a shack. They are our countrymen and women too, who have suffered way more than you and I have. Keep your pride aside and question your morals.

Eye for an Eye

The LTTE killed many civilians. They have a right to do so as they have been DECLARED a terrorist organization. If our debate is that “eye for an eye- if they could do it, why couldn’t we” then note that we might as well call ourselves terrorists.

Today we say that the British have no right to question our morals because they too are guilty of war crimes. Eye for an eye approach? Really? What happened to us moving on?

In conclusion

All I am trying to express is that, I am sad that our country has come to this, but happy that SOMEBODY is taking it up whatever their agendas may be. Our government put our country in a mess with their arrogance and lack of cooperativeness, which we should stop advocating.

I hope and pray that our government, at least now, would take this into positive light and go easy on our democracy.

Are you not concerned that we don’t have a proper legal system? Are you not concerned that our less privileged local countrymen and women don’t have access to unbiased media? Are you not afraid that your next vote would not count? Are you not in the least worried that your mosques would be continuously harassed and your church priests occasionally beaten up? Are you not appalled that your freedom to express yourself is continuing to deteriorate? Are you not in fear that one day someone with enough influence can walk up to you and confiscate your home, because nobody would dare to stand up for you?

Appreciate the good things that have been done in the past. But don’t stop being critical about the future.

Think about it.

Sri Lanka Foreign Minister Late Lakshman Kadirgamar's after-dinner speech OFF THE CUFF, in the UK

Sri Lanka Foreign Minister Late Lakshman Kadirgamar's after-dinner speech OFF THE CUFF, in the UK, at which Sri Lankan Cricketers were present.

"Captain Atapattu and members of the Sri Lankan team, Members of the Sri Lankan community, Friends of Sri Lanka, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Some historians say, I think uncharitably, that cricket is really a diabolical political strategy, disguised as a game, in fact a substitute for War, invented by the ingenious British to confuse the natives by encouraging them to fight each other instead of their imperial rulers. 

The world is divided into two camps - those who revel in the intricacies of cricket and those who are totally baffled by it, who cannot figure out why a group of energetic young men should spend days, often in the hot sun or bitter cold, chasing a ball across an open field, hitting it from time to time with a stick - all to the rapturous applause of thousands, now millions, of ecstatic spectators across the world. The game has developed a mystical language of its own that further bewilders those who are already befuddled by its complexities.

In the course of my travels I have a hard time explaining to the non-cricketing world - in America , China , Europe and Russia - that a 'googly' is not an Indian sweetmeat; that a 'square cut' is not a choice selection of prime beef; that a 'cover drive' is not a secluded part of the garden; that a 'bouncer' is not a muscular janitor at a night club, that a 'Yorker is not some exotic cocktail mixed in Yorkshire or that a 'leg-break' is not a sinister manoeuvre designed to cripple your opponent's limbs below the waist.

Ladies and Gentlemen, let me see whether politics and cricket have anything in common. Both are games. Politicians and cricketers are superficially similar, and yet very different. Both groups are wooed by the cruel public who embrace them today and reject them tomorrow.

Cricketers work hard; politicians only pretend to do so. Cricketers are disciplined; discipline is a word unknown to most politicians in any language. Cricketers risk their own limbs in the heat of honourable play; politicians encourage others to risk their limbs in pursuit of fruitless causes while they remain secure in the safety of their pavilions. Cricketers deserve the rewards they get; the people get the politicians they deserve. Cricketers retire young; politicians go on for ever. Cricketers unite the country; politicians divide it. Cricketers accept the umpire's verdict even if they disagree with it; politicians who disagree with an umpire usually get him transferred. Cricketers stick to their team through victory and defeat, politicians in a losing team cross over and join the winning team. Clearly, cricketers are the better breed. 

It is said that the task of a foreign minister is to lie effusively for his country abroad. That may be true, but it is certainly true that he has to fight for his country and defend it at all times. Our cricketers may recall that in the run-up to the 1995 World Cup, Australia refused to play a match in Colombo , citing security reasons. Shane Warne said he wouldn’t come to Colombo because he couldn't do any shopping there. The press asked me for a comment. I said "shopping is for sissies". There was a storm of protest in Australia ... A TV interviewer asked me whether I had ever played cricket. I said I had played before he was born - without helmets and thigh guards, on matting wickets that were full of holes and stones, and I had my share of broken bones to show it. My friend the Australian foreign minister was drawn into the fray and phoned me. We decided to cool things down. A combined India/Pakistan team came to Colombo at very short notice to play an exhibition match in place of the Australian match. It was a magnificent gesture of South Asian solidarity. Against strong security advice I went on to the field to greet and thank our friends from India and Pakistan . When the whole episode was over I sent a bouquet of flowers to my Australian counterpart. Flowers are also for sissies.

I remember vividly the incident that occurred in Australia when Murali was called for throwing and Arjuna led his team to the boundary in protest, but cleverly refrained from crossing it. I was watching TV in Colombo . As a past captain I asked myself what I would have done in Arjuna's place. In my mind I had no hesitation in supporting his decision. A few minutes later the phone rang. The President of the Board called to ask for advice. I said Arjuna was right because a captain must, on the field, stand up for his men and protect them, but the consequences must not be allowed to go too far; good lawyers must be engaged and a reasonable compromise must be reached. That was done. During that tour I paid an official visit to Australia .. My friend the Australian foreign minister in the course of a dinner speech invited me to go with him the next day to Adelaide , his home town, to watch the final day's play. I knew what the result was going to be. In my reply I said that at the end of the match I did not want to be the one to tell him that Australia had "won by a Hair". Accordingly, I went back home, as planned, to maintain the good relations that we have with Australia ... 

Foreign ministers sometimes find themselves in very difficult situations. Take the case of the Foreign Minister of Uganda. President Idi Amin told him that he wanted to change the name of Uganda to Idi. The minister was asked to canvas world opinion and return in two weeks. He did not do so. He was summoned and asked to explain. He said: "Mr. President, I have been informed that there is a country called Cyprus . Its citizens are called Cypriots; if we change the name of our country to 'Idi' our citizens would be called... Idiots". Reason prevailed. 

A story goes that a shark was asked why diplomats were his preferred food. He replied "because their brains being small are a tasty morsel, their spines being supple I can chew on them at leisure - and they come delightfully marinaded in alcohol."

Ladies and Gentlemen, as I approach the close of this brief address I wish to speak directly to our Sri Lankan team. Today we lost a match. But you lost to the rain and M/s Duckworth and Lewis. You did not lose to England . Only a few weeks ago you had a resounding victory against South Africa . You will win again tomorrow. What is important is to keep up your confidence and spirits. All of us, your fellow countrymen and women, have been enormously impressed in recent times by the commitment, discipline, athleticism and determination that you have displayed in the field. The people are with you. We all know that each and every one of you, are constantly busy honing your skills. We can see that you are maintaining a high standard of physical fitness. When the people see this it gives them not only immense pleasure but the moral upliftment that Sri Lankans are capable of in rising to the challenge of sustained performance.

Every team loses. It takes two to play a game. One has to lose. It is the manner in which you play the game which gives the promise of success to come. It is a great pleasure to see how youngsters are being drafted into the national team. Our team is united; it affects all the races and religions of our country. Cricket, like all international sport today, is highly competitive; and so it must be, and so it must remain. It must always be regarded as a very high honour to represent one's country at any sport. All of you are role models for our youth. They will be looking to see how you take defeat. To exult in victory is easy; to remain well balanced in defeat is a mark of maturity. Do not allow yourselves to be disturbed by the armchair critics who will no doubt engage in a display of theoretical learning on how the game was played. Many of these critics have never put bat to ball. It makes them feel good to indulge in the past time of amateur criticism. They do not know what it is to face fast bowling in fading light; to engage in a run race against daunting odds; to find the stamina and sheer physical endurance to spend concentrated hours in the field of play. They know nothing of the psychological pressure that modern sportsmen are subject to. Therefore, my advice to you is - ignore them. Go your way with customary discipline and methodical preparation for the next game, the next series in different parts of the world under different conditions.

For me it has been a great pleasure and an honour to be here with you tonight. When I was invited to be the Chief Guest at this occasion on my way to New York for the General Assembly of the United Nations, I accepted with eager anticipation of meeting our cricketers and relaxing for a moment.

Nobody told me that I had to make a speech, until last night when it dawned on me then that there is no such thing as a free dinner!”