Recent photo of me by Deshan
This is a post under camera, under eye. I’m writing this during a YATV interview for something that’ll air this week. They’re doing those classic shots of people pretending to get busy on a computer screen. The interview subject is blogging and press freedom (or lack thereof). Somebody just burned the Sunday Leader press down, TamilNet is shut down and things are generally fucked. D is telling me to calm down, to take the last post down. D2 is telling me the writing is more angry and juvenile. Which it is. I’m busy. Feels like work almost, like I’m a manager. In a tie so. But that’s where it is. I know the tone is wrong, I know I’ve forgotten compassion and basic understanding. But I’m not emotionally the same person I was, and that’s where I am. I think the situation is deeply, deeply wrong. We will lose half of our money in 4 years due to inflation. All of us. How the fuck am I supposed to settle down and make my mother happy? There are huge swaths of my country that I cannot go to. There are huge parts of Colombo off limits. When I came back to Sri Lanka I had a small, personal dream, and I’m not that happy about it being blown away.
So. Do I think it can turn around? Yes, because it has to. It’s like bad plumbing or something. The toilet at my apartment didn’t fill with water at one point, cause the pressure was so bad. We’d fill it by hand for a few weeks and then I finally got fed up and called somebody and fixed it. Not the best metaphor obviously, but the plumbing of this nation is messed up and, as crappy as the job is, we have to fix it. Or I have to fix it. I feel like I have to do whatever I can to fix it cause I want to live here and I’d like a toilet that flushes and an economy that grows. I want a house and a picket fence (or concrete, with shredded glass atop) and I’ll be damned if I don’t get it. And that’s about all there is to it. I’m not a politician any more than I’m a plumber, but if that’s what it takes so be it.
Hey Indi, any chance of getting the YATV producers to make their work available via youtube?
Why politics? Why not influential business empires? Or even markets that diss the power of politics altogether?
I guess because everyone should be ‘politicians’. Being involved in the political process is a right we have, and those in power are technically supposed to minister to us. The Constitution and Vote are there for us to use them.
If we just had an election with full enfranchisement – Citizens in North and East, Migrant Workers – then we’d have a better government.
That last one is important. Those brave men and women get tortured, raped and murdered in the Middle East – where they have no legal rights, to even hold their passport. And the money they send back sustains our nation and keeps us safe. The least we can give them is the vote.
If those extra few million people could vote we would have a different, better government. And we can insist on the vote.
Some people are trying to organize for the Migrant Worker vote, at least.
The situation is deeply wrong. Being angry is understandable but personalizing the issues or making unsusbstantiated claims are not.
You brought up Ranil’s sexuality in more than one post, I think. For whatever reasons sexual issues have not been an issue in Sri Lankan politics. Let it be that way. We have enough issues.
You have repeatedly said Rajapakse brothers are corrupt. What evidence do any of us have to prove the corruption? There is clear evidence that Rajapakse diverted Tsunami funds to an illegal account. What else is there? People are pointing fingers at Milinda Moragoda as corrupt before he has had a chance to respond to the Cope Report. Sittingnut keeps repeating your family is corrupt with absolutely no base. All these accusations, big or small, are wrong because there is no evidence.
Corruption is rampant no doubt. I just learned from a person who worked for us for three years is quitting because he got a government drivers job close to home. The job pays Rs: 10,000 per month. The bribe is Rs: 100,000. By induction most government jobs and contracts involve bribes. When four brothers hold so much power the chances are corruption are pretty high and the possibility of the stakes is in billions.
Let us talk about how we can catch the big ones. Start documenting whatever we can find. Unless you get some evidence, your writing is mud-slinging, not journalism.
Indi announces the start of his Presidential Campaign!!!
I’m not a journalist.
These are just the rantings of one young man, and these issues are personal for me. If you don’t like the writing or the man I understand, but don’t come here expecting journalism. I read journalists and reports and live here and write my perspective. If you don’t like that or me, I completely understand. I’m still going to keep writing.
Indi
I have been reading your blog fairly regularly and yes your writing appears to have changed. The tone and style of writing is no doubt a reflection of your frustrations and anger. And believe me, there are many of us feeling the same way although we are not writing about it. This is your blog and you write how you live it and feel it. Fair enough mate. Its your views and I’m just a reader. But it also seems like your anger and frustrations are consuming you. How can you ‘fix the plumbing’ when you’re too busy being angry?
Just try handing the Government over to a group of Bloggers and watch the fun….
Indi, your thoughts are becoming clouded… You need to stop thinking so much and start reading Hi! magazine.
Probably not much different from the circus we already have…
Well..few things ..
– U show u r angry thinking u r important and thiking that that created angryness might prove your case against the govt.
– U absolutey have full right to write and think what u want/like, here and elsewhere
– U have a right to keep ur political views unchagned
– U have a right to be anti-mahinda
– being anti-gvt shoulnt mean u have to critisise everything, its been pointed out before that this govt does good as well as bad.
– I dont see apart from a strong politcal ally why u have to be negative at everything
– SL was like this from mid eighties, there were bombs, inflation, high cost of oiving, and we grew through it, and never criticsed damn eerything, we try to develop our country as oppose to be selfish to get something out of it. Your expectation from return to the country shows mere selfshness. Also it shows that u havent experineced SL really. We grew there, saw it, get on with it, and try to improve as oppose to be negatve to everything
– MR does try to solve this LTTE issue thru war, obviously peace processes failed over 25 yrs, let him try this way out directly. Honestly, this is the first true war against LTTE.
– Yes, there are bombs going on, but lets help govt to mitigate it, attavcking LTTE trully is the way out , govt got Thelvan, now looking for Prabha, light at the end of the tunnel surely
– SL economy hasnt been like Canada ever, so, f someone wants to live there, got to live with it, but help improve it rather than be negative and critisise every single letter and comma in the story
– Being a plummber means to try and get UNP in to power? Except MR, is there any force in the country? Only other leader is Karu. but Ranil killed him too. Ranil is already dead, he has a nameboard as oppose to a party. 50% of his party already gone, he is lined up for 15th and 16th defeats. Why dont u try to topple him as oppose to MR? If u wat to build a real force against MR, its required to remove ranil and bring a strong man or a woman to the postion.
Take a moment and sit down to think calmly.
Keep it up indi! Fight the good fight.
When did this episode air on YATV? and what is the programme called?
Apparently it’s on today at 7:25 on TNL and the repeat at 10 on ETV. Today being Wednesday the 19th.
arg! Missed it. hope TNL will youtube it (fat chance I suppose). Not suggesting that anyone violates TNL’s copyright ;) Any chance it address issues in this Lakbima article?