Yet no Justice

It’s been a while since I’ve written and I have thought of writing for a while but because of all the surprising things that my life brings everyday, I had no clue where to start and what to write about. There is so much I have to share. Every morning I wake up wondering what will happen today to my family and how will the day end for us. Today, I decided it was time again to write. I know most of you have thousands of questions in your mind and are confused. I am as confused too. I understand how difficult it is to seek any information because the government media has flooded and drowned the country with false information. So here I am today, writing once again. I will write everything I know and speak for those who are afraid, for those who fear for their lives.

I have read all of your comments on my blog and feel that I must clarify some pressing matters. My father did not kill innocent civilians. He fought to end the deaths of innocent civilians. He did not betray his men; he took the blame that others heaped on our soldiers. He was an army general and as such, took necessary steps to stop violence in our country. It wasn’t just him, we as a nation were in it together. 

Having said that, I do not endorse violence. I do not think violence justifies anything but I have no part in the decision-making. He is my father and was my country’s general. I do feel the pain some of you have gone through. I know in war times it is incredibly difficult, mothers crying from the north to south. We lost our families, sisters, brothers from every corner of Sri Lanka. We, all of us Sri Lankans, not just Tamils. However, we must not give in to hatred. Why divide a nation when we can work better together? We must through all this hurt and pain and sorrow find a way to bridge the divide that has killed so many of us. The fact is that the war is over now. It is time to develop our country into the one we envision. We should get rid of these labels that divide us. We maybe Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, and other race, religion and ethnicities, but deep down inside, deep, deep, deep down in our core, we are Sri Lankans. Despite the hurt and pain and sorrow, we are still Sri Lankans and we must not lose sight of that. What will we have to gain if we fight against each other constantly? 

We need to work toward identifying the problems we have and finding ways to solve it. Through this blog, I’ve realized that if we were to work together, to create a network where we can channel all this hatred and sorrow and pain and hurt to heal Sri Lanka, we might get somewhere. Is there a way we could fight corruption? Is there a way we could fight poverty? Is there a way we could defy the government and make sure that all citizens have equal rights? 

We are very fortunate to have such a beautiful country but we take things for granted. We even take bad leadership for granted. Can we do something, take action, positive action and foster growth? Take Singapore for example, they used us as an example to develop their country. First thing they did was stop corruption from the top. There are no excuses for us now. We had a war going on and we used that as an excuse. The war is over now and yet the country continues to plunge. At least, we had the freedom to speak our mind even with a war raging but no Sri Lanka has been muzzled. We’ve been limited to the face and voice of Rajapaksha. We as a nation deserve better.

It has been 24 days today since they illegally detained my father. For what reason? No one knows. Not you, not me, or the government. Isn’t that insane? They tell the world that my father lives in a luxury hotel room. Let me tell you about the place they’ve put him in. He was taken on 8 February to the Navy base. They were afraid to take him to an army base because they thought that the army officers and soldiers would see the injustice of the situation and try to rescue him. That first day, my father didn’t even have any food to eat. The windows were sealed with wood. There was zero ventilation in the room. The military police and navy soldiers who were outside guarding the room had a portable ventilation system but my father was denied sunshine and clean air to breathe. The past year’s attacks and the suicide bomber incident has weakened my father’s lungs and he needs a ventilation system. After having complained several times, they’ve now unsealed one window and put a tiny iron mesh. When my mother asked if we could give him a small portable ventilation system, they refused. The past terrorist leaders are living under luxury roofs in comparison to the small room where my father, once the hero, is shut. 

After the first hearing of my father’s fundamental rights case on 23 February, the supreme court granted visits from his attorney, but until the beginning of March, there were people who were going beyond supreme court orders and has not let lawyers visit my father. My father is only given two newspapers to read, pro-government newspapers: Daily News and Dinamina. The government is doing their best to mislead the people by showing that they have given my father every comfort. 

The attack on my family doesn’t end there. The government arrested my father for no charges but they are watching my mother to find faults in whatever possible way. Her speeches are recorded by the government everyday to find a point to accuse her. Now, they are accusing my sister of being a part of some money laundering scheme and my bother-in-law as a arms dealer. The only person left is me. I wonder what they will come up next. 

Why are they harassing us? If they think the election is fair, why go to this trouble of painting us black and harassing those who’ve supported us? Why attack if you have nothing to defend? Is it a crime to have an opposition party in a country? It has only been a year since we earned peace, or thought we earned it. I do not understand what is happening but I do believe that time will tell and the truth will be set free. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but a day will come. Until then, we need courage to go on.