Living life… one day at a time

I just read from a newspaper website today that a bomb had gone off near my area. Actually, it was near the railway station a few kilometers away from my house. But still, the thought and scare lingers in my body constantly. I just feel helpless every time news of a bombing reaches my ears, worse still, when the numbers of fatalities are reported. Only thought in my mind at that point is “when will all this killing end??”

A bombing has become part of the Sri Lankan lifestyle in the 20 or so years of war. You hear from one end and let it go from the other -after assessing if a loved one is affected. A person leaving the house in the morning is not guaranteed a safe return by evening. Such is the gravity of the situation that the people face. Everyone has been affected by a bombing directly or indirectly. That is something most of the people have in common.

I remember, when I was six years old in school one day, a bomb went off near it. It was targeted at a politician who happened to be going by that route. Unfortunately, the detonation took place near grade 2 (further from my classroom of grade 1), leaving some students permanently deaf. During the many years to follow, I have witnessed a few of my friends lose their loved ones, both immediate and extended family. I have also lost a couple of uncles too. A few years back my father missed a bomb by a mere 10 minutes. Its times like these one turns to God in praise and full of gratitude.

The human cost of this war has been phenomenal and very staggering. Generations are sacrificing in many ways, but the utmost by laying down their lives for the territorial integrity of my motherland. To them all of us owe a debt of gratitude, which cannot be repaid in any small manner. Neither can it be summed up with a few eloquent words on a paper article. My eyes become teary thinking of all the good men and women who have become prey to this dim-witted and baseless war, preying on the innocence of the common man.

But I will say this, “not an inch, none whatsoever shall we give up from our motherland.”