‘Black July’ is remembered and remembered differently and
for varying purposes by those who remember.
Whatever these differences may be there is commonality in agreement on
one thing: it should never happen again.
There’s nothing to say that ‘Black July’ will not
recur. There’s nothing to say that it
must. On the other hand, if it is not to
happen again, it is important to remember what happened. It is important to acknowledge that it
inflicted a deep wound on the nation, the people who make it, their collective
and individual memory; a wound that has bled into many other lacerations. This has been a common view expressed by many
across the political spectrum.
The President has in no uncertain terms said that no pains
will be spared to make sure it won’t happen again. The people have had to learn the hard way
that allowing emotion to overcome reason does not alleviate fear and
anxiety. They can unlearn fast,
however. And this is why it is important
to remember and to resolve to prevent repetition.
The Nation, calls for remembrance, learning and the cultivating of resolve. To
prevent.
[Lead story of 'The Nation', Sunday July 23, 2013]
‘Black July’ is remembered and remembered differently and
for varying purposes by those who remember.
Whatever these differences may be there is commonality in agreement on
one thing: it should never happen again.
1 comments:
Sadly Black July is more likely to happen again than not happen. The next generation might forget the sufferings but would be reminded only of the grievances. I don't recognise many changes. For instance, our forces should be making a conscious effort to recruit personnel to reflect the diversity in our society. I have never heard of a Tamil policemen in Colombo even though a significant proportion of the population are Tamils. If employers are reluctant to employ other races, we should legislate as they do in other countries with a diverse population. Our lawmakers have got their priorities in a muddle. E.g. They have expended so much effort to suspend Dual Nationality for negligible objectives but sustain considerable losses in revenue and other benefits. E.g. It is laudable we have joined to combat the international war on money laundering but our legislations only cause inconvenience to the innocents. E.g. A foreign investor can accumulate Rupees in his Special Investor Account and repatriate it back home but he cannot spend it in Sri Lanka except for broker fees and investments. This affects only former Sri Lankans who might want to spend it on relatives etc.
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