Flying the Sri Lankan flag in Galle Fort
Come home. It’s not easy, you may die and you may end up in jail. The work is heartbreaking and numerous problems make it, honestly, likely to fail. But the work of rebuilding our nation and democracy can only be done from here. No amount of reading news reports and forwarding emails is going to give you a real understanding. No amount of agitating or protesting in foreign capitals is going to change this government or help a solitary soul on this land. If you believe in change, be it. Come home.
My name is Indrajit Samarajiva and I was born in Vancouver, Canada. I have lived in America and I have paperwork and freedom that most people in the world can only dream of. After university I could have gone pretty much anywhere in the world but I chose Sri Lanka. I came here, I applied for my dual citizenship, waited two years, paid $2000 and I got it. I chose because I love this place, and because I care. Because I believe in the future of this country and I believe I can make a difference. I may be wrong, but I live in hope. I know what I believe in and I have put my life, my money and my time here.
Democracy is not a spectator sport. You can’t mail citizenship in. You certainly cannot fight for a separate state from a separate nation. Face time matter. Being there matters. I used to think you could do everything over the Internet, but you can’t. Quite frankly, the kids in the IDP camps don’t know what the Internet is. I was talking to Police Inspector T.M. Doole in Hambantota and he was entirely baffled that you could send international SMS. To reach these people, you need to show up.
You see, it is not enough to lobby the UN or the ‘international community’ or the consciences of the fashionable thinkers of the global elite. I come from there and I understand, but just cause they serve nice hors d’oeuvres doesn’t mean they give orders.
To change Sri Lanka you need to reach the kid in the IDP camp, you need to work with the police office in Hambantota. You need to chat with the Muslims in Galle and the tea pluckers in Nuwara Eliya. Over the past week I have met people from Kandy, Badulla, and all over. Each of their votes is more important than any statement from the international community. They are real, their votes are real, their voices are real, and they are Sri Lanka.
And so are you. The diaspora I mean. Sri Lanka still needs its bright children to come home. To make music here, to make business here, to make a difference here. All I can guarantee you is that it won’t be easy. If you’re Tamil it’s probably going to suck and, quite frankly, you may die or end up in jail. I’ve done the latter and I’ve courted the former and I understand that I have it easy because I am a Sinhala Buddhist. You can always call me from jail and I’ll generally come bail my friends out, but quite frankly, it’s going to suck.
I made a phone call from jail to one kind man who I think got the charges dropped. That same man made a similar phone call for a Tamil friend and that guy is still in jail. It sucks.
Also, it’s hot here, the toilets are unreliable, the place destroys electronics, the shopping is bad, the culture you have to manufacture yourself. A lot of people with power are assholes, the driving sucks, your relatives drive you crazy, the girls are difficult, I understand all this.
However, if you sincerely care about this country and the people here, that is the price you pay. Me, I think it’s worth it. I like it here, I like being close to my family, I like traveling around and I’m proud of the work I’m doing. There’s a lot of downsides and I suspect the place is going to break my heart in the end, but I can live with that. I’m doing it. I live here and I’m putting my time and work on the ground. This is possible.
Calling for a separate state from abroad is not actually nation building. That involves hard work and it involves being here. Frankly, violent secession is not an option here. If you come here with violence and hate I’ll talk to you but I won’t bail you out. If you come with a federal state and autonomy and empowerment and stuff, then cool. I can guarantee it won’t be easy, but it is possible.
If you can’t then at least try to support and understand the people here, including, yes, the Sinhala south. I have been South and the girls are pretty and the people are nice. I have been North and the people are strong and the land is open. This is workable. It’s not likely, but if you come here we can work together.
But please, come here and see. It will be heartbreaking. It will be hard. You will probably fail. But if you want to improve life for the people on the island, you need to put your feet on this soil. To the diaspora, if you believe, then come home.
Couldn’t agree more.
You offer exactly my sentiments and hope people will consider returning, and like you I bit the bullet in Dec 2004 and returned and I am still here. Its a bloody tough life but have not regretted it for a moment. You know me as Rajaratarala.
this i like
:)
good post indi. time to rebuild the bonds and rekindle trust. check out this video about the Yal devi train project
Good Stuff!!!!!!!…. It’s time EVERYBODY left aside their prejudices and look at what needs to be done rather than pointing fingers at one another for what had been done. Great piece of writing!… keep it up…
And while you’re at it, stop attacking temples and burning people with acid. You’re destroying what little of your cause the Tigers left.
Great post Indi.
Hits ‘Home’
No thank you….all the terrorist should stay away from Sri Lanka…No need to invite them in
well said :)
yeah, that’s wrong. The diaspora is not all terrorists. To quote Mahinda’s speech:
This is an excellent piece…
Almost all my life I have been living in Sri Lanka. The few years I spent away in UK and middle east were harder in a way I can not explain.
True, we have all that Indi mentioned out side Sri Lanka. But somehow, it is also less.
Please keep writing. We need all Sri Lankans (the first kind president mentioned in his speech) to come back.
Lets make it possible. Together. Like Indi says, it will be hard and tough and heartbreaking. But with time, together, we will make it easier, and loving.
Sri Lanka CAN.!
I agree with you indi but its hard to expect those who are experiencing the luxury of being in the developed world would come here. They want this war to continue thats why they have been funding the LTTE’s war effort so that they may have “political assylum”. unlike you indi most of these people of the diaspora wont stand a chance in countries like UK or Australia if they didnt have a war going here to gain sympathy from those governments. they dont care about the poor innocent tamils living in the north they only care about them selves. if they cared about the tamils why aren’t they helping their people by coming here and working for their benefit instead of oraganizing rallys and creating chaos in those countries targeting innocent sinhalese and moderate tamils in those countries. they are pouring acid over sleeping students who have only gone to australia to study they are taking out their vengence on innocent people and expect others to treat them fairly. there are no caring tamil who would leave the luxury and come here to help the poor and innocent thats for sure. i challenge them to stop their shouting and come here if you really care.
Good Post…. Hats Off… though still does echo some of your prejudice… but how much objective can a human be….
We would love all our Diaspora back, minus the LTTE scum….. Please comeback cause you can only change a system from within the system….!
I have a comment though about “you may die or end up in jail”… end up in jail one may, even I…. but why “die”… you are echoing thoughts of bankrupt politicians, “human rights” business conglomerates, NGO trash & the “Media Mafia”…. who like to portray Sri Lanka as a lawless nation to achieve their political ends and Thamasha-Funding from foreign agencies…!
Once again good post….
Indi, this is good… but what about those who cannot trust the government and Karuna?
Come back? Is this some kind of trick to trap & kill Tamils abroad? (after killing thousands of innocent Tamil in the North).
Indi, you got arrested, treated well & got released because you are not a Tamil.
You won’t be abducted in white vans & held for ransom because you are not a Tamil.
You managed to get into (concentration?) camp in the north because you are a Sinhalese & you are not a media!…obviously this won’t be the case for many of us!
(ooh don’t say it is not a concentration camp, because you have not been there the whole time & you don’t know how many people disappeared from there)
A family friend of mine who lives in Colombo told me yesterday that Tamils in Colombo (& other parts of South) are already living under threat from local Sinhala thugs. The Tamils traders got harassed badly in the past 2 days!
I don’t know if what your writing genuinely come from your heart (about treating Tamils equally)….but if it is true, I can say that majority of the Sinhalese are not like you & we have a long way to go to settle the differences.
Ill treating the minority will not / never help….it will trigger another phase of war!
Personally, I am a Tamil fled the country because of the violence in the country. I love the country (not the politics)!!My ex was a Sinhalese & she was as caring as my Tamil girl friend! I have lots of Sinhala friends who likes us ….but these are all minority in Sri Lanka.
I really love to come back & contribute to the economy & build the country….but I cannot trust the politicians who ride on the nationalism – they can always turn the things into racism. We have witnessed the riots in the past. To add, we have Karuna + Pillayan factor who are working with the government to steal from Tamils.
David, it is wrong to attack temples and acid attack is wrong! Sinhala Diaspora attacked Tamils abroad – that doesn’t justify anything…To start with, violence is wrong!
May be it is time for your guys to advise the local thus & those thugs in the parliament not to trigger communal violence.
On a sentimental level, this works. On a practical level? Less so. Without getting too personal, if I recall correctly, the circumstances of your return were eased significantly by your familial situation. Many in the diaspora don’t come from Colombo and lack the connections or relatives that could put them up for a few years gratis while they get used to what is essentially a foreign land. There are some who could do it, and more power to them, but many of us have moved on. Sri Lanka isn’t our country anymore, but it is our homeland and where much of our kin and extended families remain.
The greater (and likely more successful) diaspora effort should be in supporting redevelopment and foreign investment from outside of the country. Our diaspora isn’t as large or as wealthy as the Indian diaspora, but we could play a similar role that they have in India’s resurgence by fuelling FDI. There are apparently opportunities in the country and, though now foreign, most of us aren’t entirely clueless about how the country operates.
Resettlement, especially in large numbers, would probably create more problems than it resolves. I can imagine much animosity from home-grown Sri Lankans to a suddenly wealthy, educated group of ‘outsiders’ monopolizing jobs. The culture clash would be unreal itself.
I do agree that the diaspora currently isn’t playing as productive role as we could be, though some of us are trying to shift that (very unsuccessfully). It’s also worth noting that one of the few (though currently ineffective) checks on MR & Co. is international oversight. I still believe that the diasporas agitations keep the IC’s feet to the fire and they’re useful in that regard. They’re less useful in that the over-the-top stuff is creating animosity that is unhelpful.
Well said mate. My sentiments exactly.
I used to think you could do everything over the Internet, but you can’t. – Indrajit Samarajeeva
I will note this down as one of my favorite quotes. I’m glad; at least now you have understand this truth. I’m glad that, you have realized for yourself, what I’ve been telling you all these years.
Good post. Hats off for this one!
Foliage put it well. I never had the good life to begin with. Neither did the previous generation in my family. But now, after 20 years of struggle abroad, there we are–homes, vehicles, no excuses to be unhappy and the time to appreciate the unique circumstances which made it all possible. None of us will give that up to go back. Possibly terminal uncertainty is not a good trade for the security of life in the western hemisphere–and for those who hold it dear, it’s not greed which binds them to material wealth and security, but the awe and disbelief that you saw in the eyes of a child or a civil servant who can’t seem to comprehend an international text message.
That being said, from the moral perspective, you’re a far better man than I. Just like my well-heeled distant cousins who are able to dedicate themselves to helping civilians in wanni.
david,
The acid attacks were criminal and the perps should be caught and prosecuted. the freedom to assemble and express yourself should be considered sacrosanct. There are no excuses for what they did. I do wonder, however, why local cops were not at this celebration for event security purposes. That is SOP over here in the states when one special interest group wants to have a public acknowledgment of how special they are–event insurance, security, permits from local officials and public notifications. This is done even for the Nazis.
I am Tamil living in the UK and I thank you for writing this. There are many peace loving Sinhalese out there, I know, and similarly there are many peace loving Tamils out there. Not all of us want Tamil Eelam, and most of the ones who do so only do out of feelings of desperation. Then there are always the ones who are so extreme who will never compromise or accept anything else. Every nation and community has that group of people.
We love Sri Lanka, we have always loved Sri Lanka but we are afraid. Afraid of not being able to voice our opinion without going ‘missing’, afraid of just being taken one day in a mysterious ‘white van, afraid of being harrassed by the Police/Army for being Tamil and afraid of being discriminated against for being Tamil. It exists (maybe less so than in the past) and it will exist for time to come. This stops many of us from visiting, let alone moving back.
For as long as there are some people like you out there who reach out to us, there will always be a little hope. Change doesnt happen overnight, I understand that, and I hope that the next few months really show positive things. So then maybe baby steps like coming to visit our mother land can occur without fear, so that we can try and make a real contribution to our country.
Man you are good, despite some people who do wonder about you. I think you are the real thing, like they as in coke. I think there is a need for people to return. I think there is something political about you. (I meant in the good sense)
My mother who inherited a bunch of stuff in SL was always planing to give away or sell stuff once my Grand Ma (bless her soul) is gone. My mother has changed her mind in last two days. She wants to do more for SL. I am very glad to hear it.
For all my life (the war was older than me) she was trying to get her Mom out of SL. My Grand Ma would hear nothing of it. She would fly to see us but count the days when she could return. She want to die in SL. Mind you she is not Sinhalese nor Tamil. But I know she is a Sri Lankan.
I think it is best to unite as Sri Lankans rather than separate by races that are basically the same.
Thank you for doing stuff that I only dream of.
Thanks David.
Situation in Melbourne was out of control.
well said once agin.
There’s no communal violence. I live in Attidiya. My mum is Tamil, and we have Tamil relatives in Colombo. I have Tamil friends in Wellawatte. Of course, they’re nervous right now, but they aren’t hiding under their beds, and so far there’s no violence (and no one’s expecting it). I’ve not heard of any threats by thugs either. A Tamil friend who lives in Colombo just heard that her parents (from Mullaitivu) have just been located in one of the IDP camps, and she’s trying to get them down here. So no, there aren’t butterflies everywhere and rainbows in the sky, but we’re optimistic, and so far there’s no reason to be otherwise.
I was interviewed Saturday by Capital Radio Canberra, and I told ’em the same thing.
I believe the acid attack, beating, and stabbing of the two students was done when their house was broken into, not at a public gathering.
Great stuff, Indi. You’ve been on fire lately.
That is where the attack occurred but the conflict started after a planned public celebration of the war’s end–that is where words were exchanged and that’s when the ball started rolling. Cops should’ve been there, detained the violent and mitigated the risk of follow-up attacks.
Very well said!
I wanna be like you when i grow up!!!
I’m a sinhalese who has a tamil (fairy) god daughter and for the first time in my life im living in a country without a war…. Thats cause for celebration alright but i hope ppl would stop all the baila-ing soon cos i feel theyr celebrating for the wrong reason these days and if refusing to party over the end of a life (no matter how ruthless) makes me any less sri lankan than the next guy then fine, id rather be a Buddhist than a sri lankan. But if we dont start meaning it when we say we’re all equal this problem is never going to end…so fingers crossed!!! We simply can NOT be more equal than some ppl!!
And hey me and some friends wanna do voluntary work at an IDP camp or smthing mo than just sending stuff….how do we go about getting involved i wonder??
David, I beg to differ. There may not have been actual incidents but there was enough fear about potential incidents to overshadow the celebrations for many.There have been insults about Tamils being shouted on the streets, along with all the loud and resounding “Jayawewa” etc. I myself have heard it. The celebrations aren’t purely those of happiness. There’s a distinct tone of aggression and ego and a weird kind of militancy. Yesterday I was in the thick of things down Parliament Road on a moped, and both the guy I was with and myself, we got groped and shouted at for asking very innocent questions. I was properly scared. Everyone was drunk out of their minds, and I can easily see how that kind of gathering can spin out of control. I’m not trying to pee on anyone’s parade, people may think that, but I am just trying to see things from a different point of view. Also, a Tamil friend said the passing celebrators threw empty glass bottles at their home, and shouted stuff. So obviously, in the gang, there were people from his own neighbourhood who knew that this family was Tamil. A lot of Tamil families I know are planning to leave the country, or have expressed a strong desire to do so. Some of these are well above middle class families who have always lived in Colombo and some are from Batti or the North. They see MR as a fascist, just like Prabhakaran, and do not see any hope for equality or justice. Of course these can’t be made into generalizations. I’m just pointing out that maybe things aren’t all hopeful for everyone concerned.
Electra, your experience on Parliament Road isn’t necessarily ethnic, no? I drove through a musical show type thing at Kirillapone on Thursday night, and yeah, everyone was drunk and stuff and I felt a bit nervous, but anyone would feel that way around a drunk crowd. I have felt similarly nervous at a Germany-Holland football match. There’ll be some tension, no doubt. And a lot of these people at these celebrations are trying to actually convince themselves that they are part of this victory. Hence the aggression. I guess guilt at having done bugger all when the war was on is a factor. I was buying fags yesterday at Laugfhs and a guy filling his car up asked me why I hadn’t a flag on mine, so I asked him where the fuck he and his flag were when I was at Elephant Pass. He left me alone after that.
I don’t think this means that there’s gonna be some pogrom against the Tamils, and frankly it’s lots of people in the diaspora scaring their relatives here in Colombo. To be honest, I’m not sure I’d feel safe walking through Scarborough or Sydney right now.
The local Sinhala thug who is intimidating your Tamil friend is also probably intimidating the Sinhalese in that area too. Don’t confuse facism and anarchy for racism. I’m from Jaffna and I’ve lived in Colombo since 1988 (after being stuck in Jaffna under the IPKF). Even with my pathetic Sinhalese I haven’t really encountered racism. I’ve come across rude, aggressive and corrupt cops and servicemen but I know that so have my non-Tamil friends, so let’s not get our wires crossed.
If you’re living abroad then I guess your views are understandable, given that you don’t hear anything other than LTTE propaganda. I was visiting a family friend in Nice in February and all of them were in a state of panic. Why? Because the satellite channels they had (owned by the LTTE or their proxies) were going on about India invading SL with 5000 troops to assist the SLA finish off the LTTE! I found the entire episode hilarious and guided my hosts to alternative news sites for them to get a ‘broader’ sense of what’s going on.
Yes. It’s this kind of unnecessary and meaningless violence that will serve to potentially ruin whatever unity winning the war may have achieved. I’ve always observed that the level of Nationalism is much higher and much more powerful in those that live abroad, be it Sinhala Nationalism or Tamil Nationalism. It’s because the people that actually do live, have lived with the real danger and the real heart ache. Mostly, we are fed up. We were at our wits end. It takes the comfort of being far away to support a futile and destructive cause.
I suppose you’re right. And you’re definitely right in that drunk men are just scary, period, especially to unsuspecting un-drunk women.
Although technically there’s no way to prove that at least a huge majority of the celebrators were Sinhalese, I have a feeling that they were? I have this nagging feeling that things were celebrated by the Sinhalese, and that it was a very ‘Sinhala’ victory for those celebrating it, although like I said, there’s no real proof. I don’t know.
I don’t think you need to prove that the majority of celebrators are Sinhalese — they are for sure. The majority of the country is Sinhalese! As for it being made to look like a Sinhalese victory and a Tamil defeat, well, you can’t really help that, can you? No matter how many times we say it was a “war on terror”, you can’t argue that it was within the context of a larger ethnic conflict between the Sinhalese and the Tamils. If the Tigers had got Eelam, I’m sure the Tamils would’ve been celebrating (or at least most of them) and the Sinhalese would’ve felt defeated. There’s no getting away from that. It’s easier to accept it and deal with it.
And frankly, I think this’ll all calm down soon enough. And everyone needs to take a chill pill. The government, the international players, the foreign media, the NGOs, those rioters in Australia and London and Canada. The more pressure the GoSL is put under, the more paranoid and defensive it gets.
We’ve won a war; let them party a bit. The rest of us have been partying right through the war.
Yeah, I guess so. I wasn’t aware of the details.
All I can shay is nowsh the best timesh to go to Sri Lanka.
Dear tamil voice in London,
Great to hear the voice of reason… agree with all you say and yes, the greatest challenge in Sri Lanka for both Sinhalese and Tamils ( and others) right now is to keep mouths shut and not antagonise a defensive government if they care for the safety of their own lives. I am scared too cos there is much to criticise and we have openly done so in teh past. Yet, taking a reality check I realise that all these long years, I as a Sinhalese lived around Colombo not guided by the politicians nor fear. My best friends family and best experiences were apolitical. Everything I choose to love in Sri Lanka is apolitical. So, is it asking too much that I despite my fear, now though I am in the Diaspora, keep going back, keep faith in Home, in the homely things we share and love across the ethnic divide th
sorry, hit the send button.. by accident.
Keep faith in Sri Lanka – not in the politicians but honestly the war-bitten people in all parts need the attention and investment of the Diaspora though they may not be very kind to us at first. Take a holiday in Habarana and speak to the waiters who waited through dry zones till the tourists came to watering holes barely surviving… take a walk through the Mirissa beaches and revel in the pure beauty.. spend time with family and yes, lets have hope and try to be happy about our children’s future. Stay strong and engage- there is no other way. There is no real need to fear for our personal safety if we play it safe for a while till the political climate grows more transparent and tolerant. We gave the war time- lets give the politics time and in the meanwhile lets not waste time enjoying Sri Lanka.
Thanks Indi… i was mailed this twice already.. .now who says the internet is not effective eh?? ha ha … dont underestimate accumulated sentiment and action generated by internet based information dissemination. True – every word you say. Glad to hear the emotion and commitment. As a sinhalese – lawyer- diaspora member for 7 years etc etc as I grew up in Sri Lanka till I was 29 had the reverse experience and keep going back cos that is the only way to engage enjoy and celebrate that bit of myself that I call home.