It ceases to amaze me that Sri Lanka being such a small country, with a few ethnicities cannot learn to love and respect one another despite minor differences. It saddens me even more that certain people don’t realize that we went through so much of bloodshed with a war that lasted 30 years. We grew up with it. We knew the suffrage that came along with it. Why does it seem like we are heading in the same direction again? Is it because we love violence as a nation? Is it because living without violence seems less challenging for us people? What is it that makes us turn against each other on this beautiful, island nation?

All my life, I haven’t really understood the difference between ethnicities because I was constantly surrounded by the beauty of multi-cultural diversity – be it family, school, friends or acquaintances – I have learnt to appreciate the diverse backgrounds they come from and I sincerely love them for who they are. I am thankful for the education that I received from a school my dad chose for me, not only for a good education but also a foundation to cultivate moral values and respect people from diverse backgrounds. For a family that has always supported marriages between different ethnicities forgetting caste or creed and learning to love people for who they are and not where they come from. For all my friends (near and far) from different ethnicities, I have made along the way who have taught me so much, added value to my life and supported me throughout my life. (You know who you are!) For acquaintances who have made me realize certain perceptions of life and shed their light on me to help me grow (despite their good or bad behavior towards me).

It saddens me to hear how we still have people living in the stone ages and make statements such as I won’t visit or eat from a certain place because its run by a certain ethnicity of people. Or, I hate associating people from this ethnicity because they are a minority of a country, we have more authority because our country belongs to our ethnicity – everyone else is an outsider, some say.

Why oh, why do we have to go through a repeat of what has already passed by again? Isn’t it enough? Why do we have to be selfish about our future generations? What the unborn children of this nation is bound to see.

Enough is enough.

With all that’s going on, please remember that you are responsible for every action that takes place in this island nation. You are a citizen that is responsible for the heart-ache of the situation. Take a step back and think about where your morals lie and how you practice them in your day to day lives. Because a single difference can lead to a positive consequence. A positive consequence that can help our nation survive and thrive until we are alive.