Small steps of another long journey

18 May 2009 will not be easily forgotten by every Sri Lankan who lived to tell of that day for many generations to come. Indeed, when news started to appear on the internet, and many sms-ing to people all over the world. I got an sms from emak that read "Salam, Prabhakaran shot dead." Those words created an emotional whirlwind inside me because this is what I and so many millions of people had hoped for many years. The feeling was of relief that Sri Lanka -an island the size of a tear drop- was successful in liberating its lands from terrorism. In all honesty, after receiving the news I had a flashback of a tele-drama a few years back; one that I watched while in school. In it, the final episode ended with people celebrating the end of the war. While watching that part of the tele-drama I thought how ridiculous the thought was. Now I stand corrected.

I was so proud to call myself 'Sri Lankan' because we as a nation have accomplished what others are still fighting to eradicate. We uprooted every trace of the world's most dangerous terrorist organisation. It took a period of 3 years and loss of countless lives, but all that were not in vain. For 26 years the LTTE caused grief, heartache and suffering to many Sri Lankans, but not anymore. Patriotic cells in my body were like hyperactive gymnasts because simply put words cannot do justice as to how I felt. I got news that celebrations broke out in Colombo and every place in the island. But did we really emerge victorious? I think we claimed a war victory, while a comprehensive one is still far away. Ending of a war only means a stop to killing, destruction of infrastructure and the economy, a return to normalcy- that's it. I'm still trying to grasp the idea of 'normalcy' because those of my generation haven't the slightest inclination as to what it is. We grew up with the words "war", "terrorism", "LTTE" on a constant 24-7-365 basis. I bet even a child would know those words. The final phase of the war lasting 3 years came at a price of more than 6000 soldiers from the armed forces who had sacrificed their lives. Apart from that another 25000 soldiers have been wounded in many ways that will forever remind them of the scars of war. More than 70000 civilians have had to unnecessarily die in a tenure of 26 years. I wonder how much they could have contributed to the country to make it better?

A comprehensive victory can only be accomplished when Sri Lanka is able to rise up from its current ruins in order to pave the way for greater progress and prosperity. Progress and prosperity can be interpreted in various ways, but for now, lets consider an economic measurement; although social, educational, health, cultural measurements are equally important. The new Sri Lanka needs a change in outlook and attitude with more stamina for tolerance. Mindset of Sri Lankans need a paradigm shift where it's time to forgive people who have made mistakes, but there is no chance to forget. There is a reason why the past is a precedent for the future, thus its about time we started to analyse all our mistakes as a nation. Everyone can play the 'blame game', but only a handful can rise up to the occasion and take charge with the sincere intent of advocating change.

Integration among the people is key to overcoming any problems that we may face. It's not that Sri Lanka is devoid of it, but integration needs to be put into action all over the island. One thing I know beyond a shadow of doubt is that we Sri Lankans are a resilient people. Even after close to 3 decades of war, and many untold hardships, we are still standing. Mother Lanka has endured countless horrors and now the time has come to make her feel better.