Financial Times

For tomorrow's sake, let's think positive thoughts
By Random Access Memory (RAM)
Often called a 'nation of lotus eaters', we in Sri Lanka, have been blessed with a base of natural resources that is biologically rich, diverse and extremely productive. Throw a seed on the ground and it literally grows to give you food with the least effort.

A foreigner and a colleague from a distant land who was here during the height of the conflict that devastated us for over twenty years said, 'I do not know why your country has to undergo these difficulties… nature has given you a great climate, a good rich soil to farm in, an ocean surrounds you with rich marine life. You have no cold winters, no one needs to die for the lack of food and the way forward for your country need only be a bright future…but yet you are in deep trouble with yourselves'. The message was loud and clear. He clearly could not understand why we, citizens of a nation so abundantly blessed, were shooting ourselves in the foot at every turn.

Over fifty years of independence and self-rule, has meant that we have had the licence to help ourselves move forward. It only takes a good look around at what other nations, less blessed have achieved, for us to learn where we have got ourselves since. While many of these nations, have moved on to higher heights of development giving their people the best of the merger resources they have, we have got ourselves into a muddle and seemed to be getting even deeper into it at frequent intervals.

With this reality around us, and realization that we are experts at the 'pinning the blame' game, it is for us citizens now to squarely take responsibility for what we have bestowed upon ourselves. A few weeks ago RAM painted two scenarios of a 2020 Sri Lanka in this column. One scenario was bleak and gloomy because our leaders failed us once again and the other, bright with full of hope, for they put our needs on top of their agenda and sought to bury their own self-indulgent schemes.

Our various religious, community and business leaders made statements and took assertive action both covertly and overtly to show that we could ill afford another round of elections that will get us no-where near the goal posts we seek. Such a scenario will no doubt result in a waste of time, energy and money, set us back a few more years in achieving peace, result in vast economic and business losses and bring further misery to a people already affected deeply by rising costs of living, agitations and a climate of political uncertainty.

Cultural leaders and artists have joined the call of the religious community and business leaders for the resumption of the peace talks. They have pointed out the need for having positions of consensus among the leadership of the Southern policy which drives the effort. All these positive vibes have culminated to make a strong call to our leaders to do the right thing.

There is no doubt that the long-term solution calls for rebuilding a civilisation for Sri Lanka based on a core social fabric of respect for life and the living, loving, kind, tolerance of diverse views, good governance and well distributed social and economic development. The need today is to lay a foundation to make it happen and levels of tolerance our leaders have demonstrated so far in the most recent crisis, leaves us in hope for a hopeful future.

With another ‘D-Day’ approaching tomorrow for this 'blessed nation', we are once again at a crossroad. The two road signs clearly point 'to doom' and 'to bloom'. The choice although made by our leaders for us, is in reality ours.

It is here that all right thinking citizens need to make an assertive collective, meditative wish, a powerful positive force of thought or prayer, to give those who are party to the decision, the courage and the ability to decide rationally. For them to get together to undertake a future path of politics of consensus driving a truly national agenda to achieve a lasting and dignified peace and a sustainable state of socio-economic development for Sri Lanka. Let us be positive. Let us be assertive. Let us meditate. Let us pray. For it is our future, they hold in trust for us. Give them the wisdom, not to forget.

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