Are We As Rich & Famous As We Had Been Told ?

We met a Greek family on our recent flight to the USA and had a long chat on the 10+ hour flight from Athens to the USA.

I knew by looking at them they were in their retirement. I asked them what they were doing during their working life. The answer really surprised me.

The gentleman had been working as a bartender all his life and his wife was a homemaker.

They were going to the US to see their son and grandchildren, whom they had not seen for awhile due to travel restrictions imposed to combat the spread of the virus.

And when they wanted to know where we were coming from, I was happy to say that we were from Sri Lanka, but unfortunately, they had never heard of a country called Sri Lanka before.

Bringing the tea into the conversation would stir their memory of the famous Ceylon Tea brand name, too, was met with the same response.

This made me think of two important things.

The first one was, "Can a bartender from Sri Lanka afford to pay for airfare to visit someone living in another part of the world?"

The answer to that would be a resounding "NO."

And the second question was, are we as famous as we had been told?

The answer to that question too would be a resounding "NO."

This was further affirmed when I had to borrow someone’s phone on landing in the USA to make a local call. The gentleman who was kind enough to lend his phone had never heard of a country called Sri Lanka (neither Ceylon).

I think our education system, politicians, and clergy are making too many ostentatious claims and assumptions about our country, simply to fool people and for their own survival.

 And most of our countrymen are duped into believing such ludicrous claims solely because of their frog in the well and bogus patriotic mentalities.

Misconceived Notion of Some Tamils.

Misconceived Notion of Some Tamils

By Sasanka De Silva - Sultanate of Oman

It is a common and general misconception that the Tamils in Sri Lanka
took arms against the Sinhalese because of the discriminatory practices
by the latter against the minority Tamils.

There are two types of Tamils in Sri Lanka. One is the Sri Lankan
Tamils and the others the Indian Tamils. The latter were brought to the
island by the British to work in Tea plantations. They comprise 5.6% of
the population. On the other hand, the Sri Lankan Tamils whom the LTTE
terrorists claim that they are duty bound to liberate and are calling
for the Eelam are 12.6%. Out of which, 6.5% live in the Northern part
of Sri Lanka, 2.7% in the East and the rest, 3.4% live in the other
parts of the country.

If the discriminations against the minority were so prevalent then the
numbers would have drastically been different. Almost half of the Sri
Lankan Tamils are living side by side with the majority and other
ethnic groups in Sri Lanka in other parts of Sri Lanka. It is a fact
none can deny.

The Tamils in Sri Lanka or for that matter any minority is free and
entitled to live anywhere in the country, free to own properties or
run business, practice their religion & customs, to have Education in
his own choice of language, obtained Employments, Medical and Health
benefits, like the majority of Sinhalese. Perhaps there may have been
isolated cases of Tamils being denied employment opportunity in one of
the key sensitive areas of employment such as National Security for
that matter. Given the prevailing War scenario in the country, can
anyone be blamed for such actions and it may have been done only
because of the sensitivity of the issue and not because of the minority
state of that person.

Furthermore, there are special Public holidays declared by the majority
Sinhalese government on important Hindu religious and festival days to
enable the minority to celebrate and partake in their own religious
and cultural festivals.

Every Government document is printed in all three national languages
and Tamils are free to submit them in their own mother tongue, may it
be the Birth registration, School Admission, Marriage Certificate to
Death Certificate.

All the road maps are printed in all three languages and every public
transport services routes are displayed in all three National languages
and not to mention the road signs. Even if you go to any part of the
furthest south of the island, one would find everything is available
even in Tamil as well.

I think that this is a very unique situation, although some Tamils who
have other vested interests in this so-called minority (or read
Terrorist) issue do not wish to accept it. Otherwise, how could they be
able to reap the benefits from the developed western counties, while
staying there as political refugees in those countries? No war means No
more staying there in comfort.

I believe that no Tamil living (I think except the ones living in Tamil Nadu) in any other part of the world, let it be in India, Singapore, Malaysia, Fiji etc or the ones that
are barking from those places like United Kingdom, Canada, Australia
and other developed countries have such privileges and benefits, like
the ones that are enjoyed by the minority Sri Lankan Tamils, while
living in as a minority as well in those places. If that is what, one
calls the discriminatory practices of the majority Sinhalese against
the minority Sri Lankan Tamils, then either the person does not know
the meaning of the word Discrimination or he is a hypocrite.

Thai Pongal is a declared public holiday in Sri Lanka but it is not in India today.

Ask yourself why and then you will realize that Sri Lanka is the best place for any minority to live.

This was written and appeared in the Daily New newspaper in Sri Lanka in Mid 2000.

I am reposting this not to engage in any debate or arguments again but simply for the benefit of a few who have shown sign of  " Selective Amnesia " after the recent Presidential election in 2015.