Monday, April 01, 2013

What did we ever do?

Lovae sama ekama dayae doo daruwan veva!

I spent most of my childhood in a lovely neighborhood that consisted of people from many different races and religions. I learned more Sinhalese from my friends than from school. When we played cricket together, climbed trees and rode our bikes we had the time of our lives. It may be almost 20 years ago, but the memories remain fresh in my mind. When we did performances at school we dressed up in the traditional clothing of every different race, held hand and sung songs.... today, because of a few people spreading hatred and creating chaos we feel alienated in our own motherland.

My question is - what did we do?
Did we form terrorist organizations to threaten you?
Did we ask for a share of the land?
Did we mock you?
Did we burn down your businesses?

Weren't we also affected by the civil war?
Aren't we contributing to the economy of the country positively?
Aren't we going about our normal daily lives just like you are?
Then why do you hate us?
What did we ever do?