SOME THOUGHTS ON TSUNAMI
It is two years since tsunami struck Sri Lanka and some other countries, and our thoughts are still with all those who have been affected by the worst natural disaster the country has experienced for hundreds of years. Even after two years there are many people who have not been provided with the bare minimum of facilities that they "enjoyed" before the tsunami waves struck the shores of the country. There are many NGOs that promised heaven on earth for the unfortunate, but failed to live up to the expectations of the people. Then there are some NGOs and so called humanitarians who thought nothing but of abusing the children who were affected by tsunami, sexually or otherwise. Some so called philanthropists who had even abducted such children continue to live without being tripped off their deshamanyas and other tags.
Sinhala people are very creative, though not in western sciences for the reason that such sciences are not constructed within their culture, and have added the word tsunami, however without t, to their vocabulary. Thus one can hear people mentioning "sancharaka sunamiya" to mean a crash in the "tourist industry" with or without supporting their claims with facts. However, the purpose of this article is not to go into research in usages of Sinhala Language, but to point out how unfortunate they are in not being recognised for work they have done.
The pioneering work in connection with the tsunami was done by the Sinhala people mainly the Sinhala Buddhists including the Bhikkus. It is they who cleared the roads, the houses, and attended to the needs of the victims. There were few who resorted to robbery, raping, and in one instance "raping" a dead body, but on the whole they behaved well, and were humanitarian to the core. The good work was done independent of the government machinery, which took some time to take off. The westerners who had come to assist us were very impressed, not that we should be bothered by their impressions, as they thought that such efficient organisation could not have been achieved in their countries. It is said that on the whole we fared better than any other country in the initial period of recovery after the tsunami disaster. It has to be reminded that USA, the wealthiest and the very much organised country in the world, failed when it was hit by cyclones such as Katrina.
There is a cultural reason, other than the humanitarianism of Sinhala Buddhists, for the efficiency in their volunteer organisation methods. Though the Sinhala Buddhists have lived in a centralised "Eksesath Sinhala Buddhist Rajya" since the days of King Gemunu (We should drop the Dutu or Dushta part of the name most probably coined by NGO type Sinhalas living then, for the decision of the king to go to war "betraying Buddhism". They would have successfully prevented the King Kavantissa from going to war in spite of the king raising an army, and also requested him to secure a promise from the prince that he would not go to war. However, from the childhood the prince was sensitive to what was happening, and nobody could prevent him from going to war. The statement by the prince that he was going to war to make sure that Budu Sasuna prevailed in the country for a long time was a slap in the face of the NGO type Sinhalas living then. The prince would have earned the wrath of these people by inviting five hundred Bhikkus to accompany him to war.) they practised decentralised administration, and managed their own affairs independent of the kingdom. The eksesath rajya was a unitary state legislatively but a decentralised state administratively, and in fact it is the state that is suitable to us even today. The unitary state of the British is unitary legislatively and highly centralised administratively. The Sinhalas have an inhibition to work in a heavily centralised set up and they should be given the freedom to organise their lives without interference from a centre. This is an "aspiration" of the Sinhalas, which cannot be neglected while trying to fulfil the aspirations of the Tamils.
Soon after the tsunami the Sinhalas, especially the Sinhala Buddhists got together in small groups without the mediation of the government officials, and they carried out an excellent job voluntarily. The Muslims in the eastern province found these Sinhala Buddhists groups coming to them first, sometimes with Bhikkus, before any governmental or non governmental organisations. The Sinhala people did not distinguish between the Sinhalas, Tamils and the Muslims, and they undertook various "projects" again voluntarily to help the victims. There were housing projects, and many Sinhalas living in the country as well as abroad helped in them financially as well as through volunteer labour to see that the projects were completed without delay. When the state apparatus got involved they contributed in millions to the fund raising activities organised by some corporations including media institutes.
However, how many people remember this good work done by the Sinhalas soon after the tsunami disaster. Instead there is propaganda work by some NGOs to boost up their images, even though not all the promises by these organisations have been fulfilled. There were some foreigners who descended on the scene like vultures to abuse the children, and some other organisations were interested only in conversions and were making hay while the sun was shining for them after the tsunami. Two years after the event hosannas are sung for the NGOs and so called philanthropists ignoring the abuses. The excellent work done by the Sinhalas, especially the Sinhala Buddhists including the Bhikkus are forgotten but the few cases of robbery etc. are mentioned. There are so called internationally acclaimed artistes and others who go on reminding the case of a Sinhala Buddhist "raping" a dead body. Perhaps they could produce a film based on that singular incident and become heroes among the "international community", by claiming it to portrait the Sinhala Buddhist psyche. They would be internationally acclaimed if it could be "revealed" that the body belonged to a Tamil woman.
The so called black July, even after twenty three years, is never out of the minds of the NGO "intellectuals". They have anniversaries of the event as they know where the funds are. However, the atrocities of the LTTE are forgotten, even without a press statement, which the NGOs make at the drop of a hat. The NGOs are a way of life, and for some people they are their livelihood. They are paid money to discredit the Sinhala people and their culture, and we do not expect anything from them other than what they are doing now.
However, the Sinhalas as a group should think about a way of reminding at least themselves the good work they have been doing over the years. It is not to convince the westerners or even the Indians, who in spite of calling themselves a secular state do not treat the Buddhists and the Muslims as equals of Hindus except on paper, but to remind that the NGOs are only propagating what the westerners would like to read and hear. The Sinhala Buddhist bashing has gone too far, and some Sinhalas themselves could think that the Sinhalas are the worst barbarians in the world. Tsunami brought the good of the Sinhala Buddhists to the fore, and there is no harm if they remind themselves of those qualities.
Professor Nalin de Silva
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