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countries for illegal immigrants, can be excused for wondering why a Sri Lankan would want to be in that sorry category.
Just look at what he is leaving behind! His capital city is sparkling clean, green, landscaped with plenty of facilities for outdoor activity. The state-of-the-art stadiums in which the locals indulge their passion for English games like cricket and rugby surely point to a high quality of life. In the race to develop, culture has not been cast aside; many old buildings, some even going back to colonial times, are being restored patiently, now becoming posh shops and restaurants.
Colombo is even free of that wearisome South Asian throng; in fact there is a sense of a laid-back, sparsely-populated holiday town about the place. There are no beggars or stray dogs freely roaming the streets as they do in most third world countries. To top it all, for a politician (even if only visiting for a short time) it is paradise; the natives will spare no comfort or courtesy where the wielders of power are concerned. Even their vehicles will have the right of way, always. Apparently, it is called gratitude in the local parlance.
Air of fantasy
But when examined in the light of hard facts this initial image of a wholesome country assumes an air of fantasy. In reality it is a country which many want to leave. In addition to the million or so blue collar workers in the Middle East (and other countries), thousands of young middle class Sri Lankans are in the long queue to migrate. Thousands more are clamouring for places in educational institutions in developed countries, an opportunity their country does not obviously offer. And these are only those who want to migrate in a regular, legitimate way.
Those who overstay their visas or attempt to enter developed countries illegally perhaps outnumber the legitimate immigrants many times over. During the conference, Australia, which is just a boat ride away for refugees from Sri Lanka, thought it fit to donate petrol boats to shore-up the host’s naval capabilities so that the endless stream of “boat people” heading Australia way could be cut off more effectively at the source.
Some other countries even considered a humiliating “security bond” as a guarantee of return before issuing visitor visas to Sri Lankans, solemn assurances that the applicant will return to his country given no credibility by them. Obviously for many Sri Lankans the “good life” is still on the other side, over the mountain, across the sea.
Herein lies a telling social contradiction. The image created for the visitors by a spruced-up city is at variance with the more sombre assessment of its own countrymen. In the perception of those living the reality, whether it be making a decent living, obtaining a good education or just enjoying basic rights, the arrow points outward.
Barely democratic
It is said that in a democracy, the ultimate responsibility lies with the people who elect their rulers. But that surely assumes certain other essential factors; cultural, economic as well as social. In the absences of those factors, democracy can become an empty show, a mere tool in the hands of those who wield power to legitimise it.
A very obvious example would be the manner in which power is transferred from father to son or uncle to nephew in our political parties. Apparently others in the high command but outsiders to the family happily go along or think they have no option in view of the general culture surrounding them. At best, our institutions and systems are just formalities, easily manipulated or controlled, barely qualifying to be called democratic.
‘Powerful people’
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, known as a hardliner on illegal immigrants to his country, must have looked at footage of unwelcome arrivals in his country many times. Humble, confused, pleading, it is hard to imagine a more demeaning status than an illegal shuffling about in the strange environment. His future now depends on convincing the country whose laws he had violated at entry that he cannot go back to his own.
Abbott would have been surprised to note that the illegal’s fellow citizens at home, particularly when in a group, are quite a different proposition altogether. In their own territory these “people” are immensely more powerful than they could ever imagine to be in Australia. What Abbot in Australia would contemptuously dismiss as a mob are a power unto themselves in Sri Lanka.
In Australia if the “people” attempt to block a train or any other public transport, the result most likely would be arrest followed by charges in court. During the conference Abbott would have also heard of the fracas in front of the Head Office of the UNP, the main Opposition party, where one set of “people” clashed with another set of “people”.
If the Australian Prime Minister did a bit of research into “people” activity in this country, he would have learnt that only a few weeks ago a “people’s” march from the scenic beach town of Tangalle was disrupted violently by another “people” in Matara, a town on the way. Had Abbott compared notes with David Cameron, his counterpart from the UK, he would have learnt of more “people’s” demonstrations in the northern parts of the island, an area for which the Englishman has developed a liking apparently, this time about other “people” who had disappeared.
Democracy in action?
It could be argued that this is all democracy in action. In a certain setting there may be no better alternative. Given their limitations, it is probably the best music that this orchestra can produce. But perhaps the real vote on the whole system takes place somewhere else. In the hearts and minds of the “people” waiting patiently for a foreign visa, the voting is already done.
Tony Abbott is obviously a hard-headed man. He knows that the splendorous welcome given him notwithstanding, good wishes alone will not protect his country’s shores. There is much happening or not happening in this country which will compel many more “people” to seek greener pastures. The “people,” they are on the move!
(The writer is an Attorney-at-Law and a freelance writer.)
