Why we have to remember?

by  Dr.Rajasingham Narendran

(May 28, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Let us all remember what happened over the past six decades or more. Remembering is an important part of being alive. Once the ‘Forgetting process’ begins, senility sets in. Every thing we do as a people should be based on these memories. However, the question is whether these memories should be used to seek revenge or a path to correct our mistakes. Forgiveness has to be an inevitable component if we choose to take the second path. Without forgiveness there cannot be reconciliation. Without reconciliation, the process of healing cannot begin.

Let us all-Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims- remember the past and publicly air what we remember. We will then discover that our memories are skewed in favour of what we believe is our social identity. Let us learn what each social group, believes or has been taught to accept, as injustice / violence directed against them by the others. Let this process begin amongst us now. We will ultimately realize, that all of us have erred to some degree. We will also realize we have been made big fools by a political system, that has fed on a our unpreparedness for true democracy. The political system has toyed with our emotions, exploited our naivety and prospered amidst our misery.

Should we in these circumstances continue to fight amongst ourselves or unite to correct (through non-violence) the political system that is at fault? Our vote yet matters in Sri Lanka! This is a very potent weapon, the power of which we have not understood. The communities in Sri Lanka have to reconcile as individuals and people, through dialogue and interactions at various levels. We have to thereafter stand together, to demand reforms in our political system. The political system in Sri Lanka has been the monkey that gained while pretending to divide the slice of bread between two feuding cats. This pernicious system had/has many monkeys-Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim- who have created mischief and gained through our misery. Let us identify the true culprit- the system, instead of fighting amongst each other.

Let us all unite to bring about changes in our political system and clean it of the men and women who do not deserve to be our leaders, at any level.