Every morning we wake up and switch on the TV -- and we are constantly bombarded with minute-to-minute updates of two cataclysmic events hogging the international media without any respite.
While the Russia-Ukraine war has sucked Europe as well as the US into an intractable quagmire, near our home, the unravelling of Sri Lanka as a nation-state has sent tremors in the region, forcing the neighbouring countries to go back to their economic drawing board. Both the events threaten unforeseen impacts and far-reaching consequences, not only for the nations concerned but the entire globe, the effects of which are already felt all over the world, including in Bangladesh.
Love at first sight
I served as Bangladesh High Commissioner in Sri Lanka for four years from 1998 to 2002. I fell in love with the country as soon as I landed there. There was also a sense of nostalgia creeping into my memory. In the 50s and early 60s, as we were growing up into our adolescent hood scouting for sources of entertainment, one of the most favourite pastimes was listening to the mesmerizing Hindi songs aired on radio Ceylon, with magnetizing effect on not only us but also our elders, especially our mothers, aunts, and sisters.
I also fell in love with Sri Lanka because of its appealing natural beauty, the numerous sandy beaches, the unspoiled colonial architecture, the warm hospitality and welcoming nature of the people, and the most amazing variation of the weather. While in the south of the country, you come across tourists and locals enjoying sunny beaches, barely covering their bodies, at the same time if you go up to the north in the hilly towns of Nooralia and adjacent areas, you will need to cover yourself with warm clothing both during day and night.
A country comprising an area of about 66,000 square kilometres, which is less than half of Bangladesh, it is truly endowed with heavenly gifts, attracting millions of foreign tourists every year. No wonder, the country was named by early European explorers as Serendip Island. Yet, one could smell a nauseous smell that, perhaps, not everything was right.
I too felt, with much dismay, the conflicting nature of the country in my day-to-day life. I made friends down from the highest level of the authorities to the ordinary people, including ministers, politicians, businessmen, etc, and listened to their socio-political and economic narratives which were affecting the country and their personal life. As time passed by, I also found myself embroiled in this unavoidable vortex, carrying those memories -- some pleasant and some painful for the rest of my life.
A gemstone locket or a teardrop?
The optic of the geographical shape of Sri Lanka also gives a mysteriously analogous image of a gemstone locket or a teardrop. It roils my mind, given the country's spiritual attachments to many mythological beliefs and curses, whether it truly is under the spell of an evil spirit that plays with the fate of the nation?
There has been a plethora of information in the print and electronic media since the crisis erupted in Sri Lanka and I am not going to repeat them here. What I will, however, try to attempt is to draw the attention of the readers to some of the analogies that might find the latent causes and how to address the present situation.
Memories and analogies
Located in the central highlands of Sri Lanka, is a high mountain, bearing a legendary footprint on its peak, to which followers of all religions find a common attachment.
To the Muslims and Christians, it’s known as Adam’s peak, for it’s believed that it bears the footprint of Adam as he stepped on Earth following his banishment from heaven. The Hindus describe it as Krishna (Sri) Pada and the Buddhists hold that it’s the footprint of the Buddha. In a deeper thought, the mountain, to me, appeared as a symbol of unity and unanimity showered upon the people like a divine blessing, only if they could translate the hidden symbolism and practice in their real-life.
The opening of a SAARC Cultural Centre in Candy, sometime in 1999, which was inaugurated by then President Chandrika Kumaratunga, was also attended by Foreign Minister Laksman Kadirgama of Sri Lanka and the heads of the missions of all the SAARC countries based in Colombo, including myself. Following the opening ceremony, a luncheon was hosted by President Kumaratunga and I was given the honour of sitting beside her.
Finding myself in an envied place, I thought of manufacturing some interesting story to engage her in meaningful discourse with me. I slowly started.
“Excellency, I have a personal philosophy of Sri Lanka that I wish to share with you. I, as a Muslim, tend to subscribe to the legend about Adam's peak that he landed on this peak from heaven.”
Quoting the Holy Scripture to add certain spiritual weightage to the story, I told her that we believe Adam was banished from heaven for having eaten the forbidden fruit. However, God realized that banishing Adam from heaven was fitting retribution for his transgressions, but sending him to an unknown, hostile, and unfamiliar place will constitute a double penalization for one sin.
So, a chunk of heaven was sent along with Adam on this planet; I told her that I believed that chunk of heaven was Sri Lanka. President Chandrika was gasping with amazement and she covered her mouth with her palm and said to me delightfully, “Ashraf, that’s such a beautiful story, I have never heard it in my life.”
She then requested everyone around the lunch table to be quiet and asked me to repeat the story. After I finished, she posed a question: “Ashraf, then please tell me why we have hell in the North?”
I kept a diplomatic silence but one of the heads of mission commented, “Excellency, heavens are made by God but hells are created by men.”
There was silence.
Lee Quan Yew’s warning
I served in our Singapore mission from 1989 to 1993, when Mr Lee Quan Yew was the prime minister. In his annual State of the Nation address, he would unfailingly repeat his experience of visiting Colombo for a few days in 1955, on his way back home from the UK after finishing his law studies, by ship.
He said he was so taken and impressed by Colombo’s all-enveloping developments that he wanted to develop Singapore to replicate the Sri Lanka model. In the next breath, he would also say, look at the country now, in total mess and tatters. He cautioned his countrymen not to follow Sri Lanka’s route -- creating racial and religious tension at the peril of the nation.
Japan, more than a century ago
While I was serving in Japan as ambassador, then Prime Minister Taro Aso told me a story, reflecting how deeply Japan valued their international credibility, reputation, and trustworthiness as a nation. He said that before the Japan-Russo war in 1904, Japan had entered into a limited defense agreement with the UK, including financial assistance. As the war broke out with Russia, Japan needed to build warships to complement its defense capabilities but it lacked the necessary wherewithal to procure the ships.
Though it received financial assistance from the UK under the defense agreement, it was not adequate, thereby forcing the country to borrow money from the London financial market under a strict term of repayment. The year-long war which Japan won, though at a huge cost, was a phenomenon known as a Pyrrhic victory.
Nonetheless, the country had to keep its international commitments by repayment of its debt in due time. As the nation’s coffers were nearly dried up, the government appealed to the people to extend their support. The response was spontaneous and enormous from all walks of life, including the women turning their ornaments and jewellery to the government to save the nation’s image and prestige.
Lessons and the future
I recalled these three episodes as I believe that there are certain moral lessons:
(a) Every nation is endowed with a certain divine treasure and it's up to the inhabitants on how they unearth and use them to the benefit of all
(b) There should be total harmony and unity among the diverse demographic groups for the greater interest of the nation
(c) Alongside the government, the people of the country have a moral responsibility to come forward to rescue it from an ongoing crisis.
As a friend of Sri Lanka, it pains me to watch the country descending into an international object of pity and ignominy. The country is undoubtedly blessed with a huge pool of talented people. It's only the necessary prudence they need to deploy to pull the country together.
Mr Ranil Wickramasinghe is a five-time prime minister and scion of an old and elite political family. He is a well-educated, learned , and experienced political leader. His appointment as the new prime minister is not only an expression of the sincerity of President Rajapakse to pull the country out of the deep morass it's in, but also raises hope of unifying the nation to address the worst existential challenges Sri Lanka is facing since its independence.
Equally, Mr Wickramasinghe has demonstrated his courage as a national leader to take over the cudgel of the nation at its most critical time. He sits literally at the mouth of a volcano, daring to put his decades of reputation and achievements into a test, a test which has the potential of turning him into a great leader in the nation's history or be pushed to irrelevancy like his predecessor.
Ashraf ud Doula is a former Secretary and served as Bangladesh Ambassador to several countries, including Sri Lanka.