Futility, disappointment and 'essential' politics

As the youth of this country, we have what seems like a rather long life stretching ahead of us. 

If our present is not the most promising of times, what can we expect of the future? 

With the elections round the corner most of us are doing some serious thinking as to what we want from our leaders, for our future. 

But one can't help wondering if they ever think of what they can give us. With numerous posters being splashed about, loudspeakers blaring music, and many a promise being thrown around, one can't help wondering if our representatives are missing the point.

As youth, what do we want? 

Do we have that 'scraping the bottom of the barrel' feeling, are we disillusioned - or is there hope...? 

No choice

"My future, as well as the future of this country depends on the people who come into power," says 21-year-old Anushika who firmly believes that if the people in power do pay attention to the correct things they could make a difference. The upcoming election creates for her, "not a very good feeling". 

"I don't feel that there really is anyone who is good", but as she points out when it comes to voting there is no choice. Either you do it, or someone else does it for you. Her policy is to identify the best out of the bad lot. 

"I am worried though," she stresses. "There is a big potential for violence and although personally I may not be affected there are lots of young people who are actively involved in political campaigns who will be. In addition to that we will be affected as a community." 

As a youth, Anushika doesn't feel represented, the reason for this being that she feels today's politics revolve around immaterial issues like what the "other side has or has not done". 

"They are too preoccupied with their problems to productively address the issues that involve the youth of this country like unemployment, education, etc. Whatever system they have put forward so far is not successful, because our concerns are not their concerns."

Listen to us

A first-time voter Ravindra (19) says, "The youth are the unused resources of a country and they should be used so as to extract the maximum from them." In his opinion the best way to do that is by listening to the youth and formulating policies based on their needs. "Election time is when you learn the aspirations of your people and they in turn learn the aspirations of their leaders. That obviously has not happened." He also refers to the fact that those his age, make up the "new" votes. These "new' votes, says Ravindra, can prove to be the deciding factor in an election in a situation where there is a deadlock between parties, but no one has even considered this.

"What are my aspirations? For starters that we have honest politicians and can live in a law-abiding society where all basic necessities are met and the cost of living is low." Sounds a trifle idealistic, don't you think? His very next statement proves that he is aware of that. "I am a realist, and so although I aspire for that, I don't expect it. I just hope that while politicians make their money some of it flows to us, 'the voters'."

Wrong pulse

"I am not represented!" which seems to be the opinion of the youth, is given voice to by 20-year-old Hasitha. Explaining his statement, he stresses that although political parties are under the impression that they know the 'pulse' of the people, they don't, although they make their manifestos under this delusion. "So let alone my needs at this time as an individual, the common needs of the youth at large are not even thought about." These concerns, states Hasitha, are two pronged. Firstly the basic needs of the youth, like their rights, should be met. In addition to that their special concerns as 'youth' must be looked into. 

Deadend

Confusion reigns in Anika's (22) world. "This election business is so mind boggling. I have no clear idea of what is happening. Everything changes overnight and I don't know whether a single person who has come forward deserves my vote. I mean I put them in parliament because I feel they stand for what I believe in...but somehow I don't get that feeling and I just don't know what to do."

Futile

Having voted for sometime now, Naren (24) is more familiar with what he states is "the futility of the whole practice". He accepts that the upcoming elections are important for Sri Lanka because they will decide the fate of this country. But the issues being discussed ("or should I say not discussed"), the violence and overall mud-slinging have reduced it to the level of "a third grade, low budget soap opera". 

"My future," he states, rather cynically, "is fairly bleak and that's not just my future...it's ours." However, he believes that the youth of this country will some day be the leaders and in that thought there is hope. "Most of us are fed up with the present political culture and I think we've hit rock bottom. Who knows, the change we need so badly may not be that far away."

No problem

But, at the same time, there are those who see no problem with the existing system and Jagath (23) is one of them. "I know whom to vote for. The whole process is actually rather straightforward. I don't see what the fuss is all about," says Jagath. 

"I think politics is very important and sometimes leaders have to take certain decisions and you just have to trust them. It's not mud-slinging but something necessary to defend their stance. 

"And maybe because of that they can't devote themselves to all the issues we want them to. They are human beings and we can't expect perfection from them. They merely react within the demands of the system. The only decision you have to take is: do their policies run on the same lines as your aspirations."

Realist, idealist, cynic, everyone of us will make our aspirations clear when we mark the cross for the future we want.

A time to care

Organised by Hameedias, this very successful event was held at the Hotel Taj Samudra's North Lawn last month.