January 8, 2007
Chasm of Community – Part 2
A street sign in the three languages of Sri Lanka: Sinhala (top),
Tamil (middle), English.
When one travels abroad one of the first experiences that makes
one fully feel like a foreigner is the lack of knowledge of the
language. You walk around and hear people having conversations
with each other, but you don’t understand a word. You look
at signs that tell you the name of a road or restaurant, yet you
can’t read a single letter or symbol. You speak your own
language when asking for directions, expecting somebody to understand,
but only receiving confused looks or an answer that is a combination
of sounds that will do nothing in helping you get to your destination.
The second great divide
Sri Lanka is in the midst of an ongoing ethnic conflict that
many say truly began in 1815, when British colonialism instigated
the separation of ethnic groups by giving them access to different
resources of the land. This inequality led to tension and the
formation of militant groups among the Sinhalese, Tamils, and
Muslims. The tension grew even after the British granted the country
limited self-rule in 1931 and its independence in February, 1948.
But one would expect tension to rise when, in 1956, Parliament
introduced the Official Language Act No.33, also known as the
Sinhala Only Act. This was the first time in the legislative history
of Sri Lanka that an official language was declared. Sinhala,
being the language spoken by the majority, the Sinhalese, was
to be the “one official language of Ceylon [the former name
of Sri Lanka].” Though other legislative provisions were
later made for the Tamil language, making it a national language
in 1978, Sinhala remained the official language and was used in
court and administrative proceedings throughout the country. Tamil
eventually became an official language in 1987, but its use as
a language of administration was restricted to the north and the
east, the areas where the majority of Tamils and Tamil-speaking
people reside.
So as I sat and listened to a symposium called “Sinhala
Only Legacy and Its Impact on the Sri Lankan Society” a
few weeks ago, I realized I was not the only foreigner in this
country. Tamils, living outside of the northern and eastern parts
of the country, are, like me, also unable to understand the president’s
address, the news, or what a police officer is shouting at them
in Sinhala. They are aliens in their own land. They are expected
to be able to communicate in Sinhala when approached by government
officials, or they may be questioned. Yet these officials, and
Sinhalese in general, have no need or desire to learn Tamil.
Many questions were raised in my mind during this symposium.
How can one truly feel a part of his/her own country when the
barrier of language is the first thing separating him/her from
feeling that sense of belonging? How does one form a cultural
identity in this situation without completely separating from
the other? How can one express his/her thoughts to those who can
initiate changes, when his/her language is not always understood?
So in some ways, one can understand why the ethnic conflict increased
and broke out into a full-scale civil war between the government
and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 1983, and lasted
20 years, until finally a ceasefire agreement was signed. But
to this day, as two bombs exploded on different passenger buses
last weekend to the north and south of Colombo, the violence continues.
It is an ongoing debate, and I write this as an onlooker still
learning the facts, but the point that the participants of this
symposium raised was that some sort of action needed to be taken.
How can the government better serve all of its citizens, especially
in regards to language and inclusion? How can all people of Sri
Lanka claim and embrace the same identity, yet preserve the culture
of their ancestry? The LTTE (which is not the voice for all Sri
Lankan Tamils) has declared that they need a separate state in
order for this to happen, while others argue that only a devolution
of power is needed, in order to appease the LTTE, but not a separation
of the country.
I cannot offer solutions to this conflict, but merely write to
inform others of the situation here. To explain what many Sri
Lankans my age have been dealing with their entire lives: war,
violence, instability, confusion of identity, increased presence
of security forces, a longing for normalcy. Though many of them
continue to live their daily lives, scarcely feeling the affects
of this situation, I know many others feel it daily to an extreme
I cannot even imagine. And these are the people that are on my
heart and mind, a people who deserve as much of a voice as any
other and to be loved as much as any other.
So what will 2007 bring? One can only hope it is hearts of understanding
and cooperation, not only in Sri Lanka, but throughout the world.
Peace,
Chenoa Stock |
