Clean Sri Lanka-2 – By Oscar E V Fernando
What was the societal, political and cultural landscape we saw or were made to see over the past several years in this country? We saw the good bad and the ugly in clear and no uncertain terms-now facing the need of a shake up together with a vigorous clean up.
Let us take the ethnic issue now on the top rung awaiting that Great Clean Up to be launched in all seriousness soon; in this our hallowed history there are also some ludicrous passages to be concerned with; it is said-that in ancient times this country was inhabited by creatures called Yakas Nagas and by no stretch of imagination-thalagoyas-a freighting prospect to think of-freighting indeed to think we are their descendants; what about Vijaya and the lot packed into a boat heading to this land of Serendipity; so much for the Sinhala race and then the Tamils who say they were occupying this country from time immemorial and that they are the purest form of Dravidians in the world; into this cacophony joins the Elara Dutugemunu battle that gives a notion that Tamils had a state to fight for in the good old days in Polonnaruwa as Sinhalese then had in Anuradhapura-any disputed half-truths or falsehoods need to be swept out from under the carpet-preferably with foreign assistance-as this dispute has effected several aspects of the country adversely-why foreign assistance one may ask and a good example to think of is that frogs inside the well cannot by itself jump out of the well without outside assistance!
Other instances needing cleaning up are-
- politicians using state funds to give employment to their kith and kin locally and internationally.
- giving and taking of bribes by persons to carry out work they are entrusted to do officially-but taking that komis to do it.
- sadistic practice of plundering public property such as from railway compartments-hospitals-
graveyards and mortuaries to make that fast buck. - another is to clean up noise pollution in busses by drug addicted drivers who need loud music to do their disco dance while driving with horns that deafen the eyers and holy places chiming bells to be heard by far enders but being a nuisance to the near- factories and workshops emanating noise in residential areas where no permit is given but they carry on regardless with the palms of the authorities loudly oiled.
These are few instances among the many that are crying out loud for a clean up
Why have our people’s consciences got so thick and hard? What is there to be done to moisten hardened spirits and light up darkened souls-or is it a case of the wise monkeys who do not hear-see-smell and do not speak for fear of being mauled by the connected underworld?
Is this left to be done by our legislators dressed in snowy white garb that dazzle and look like doves of peace but some of them badly needing a cleanup and a flush out-think of the man in the legislature throwing miris kudu all over the house-and into the bargain having the looks of a drug addict-and the fat bellied man who tied a female teacher to a tree as she did not carry out his political command!
Many think that a cleanup requires firstly a cleanup of the environment-yes it is good to give a jump start but to make it permanent it must be first a cleanup within and that is a moral effort that transforms a person from within and when citizens are so transformed, all bad practices such as komis-plundering-generation of loud noise and other mayhem will vanish with the awareness of the sense of rightlessness and then we will see the environment always clean!
Would this cleanliness and sweeping under the carpet be the cause of blocking our advancement since independence where countries that were behind us then are far ahead of us now?
What happened to Ceylon after Independence is a very significant question to ask and then beat our breasts to clean up and look forward!
Sweeping off the dirt under the carpet is bound to be a wise start.
Oscar E V Fernando
January 2025
Read – Clean Sri Lanka – By Oscar E V Fernando – Part 1
