By Dhammika Herath –
Dr. Dhammika Herath
Dear Sri Lankan Citizen,
I know this is the eleventh hour, maybe too late to write this, for you will be heading to the polls that determine our nation’s future in a few hours. I am no fan of politics, particularly Sri Lankan. Even though I am a Sri Lankan we cannot exercise our franchise, as we live away from our motherland, millions of us, professionals to domestic workers, all over the globe. We are earning mighty dollars and dinars that are essential to maintain our beloved nation.
Today, our motherland is besieged by a regime, a dictator we haven’t seen since the brutal Kandyan kings. We are stripped of our privileges even though we sweat for our country, far away from loved ones in strange, hostile lands, our hard earned money to be siphoned away by the regime and its henchmen via exorbitant taxes, leading to ever increased cost of living.
We are the drivers of the nation’s economy over the last two decades, yet we do not have our basic right, right to vote, for being in a foreign land. You are living in this land, you have the opportunity to exercise your franchise within the next few hours, a right that is denied to us.
Dear citizen, fear is a terrible thing, hopelessness is an even more terrible thing to occur. These are the conditions we are living under, fear and hopelessness. That’s the tragedy we have to overcome at this eleventh hour.
We have overcome natural disasters, three wars within forty years, terrorism, famine, death and destruction thrust upon us. Now we have to confront our worst enemy, fear, and we must overcome this, no matter how difficult. As a nation we have overcame all manner of obstacles over 2500 years, which we are proud of. There is nothing much to show today about that great history, except perhaps our resilience.
Ironically, today we stand united, as a nation. We have united Tamils, Muslims and Burghers alike at a common front. This is our time for redemption from fear and mental slavery, this is our time for reconciliation, this is our time to build hope and a just society that we were longing for, for so many years.
As a nation we have produced great intellectuals, professionals, and many great human beings, who are still contributing to the advancement of humanity around the world. Wherever I go, I see a Sri Lankan working in many a field, a heart warming sight, a testament to our capacity to adapt, conquer and succeed. We are a nation, a symbol of resilience.
Dear Sri Lankan citizen, we have been given many things that we are grateful for. We have enjoyed free health care, free education and a relatively free judiciary and rule of law, which are the barometers of a just society. However, these institutions were raped, destroyed and robbed during the last five years by goons, thugs, miscreants and lumpens who must be locked away from humanity. You chose them to rule you, and this is your time to chase them away for good, and bring this beautiful country and its people back on the right path.
You have to overcome the fear of uncertainty in order to achieve this. Anxiety and fear must be defeated. Let hope triumph over fear, that’s how we can redeem ourselves from the sins we have committed in the past.
I wish you luck at this eleventh hour.
Dr.Dhammika Herath – Australia
Amarasiri / January 7, 2015
Dr. Dhammika Herath
Thank you.
I wish we had some Sri lankan writers writing the Common sense Phamplet Sri Lanka 2014 in English, Sinhala and Tamil and distribute to the Citizens.
Unfortunately, there were no Sri Lankan writers, who could do that.
Yes, getting the Sri Lankan writers to write the Common sense Pamphlet Sri Lanka 2014 or 2015 was like herding Cattle (Harak). They kept making strange noises , Baeee, Baeee and Baeee, which only the Cattle(Harak) could comprehend.
As a long and violent abuse of power, is generally the Means of calling the right of it in question (and in Matters too which might never have been thought of, had not the Sufferers been aggravated into the inquiry) and as the Medamulana Mahinda Rajapaksa Dictator of Hambantota hath undertaken in his own right, to support the Parliament in what he calls theirs, and as the good people of this country are grievously oppressed by the combination, they have an undoubted privilege to inquire into the pretensions of both, and equally to reject the usurpation of either.
The cause of Sri Lanka is in a great measure the cause of all mankind. Many circumstances hath, and will arise, which are not local, but universal, and through which the principles of all Lovers of Mankind are affected, and in the Event of which, their Affections are interested. The laying a Country desolate with Fire and Sword, declaring War against the natural rights of all Sri Lankan Citizens, and extirpating the Defenders thereof from the Face of the Earth, is the Concern of every Man to whom Nature hath given the Power of feeling; of which Class, regardless of Party Censure, is the author.
Therefore, Vote to retire the Medamulana Mahinda Rajapaksa and his Family Dynasty.
Common Sense (pamphlet)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Sense_%28pamphlet%29
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Sukirihamy_Desparity / January 7, 2015
Simply great- We the right thinking ones are always with you.
All my worries are whether the decisive rural folks have got the message through.So far in each election, the rural ones have only focused on their timely emotions and voted for the person they thought were appropriate. This time, I believe the rest 10% need to be covered will include more of their votes. Then only a election victory for MS will be certain.
I pray may all those be blessed with their conscience for the future of the country. Reelection of MR will be almost like to pave avenues for a Zimbawian/indonesian/egyptian/lybian kind of srilanka.
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Spring Koha / January 7, 2015
To Dr Herath’s timely message, I respond with the abridged words of a song from far distant youth. This might well be be Mahinda’s song come Thursday night.
Days of devils, kings and clowns
bana days and birthday tunes
Vaticans and wishing wells
Ariliya breakfasts, moods, and Junes
Silly jokes and monkeyshines
cut outs on a stage
Round and round the speeches go
Time to turn the page
This will be our last song together
Words will only make us cry
This will be our last song together
There´s no other way to say good-bye
Misty faces, far off places
Came and danced across the stage
Mervyn, Duminda and BBS down´s
The sounds that chased away the greens
Yesterday is yesterday
The past is dead and gone
Nostalgia just gets in the way
Let´s stop hanging on
This will be our last song together
Words will only make us cry
This will be our last song together
There´s no other way to say good-bye
Now we go our separate ways
from the world we used to know
memories of redundant speeches
An echo on the radio
Those happy days are over now
Those days of you and me
Now we know that breaking up is
Really hard to do
This will be our last song together
Words will only make us cry
This will be our last song together
There´s no other way to say good-bye
There´s no other way to say good-bye…
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with profuse apologies to Neil Sedaka.
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