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the budget be defeated in Parliament? To what extent are the leaders of
our country and their family members abusing the powers vested in them by
the people? How long will the law-enforcement authorities turn a blind eye
on the unruly behaviour of bad-boy politicians’ even-worse-boy sons? When
will the war come to Colombo again? Whose Aston Martin is it really?
These were only some of the questions
jockeying for space in the collective consciousness of the public recently
– or, perhaps, more accurately: the collective semi-conscious. For
grappling as they are with the more mundane issues of gas, fuel and power
price hikes, the people have more pedestrian matters – such as staying one
step ahead of the skyrocketing cost of living – to consciously pursue. So
much so that, sometimes, it seems as though the plebeians have chosen to
be unconscious in relation to the appalling goings-on in the nation-state
that some patrician wit once called “Paradise”. Regrettably, that wit was
only half right or partially in his or her right mind. What ails Sri Lanka
today should be everybody’s every-waking-moment concern – rather
than cannon-fodder for the cocktail circuit or fuel for conversation
pieces in refined and far-removed-from-reality Colombo drawing rooms. For
there’s no smoke without a fire somewhere…
Could it be, though, that – despite all
the evidence (or lack of it, which is even more damning in some instances)
– we, the people, are still in doubt that there is something rotten in our
state today? Why else would we tolerate, indulge and even encourage the
status quo to continue unchecked? Certainly, there are isolated
pockets of protest – primarily against the unconscionable cost of living…
after all, it would be a rich irony if any protestors had to sacrifice
their lives in a hail of police bullets to make this point. Then,
there are the socio-political issues – such as the plethora of ills that
bedevil the education system (for want of a better word)… young people
raising their voices against this are treated to a rain of tear gas and
truncheon action. But rarely would you find any conscientious citizens’
group crying out against corruption in public forums in such a way that
would indicate to the powers that be that the people have had enough. No,
the handful of civil-society groups that champion the issue do so in a
civilised manner – that is to say, at well-organised and suitably attended
seminars that cover the subject in the most thorough fashion… just
short of a call to concerted action. It appears that we are all
relying on a crusading MP and his aptly-named committee (COPE) to lead the
charge – and we will all sit on the sidelines and cheer!
Don’t get us wrong, though. Surrounded
daily by the fallout from realpolitik as we are, we cannot help but be
realistic enough to recognise that it is a dangerous affair to possess a
conscience today. Isolated and, therefore, vulnerable voices shouting out
aloud at the transgressions of the Government, the LTTE, political minions
and socio-economic cronies will serve no purpose – other than, perhaps, to
have the shadow hounds of the secret state behind the state descend like a
wolf on the fold. Nay, fellow citizens, the time has never been riper than
to nod in assent at the axiom that there is strength in unity. Then,
act in unison.
Of course, we may never have any proof
that the highest officials in this land are corrupt. If, like
deposed Filipino dictator Joseph Estrada, they return one day – having
left our shores or been effectively exiled following a defeat at a vital
election – we can indict and incarcerate them. But, by then, the fire we
now only suspect exists may have incinerated everything we possess, prize
and still fail to protect. Business community, this means you!
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