Rajapakse’s attitude: I’m also Sinhala; therefore, you Tamil listen to me.

By Jagath Asoka

(April 05, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Our attitude toward the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka depends on our personal experiences and our upbringing. I firmly believe that the foundation of our view of the world is laid in our childhood years. As we grow up, this foundation is unfolded and fulfilled, not essentially changed. I was fortunate when I was growing up in Sri Lanka. There were Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, and even some Zoroastrians in my neighborhood, and all of us lived in harmony. When I was a child, often, I visited our neighborhood Buddhist temple. Sometimes, I went to our neighborhood Catholic church with my Christian friends and knelt down with them as they prayed. Sometimes, I went to the mosque with my Muslim friends. I was not allowed to enter the mosque, so I stood by the gate and waited for my friends. I have visited many Hindu temples with my father. These visits took me out of the humdrum, boring world and sparked my imagination about various traditions. My attitude toward Tamils and Muslims was friendly and sanguine.

Recently, I was talking about Sri Lankan Tamils with one of my Sinhalese friends. A comment that she made still reverberates in my memory. She said it in Sinhalese, “No matter what, a Tamil is a Tamil (Demala Demalamai).” The Sinhalese word “Demala” (a Tamil) is a derogatory word. Recently, our President Mahinda Rajapakse expressed his true attitude toward Tamils when he said, “Yes, we are Sinhala. I’m also Sinhala; therefore, you Tamil (Demala) listen to me.” I think the word “Demala” is a loaded word which connotes deep rooted hatred that the Sinhalese majority feels toward the Tamil minority in Sri Lanka. I asked my friend why she had such a negative attitude toward Tamils, and she said that was the attitude of her mother. My friend is a devout Buddhist, and she would never do anything knowingly to hurt any sentient being; I truly believe that my friend’s attitude toward Tamils is a product of her upbringing and the stories that she had heard when she was a child. All Sri Lanka children are taught in schools why King Dutugemunu—the Sinhalese king (161 BCE to 137 BCE) renowned for defeating the Tamil king Elara—could not sleep because he felt that he was surrounded by the uncouth Tamils on one side and the deep ocean on the other. As the flavor of the ocean is contained in a droplet, a single word—Demala—summarizes the bigotry and hatred of Sinhalese toward Tamils. The result of this never ending saga—suffering of hapless Sinhalese, Tamils, and Muslims who are caught in the middle—is something that we all have chosen to ignore as a nation. Hatred and bigotry is not limited to one side of this conflict; mutual hatred is prevalent among all ethnic groups: Sinhalese, Tamils, and Muslims.

Our bloody history is a testimony to this mutual, deep-rooted hatred and bigotry. CNN's Sara Sidner captured the suffering of civilians who were caught in the middle of Sri Lanka's 25-year-long civil war in Witness to Survival. Privation and suffering is the constant theme of this show. Their suffering and sorrows are not the result of their own doing or were not caused by “natural events” that we call “acts of God,” but by the heinous acts and horrendous crimes of some nefarious human beings. What can we say to the people who are suffering because of this ethnic conflict? How can mothers and fathers who have lost their sons and daughters find desire to live? What can we say to a person who has lost her limbs or to a child who has lost his parents? Some Buddhists would say it is their karma. Those who follow the Bible would say that those of us who have it good are pleasing to God and those of us who suffer are being punished. Only an ignoramus would make such self-loathing and arrogant claims. Can we honestly say to these hapless human beings that their suffering is redemptive? As an ordinary person—not as a scholar or an enlightened human being—I have searched the Buddhist and biblical scripture for an answer.

According to the Bible, there are many reasons behind human suffering, but nothing happens in this world unless God has intended it. Sometimes suffering comes from God as a punishment for our sins; sin requires punishment, and suffering is God’s punishment for our sins. Punishment is the incentive for repentance. God will return to people after they have been sufficiently punished. Sometimes suffering can be redemptive; and sometimes suffering comes from human beings as a consequence of sin. Massive sufferings come to those who violate God’s commands and will. The Bible is filled with warnings about how God will inflict pain and suffering for disobedience through famine, draught, pestilence, political upheavals, or military defeat. A life lived righteously before God would be rewarded, but suffering comes to the wicked and disobedient. But in Sri Lanka it seems like a life lived righteously before God would be punished, but the rewards go to the wicked and disobedient. The story of Job seems more relevant to Sri Lankans because what God did to Job had nothing to do with Job’s righteousness and disobedience. Job, God’s faithful servant, was punished because God gave in easily to insinuations of Satan and tested Job’s faithfulness through savage, merciless, and unrestrained tests. I am not omniscient; therefore, I do not know if there is a God. But I have no doubt that these hapless human beings feel that God has forsaken them; like Jesus, they were scourged.

Twenty five hundred years ago, a man called Siddhartha was determined to comprehend the nature of suffering. His desire to find an answer to suffering was so strong that he left his wife and newborn son whom he called Fetter. After six years of self-mortification, Siddhartha became the Buddha, and his analysis of suffering is called The Four Noble Truths: there is suffering in this world; suffering has a cause; there is a way to end suffering; the way to end suffering is called the Eightfold Path.

As an ordinary person, I do not know whether this Four Nobel Truths and the Eightfold Path would help an ordinary person who is in agony. Since the Buddha never claimed to be a god, I think, even the Buddha would have suffered, if he had lost his only son or daughter, just like any other father who had lost his son or daughter. Of course, this is my opinion as an ordinary human being who has not achieved nirvana. Even the Buddha was powerless against violence; he could not stop the killing of men, women, and children of his former kingdom by a marauding king. He could not perform a miracle to stop the elephants who trampled the men, women, and children who were forced into pits. Knowing the origin of suffering is one thing, but dealing with pain and agony, both mental and physical, is something else. Even though we use the word suffering, I am not sure that we have the right word when we talk about Buddha’s teachings. Probably, the Buddha was talking about our discontent, not the agony of losing someone.

I do not know the answer to suffering in Sri Lanka, but the origin of suffering is obvious: mutual, deep-rooted hatred and bigotry which is prevalent among all ethnic groups. If you were to talk about hatred, many Sri Lankan Buddhists would tell you, “Hatred is never appeased by hatred; hatred is appeased only by love.” We have been uttering these words of the Buddha for the last two thousand years, but hatred thrives in Sri Lanka and nobody cares about the suffering of hapless human beings.

Mr. President, perhaps you and I cannot control our experiences, but we have the power to shape our attitude. As the leader of our nation, your attitude and your choice of words could shape the future of our tormented nation, so act as a responsible leader, not as a bigot. Your petulant behavior will encourage other bigots to perpetuate the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka.