What are we doing and what should we do?
Raj Subramaniam
Over the course of the Sri Lankan Civil War, the Tamil people suffered heavy tolls. The conflict destroyed the majority of accomplishments which brought down our morale, and left us with the burdens of emotional loss and torment. In 2009, after years of conflict and as the international community stood by, our community suffered from a depletion of resources, to the point where we were left without basic necessaries such as food, water, and medical supplies. Our neighbours abroad bore witness to the situation on the ground in Sri Lanka, but failed to act as the Sri Lankan Government systemically undermined the principles of democracy and purged the Tamil peoples through sponsored-genocide.
Yesterday, May 18th 2015, Tamils gathered remembrance of the final stages of the Civil War, which saw the annexation of their homeland and the deaths of the thousands of innocent civilians. The armed struggle of the Tamils has been nothing but the result of on-going oppression by successive Sri Lankan regime, against approximately 15% of Sri Lanka’s population.
The armed struggle of the Tamil peoples, helped to recapture portions of the Tamil homeland and return it to a Tamil-run administration. However, in the aftermath of the sickening 9/11 attacks on the United States, Tamil leaders needed to rethink aspects of their defensive campaign, to avoid being dragged under the label of terrorism. The stagnant period of reflection provided the Sri Lankan regime with a golden opportunity to launch a genocidal campaign, to destroy the only group seeking support for a reasonable resolution from the international community.
May 18th, is Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day, where Tamils in Sri Lanka and the diaspora honoured those who have perished in the final stages of the Sri Lankan Civil War. Therefore, I have decided to sit down and write about next steps for the Tamil community, asking what more is left to be done. Can we afford to mourn every year at this time of the month or should we move forward into the present? Does our remembrance move down the path to the next phase of our struggle for self-determination? If we continue to allow our memories to hold us back, how will we find energy to motivate ourselves and others in the future?
In the aftermath of 2009, a small-section of the Tamil diaspora collaborated to take matters into their own hands, pushing for an international inquiry into the conflict. This group’s tireless efforts and hardwork are slowly paying off, however these issues are now stuck at the United Nations, as countries attempt to navigate the complexities of the conflict in an attempt to recognize issues of the past and present.
It has been the diaspora that championed the movement for the opening up of public-civic space, to return our society to some degree of normalcy
The western diaspora has been fortunate to have been given the freedom in their adoptive homelands, to raise issues on behalf of their kith and kin and to lobby government officials regarding support for their campaign. Fortunately, as a result of the diaspora’s efforts, countries like the Canada and Australia are slowly come to a realization regarding the importance of Tamil issues in Sri Lanka and the need for Tamil self-determination.
Nevertheless, we still have much more work to be done
The progress that we have achieved seems to be moving along slowly compared to the accelerated efforts of the Sri Lankan government to colonize our land and indoctrinate our fellow countrymen with their hateful ideology. As leaders abroad, we must recognize our weaknesses and make sure that our actions aren’t without a vision – We must never forget the actual focus of our campaign.
We cannot allow the old schools of thought to exercise control over the diaspora’s activities forever, as many of these leaders have proven that and failed before 2009. It has become quite clear that Tamils failed to win support from our western neighbours because of the preposterous actions taken by some members of the old guard. These same leaders continue to stick around, repeating their mistake over and over again. The diaspora must never forget that the majority of us arrived in the Western world as refugees. We were welcomed with open arms, given a second chance at life, and an abundance of opportunities to cultivate success. Our adoptive countries worked hard to take care of us, while we were challenged to adjust to a diverse societies and to follow new rules, yet some of the leaders in our community became preoccupied with trying to challenge new authorities and confront government. This level of ignorance and arrogance pushed our adopters away from us and deterred them from working with us for justice. Therefore, Tamils should choose to align themselves with parties based on the principles that they truly believe in, rather than using mainstream parties that have failed to grasp power.
We must shy away from the losing mainstream parties that have grasped our hands at election-time, only to abandon our interests after using us as vote bank.
It is time for Tamils to be open honest about their political beliefs. We must examine the issues and select the party that really channels our values and supports our interests. We must stand beside our Western allies and India (although some may argue that India has blood on her hands, the Central Government has now changed and reasonable policies are progressing forwards – In contrast, nothing in the Sri Lankan system has changed, except the President). We must lobby them regarding the importance of our cause and establish a diverse coalition to expedite our strategy, while working to protect those vulnerable Eelam Tamils, who are still oppressed by the Sri Lankan regime.
If we ignore our failing and continue blindly down the wrong path, we will continue to fail in our campaign for self-determination. If we don’t identify our weaknesses and continue with the same old-same-old, we will have demotivated our people both in the wider diaspora and on the ground. Basically, our dream will be completely destroyed, and we will be at fault.
We must identify the troublemakers in our community and work collaboratively with authorities figures to stop those who take advantage of our newly found home. We must work with our new governments to create effective policies that benefit everyone and protect the values that we cherish – freedom, democracy, and liberty.
Until we can prove to our adopters that we are proud and devoted citizens of their countries, we cannot prove our genuine intentions to help our kith and kin. If the Western powers struggle to understand the nature of the conflict and difficulties are fellow countrymen face in our homeland then it is up to use to educate and teach them about the true nature of our history. We don’t have oil and we aren’t a geopolitical goldmine, so we must prove to our allies the importance of our homeland and the significance of our campaign for self-determination.
For years, we listened to communist-minded leaders from our community who tried to spark action through anti-imperialist sentiments – We listened to their rhetoric, failed to question their ideology, and eventually become losers. We failed to question why those preaching socialism found comfort in indulgent lifestyles, that their philosophy explicitly opposed. The Communist powers did nothing to support us, provide us refuge, or allow us to mourn for our fallen brethren.
I strongly believe that Diaspora Tamils need to concentrate their efforts on establishing a meaningful dialogue with New Delhi and cultivating a friendship with the Modi Government. We have reached a critical turning point for diplomacy, therefore it is integral that we reestablish ties with the fatherland. India’s involvement at this time is imperative, considering that the Congress has finally stumbled and lost its footing throughout the country.
These stories of geopolitics may have some truth – We cannot continue doing things the same, expecting to reach a different result. It is fundamentally impossible.
Hence, it is now time for the old leaders to step down from the decision making process, to allow a vacuum to be created. This vacuum will allow new leaders to come forward and navigate a new path for our campaign on the roadmap.
We must take action to make our commemorative days action-oriented. Traditional events such as speeches, dramas, dances, should make way for community-productive events like tree-plantings, walkathons, blood drives, and charitable fundraising. Our struggle has never been intended to bring about harm to anyone – It had and still has very moral principles. I believe that we should work hard to win the hearts and minds of the friends and neighbours around us. Next year, we should arrange for all Tamil Students in Canada schools to conduct tree-planting events in their communities to honour those lost in May 2009. Community-productive change can be carried forward for generation and serve as a channel to help keep our cause alive.
Tamils should strive to become closer with one another and to treat each other with love and care. We must break down barriers and accommodate all Tamils within our community – those who cannot speak the ancestral language, should be respected and motivated to learn. We cannot forget that Tamils have immigrated to many countries all around the world and after generations of constant movement our language might lose traction amongst the younger citizens. Accordingly, we must establish a system where our children can engage with our traditions and culture, to integrate them with Tamil society. We cannot expect to become successful like the Jews overnight, we must work hard and learn from their successes.
Until we make drastic changes in the way in which we remember our past, we will continue to see a decline in the number of people who show up to our events. The younger generation will eventually abandon our cause, leaving our progress lost in time. It is in our best interests to open up our thinking process, to recreate, revamp, and refocus our priorities. If we follow these steps, we may become more inclusive and redirect attention back to the successes of our community and our countrymen, who remain on the ground.
On a final note,
It is true that we were defeated. It is true that we lost everything. It is true that we lost people who had helped us unchain ourselves from 500 years of slavery. It is true that we lost loved one and that people became disabled. It is also true that our oppressors never succeeded in capturing our hearts and minds.
Once we learn to motive ourselves, empower each other, and love one another, no one will succeed in bringing about our destruction. Once the diaspora wins the support of the international community of nations, our countrymen will find the much-needed power to stand-up and make use of the “civil” space to demand for justice. In conclusion, I ask each and every one of you to stand-up, if you see your fellow Tamil crying and weeping, hug them hard and tell them things will get better. Do not let anyone cry on this day, because we can’t weaken our society by weeping every year.
Raj Subramaniam
Canada
