{"id":96187,"date":"2013-07-20T02:05:23","date_gmt":"2013-07-19T20:35:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=96187"},"modified":"2013-07-27T03:23:26","modified_gmt":"2013-07-26T21:53:26","slug":"hamber-datesa-racist-slur-now-has-a-price-tag-in-sri-lanka-during-ramadan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/hamber-datesa-racist-slur-now-has-a-price-tag-in-sri-lanka-during-ramadan\/","title":{"rendered":"Hamber Dates: A Racial Slur Now Has A Price Tag In Sri Lanka During Ramadan"},"content":{"rendered":"

At least thanks to Cargills, ingrained racism in Sri Lanka now has a price tag. 1kg of \u2018Hamber\u2019 dates costs Rs. 547. Surely, the ‘lowest price’ for the defamation of a community, ‘on your way home’, writes the\u00a0Groundivews<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>We were surprised to see, especially during Ramadan, \u2018Humber\u2019 dates for sale at Cargills Food City, which on the bill of sale comes up as \u2018Hamber\u2019 dates. We are told these dates are on sale at a number of Cargills Food City supermarkets across Colombo, and bought ours at the outlet down Duplication Road, the Groundviews said.\u00a0The term \u2018hambaya<\/a>‘<\/em><\/span>\u00a0and its variant \u2018hamba<\/a>‘<\/em><\/span>, in Sinhalese, is a well-known and highly derogatory term referring to Muslims<\/p>\n

The word ‘Hamba’ or ‘\u0dc4\u0db8\u0dca\u0db6’ certainly smacks of a racist slur. It’s been used enough of times in recent hate campaigns by the Bodu Bala Sena and affiliated groups to bring it permanently out of the rather murky folds of history it had retreated to, giving way to the more civilized slur (if such a thing exists) ‘Thambiya’ , writes\u00a0Abdul Halik<\/a><\/span>\u00a0.<\/p>\n

“For one thing the spellings, ‘Humber’ smacks more of an English Lord than a coastal Moor. The ‘er’ at the end brings it. A packager’s attempt at adding some refinement to the brand perhaps? completely failing due to a lack of cultural awareness or utter ignorance? Or a sinister attempt at a subtle disguise and fallback? And Cargills hedging and dodging the matter could be a simple case of PR paralysis. Sri Lanka\u00a0isn’t alien<\/a><\/span>\u00a0to those,”\u00a0Abdul Halik wrote in his Blog Going Global<\/a><\/span> .<\/p>\n

When the Vikalpa.org<\/a><\/span> called the Cargills seeking a clarification for the usage of the word ‘Humber’, but no clear answer was given. Listen here<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

In the video below you can hear a Buddhist monk was making racist remarks against Muslims and Tamils. The\u00a0Buddhist monk who threatened police officers and used\u00a0\u2018Sudda Sinhala filth\u2019 including the word ‘Hambaya’ . The monk was identified as Kirulapona Nanda.<\/p>\n