Colombo today is far more wall-less than it used to be three years ago. It has been a gradual and deliberate process. Colombo is now re-landscaped, looks prettier and more livable. A lot of money has been spent on roads, pavements and such, but if the ‘livability’ factor has been enhanced by one thing, it is the decision to bring down walls.
It was all spurred by the removal of terrorist-threat, a
factor that has produced many positive outcomes. In short, ‘wall-less’ is a product of
‘fear-less’. There are two wall-related
anecdotes that are relevant here.
About a year ago a family purchased a plot of land near our
house. They started building. One day,
chit-chatting with my neighbor, our conversation wandered to the issue of
security. We’ve lived there for a little
more than 10 years. There have been the occasional and petty theft; a bucket, a
pair of shears, mammoty and a few missing coconuts. Nothing ‘major’. And we have walls. Not high ones. But I’ve realized that height seldom
forbids. I told my neighbor that if
anything can stop a thief it is good-heartedness.
The point is that there is no such thing as ‘100%
secure’. When the walls around the
National Archives came down my father was more than a little worried
considering the invaluable documents the building contains. My response: ‘Walls are only one particular
security device.’
We live in a world where privacy is not obtained by brick and
mortar. Roofs do not shelter. Insurance is ‘after fact’ and companies who
promise much get cagey when asked to deliver.
We can have the most advanced security system in the world with
sophisticated surveillance cameras and an army of security guards, but are
private lives can still be invaded, especially if one uses devices such as
mobile phones, iPads, laptops etc. One
can be hacked without a machete, let’s put it that way.
We cherish our privacy.
We may think we are safe and cocooned from prying eyes. Indeed we may even die believing that we took
our secrets to our graves. The truth is, at best, we can never really be
sure.
If those who really want to see what we look like when are
unclothed, metaphorically speaking of course, can do so without breaking a
sweat, there’s little we can do about it.
If there are things we do that we don’t want people to know about the
chances are that we are not honest to ourselves and to the world. More seriously there are lives we don’t want
to lose by living other lives ‘in secret’.
If we have something to hide the chances are that it is something which,
if others get to know, would embarrass us.
In this day and age, then, embarrassment is something we
cannot count out. So if you can’t take
the hit, you should not step up to the plate, to use a baseball metaphor.
It’s not just about private lives though. Those who use invisible pathways that no wall
or security guard can block are not always interested in discovering dirty
secrets. Many such peeping toms are actually mining information that can yield
rich rewards. It is one thing to be seen
naked in your shower (metaphorically) and quite another to have your wardrobe
stolen (again, speaking metaphorically).
Naturally, the better endowed have more to lose. Sadly, wealth seems to come with an unwelcome
party-pooper, ‘threat’. That companion
has many eyes, is nimble of foot and has a hundred fingers, all delicate, and
is armed with ingenuity. You have to
employ all resources just to make sure he doesn’t get up to any mischief and
this means you really can’t entertain your rich friend.
We have come far, as a species. Have we come too far? The walls are coming down, but are other,
invisible, contraptions coming up in their place? Do they offer relief or more headaches? Are
we lesser prisoners? How do we free
ourselves? Can we un-wall like we
un-friend or is it that our fixations have taken possession of our minds? Can we let go?
Colombo looks so much prettier, wall-less. Maybe we could ‘let go’ too, un-wall
ourselves, bit by bit, and be terror-free thereby, i.e. the reverse process of
the city.
msenevira@gmail.com
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