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Opinion

The two dragons - The Lankan Conflict

By: Sambol :+: Under: Opinion, Politics, The Lankan Diaries
On: ⋅ January 18, 2007 ⋅  Email this post ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment
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A poet was discussing about “the two dragons” this morning in a radio program. To my half baked, half awake mind, the two dragons reminded me of a movie I just saw. And it all came to me. The movie was blood diamond and the dragons were about love and hate. It made me think of my own land and the constant daily struggle of my people.

Recently the peace process in Sri Lanka has been shrinking to a sad situation. Hope for peace does not exist anymore. There are more bombs outside the war zone and more people getting randomly executed. The tourism industry has gone hay wire which is having a negative impact on the economy all over the island. All this for a reason or goal which nobody inside or outside the country can define.

Why the hate and where will it go?

Image via. RAND Review
from AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS/JULIA DRAPKIN

In a recent UN report cited by Lanka Academic

The ongoing violence in Sri Lanka - has resulted in 213,000 new refugees, the U.N. humanitarian affairs office said Thursday, asking donors for US$66 million (euro51.13 million) in aid to carry out support programs in coming months.
“The recurrence of violence and hostilities in the north and east of the country since April 2006 has impacted negatively upon the humanitarian situation of the civilian population a situation already strained by prior conflict,” the U.N. agency said in a statement.

“Nearly 213,000 people have been newly displaced in the past nine months, bringing the total number of displaced persons in the country to over half a million,” the statement said.

When I think about the present conflict and increase in violent attacks, my mind goes back to 2002 when I last visited Sri Lanka. It was a trip to Trinco that I will remember for a long time. I took the long journey with my father. He wanted me to see the natural beauty of the Lankan east coast. A region of my country I could not visit previously because of conflict. It was an awesome journey. We drove through roads that were still surrounded by jungles, was chased by a wild elephant, and drove into a city where deer roamed the main streets just like dogs roam the roads in Colombo. It was another planet, another city. But what astounded me were the two governments that ran peacefully side by side without any conflict. The tigers had their own office open in the Trinco downtown area where a Sinhalese or Tamil resident can file a complaint against another resident or ask for help. The Lankan military was outside on the roads monitoring and keeping everything under control. It was strange and surreal experience. We hung around the town, visited a Hindu temple and went by the navy base. It looked normal and I could not put my finger to any residue from the conflict. And then we made our way up a road to our hotel.

The road goes through the war zone. We saw houses with bullet holes, areas that were off limits for tourist and landmine signs everywhere. At one point we had to stop for directions. An old guy was standing by the shade with a cell phone. He had a big smile on his face. When he realized we were lost, he walked up to the car and gave us his cell phone to use. His sincerity and his trust struck me. The man was a pastor trying to build a church in that area. He could not go back to his house because both the military and the army had planted land mines. UN had land mine removers were combing the area, but that was going to take years. So for years this man and others from that village had to live in a refugee camp. He said he was trying to build the church because he was trying to bring back hope to the people. The man did not ask for anything. He was glad to help us and with a smile said thanks for visiting the region. I came across people like him all over that region. They were just trying to build hope.

BBC2 discusses the number of deaths.

Over 3,600 people combatants and civilians have died last year, according to the Defense Ministry. In January, dozens died in fighting.

Image from CNN.com

Now I wonder where these people are living or if they are still alive. In Lanka the story of the two dragons continue on. It is a constant battle. Sometimes love wins over hate and there is peace. And other times the hate takes over and we hear of bombs being blown. But in the midst of all this chaos are the innocent civilians, the kids that dream of going to school and a normal life, the preacher hoping for a church, the farmer who wants to go back to his farm, and everybody hoping for stability and ultimate peace. The beauty still lasts, if only people can learn from nature and appreciate the silence!!!

I cannot answer the question “why the hate?” It is generations of fighting and death that has lead to the current situation. There are child soldiers in the front line who know of nothing other than killing and guns. Hatred is part of their lives. It is normal. Changing this course of life is in the hands of the people of Lanka. The past generations chose violence over peace….now it is up to the future to decide what road they want to take. All we can do is hope the dragon of love wins over hate.

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