Features
The tragedy and power of a single story
by Ruwanthie de Chickera
“And always, after the dust of the war rhetoric settles, after the bitter old men, who drove the masses to madness, grow senile or die off; the world looks around, blinks and realises it has lost far too much, yet again, to death or to hatred.”
I am sick and tired of people not taking a stand on Palestine because they fear it is a ‘complex’ issue; they don’t know enough of the history, they are neither Israeli or Palestinian or they have Palestinian, Israeli, Arab, Jewish, Christian, American, German friends, colleagues or relatives…
To me, the situation is so horrific, so bleak, so desperate that any (previous) complexity has now been stripped away. There is nothing complicated or nuanced about taking a stand against occupation, against apartheid, against starving out a population, against indiscriminate violence, against genocide. I thought we, as a generation, were bringing up our children in a world where these were absolute, uncompromisable values.
I even wish we were still at a point where we were actually dealing with a complex issue — a problem that had multiple conflicting angles, that needed to be pondered on, deliberated; that required bilateral compromise or mediation; that was still at that crossroad where thoughtful negotiation could lead us away from the precipice.
Unfortunately, we are far past that post. We have fallen off the precipice of complexity and are now being confronted with the stark singularity of needless mass murder. The problem we face, as a world community, is now horrifyingly simple. At this moment, in Gaza, a ferociously armed military, urged on by an unapologetically racist regime, backed by the world’s largest arms dealers, funded by the most powerful nations and protected by the world’s most powerful media organisations, is systematically bombing and destroying a sliver of land inhabited mostly by stateless, displaced people, the majority of whom are children.
Just as the problem is horrifyingly stark, the path being taken is also horrifyingly clear. Before us lies systematic killing, more killing, even more killing and then the possible weight of yet another genocide.
Complex problems are a luxury. They require some level of parity. So, for the sake of peace, and despite the enormous disparity of power between the Israeli State and the Palestinian people, I would even grant that this was a complex issue right up to the point of the Hamas attack on October 7th. After decades of violence, subjugation and humiliation meted out to the Palestinian people by the Israeli state, by settlers and by the military, Hamas’ latest retaliation was terrible and violent. Civilians were gunned down. Adults and children were taken hostage. The problem is complex because, while it is impossible to condone what Hamas did, it is possible to understand why they did it.
If, in response to this attack, the Israeli government had paused to reflect on the self-defeating trajectory of violence; if it had found the courage and the integrity to denounce this path and chosen, instead, to prioritise, the safety of its own citizens taken hostage, negotiate for their release in exchange for the 5,000-odd Palestinian prisoners it is holding; if it had agreed to dialogue, to finding a just resolution to a complex problem confronting two wounded peoples; if any of this had happened, this problem would have remained a complex one. There would have been different ways to interpret what the next step ought to be, which party was contributing to the solution and who was exacerbating the problem etc…
Instead, the Israeli govt. chose (I would say gleefully) the most violent response conceivable — insisting that for every Israeli life taken, several Palestinians must die (even at the cost of more Israeli lives in the process), cutting the supply of water, food and electricity to an impoverished (largely child) population of 2 million trapped in Gaza and proceeding to bomb it continuously for over two weeks now.
This response has plummeted this tragic and complex story to a level where there now is only one telling of it. A single story of the systematic destruction of one people by another, across a great and deep imbalance of power.
Throughout history, the greed and evil of (often a handful of) human beings have brought us, repeatedly, to low points such as this. Points where the scales are so imbalanced, that, after it all, there has been only one story that could ever be told.
The destruction of the First Nation people, the Aboriginals, and other indigenous people by colonisers; the slave trade; the Holocaust; the Rwandan genocide; the ethnic cleansing of the Kurds; the genocide against the Rohingya; the war crimes at the end of Sri Lanka’s civil war; all these were low points in history where, at least with time, a single story of unmatched and terrible violence has emerged.
And always, after the dust of the war rhetoric settles, after the bitter old men, who drove the masses to madness, grow senile or die off; the world looks around, blinks and realises it has lost far too much, yet again, to death or to hatred.
Within all of these single stories that we inherited, there would have existed contradictions and complexities, whether genuine or manufactured, which — due to the scale of the tragedy, the obviousness of the crime, the enduring inhumanness of the intent, the power imbalance — have ultimately been reduced to irrelevance. No one is interested in pointing fingers at a few Jews who might have killed Nazis, no one tells the stories of slave men who may have been driven to violence, no one wants to know if the First Nation people really were the first to inhabit the land they lived in. No amount of ‘complexity’ can change the shape of the scar left behind after a generation of people are killed.
Today, if the Israeli state, backed by America, the UK and Europe, are allowed to proceed down this path, the world will inherit the weight of another single story of colossal tragedy.
How to solve the larger, more complex problem I don’t know. What I do know are simple lessons I have learnt from history — that violence begets violence and bigotry begets bigotry. Even if the Israeli state succeeds in killing or forcibly expelling the Palestinian people from Gaza (and, maybe, after that The West Bank), they will be left with a new generation of Palestinian children with even stronger reasons to hate Israel. They would correspondingly inherit an even more paranoid Israeli state, whose most violent and extreme citizens will continue to live their lives in fear or by violence. This kind of existence ultimately implodes, and destroys itself. History has taught us this.
Ironically, the loss of life is a problem one can leave behind. The loss of humanity is a disease one carries on. It pervades one’s family, one’s relationships, one’s mind, life and legacy.
This, again, is a larger problem for more complex times. At this moment, we must recognise that the crimes being committed in Gaza; while being perpetrated or permitted by self-serving cohorts within the Israel state, the US, UK, EU and UN; are so enormous that they weigh on our collective conscience.
We are not the first population to carry a burden of such responsibility. During slavery, during the Holocaust, during the genocide against the First Nation people, and during all the other crimes against humanity, there would have been countless numbers, not directly involved in the violence, who didn’t really believe that any of it was happening, or who believed that there was some rationale or justification to it all. People who wanted to be fair and look at ‘both sides’ — did the Jews really deserve it? were the slaves actually sub-human? did the First Nation people provoke the massacres? Most of these people who asked these questions were not inherently bad people, but at a time when resistance could have saved human lives, they chose silence and thereby endorsement. After the inevitable tragedy unfolded, everyone seemed surprised at the scale of it.
Today, there lies no excuse for not knowing. This single story of collective tragedy, shame, cowardice and hypocrisy is happening on our watch. Our children, who will inherit the world we create today, will ask us – just as we asked our parents, and they asked their parents — why did you allow this to happen? what did you do to stop it?
A single story of tragedy is an awful curse to bear. But it can be replaced by a single story of resistance. Instead of inheriting the collective shame of inaction, why can’t we all add our strength to a categorical demand right now — NO to Violence. NO to Apartheid. NO to Occupation. NEVER AGAIN to Genocide.
In order to do this we have to stop paying lip service — within our families, our offices, our religious institutions, our social initiatives — to the kind of world we want to create for ourselves and future generations. We stand on yet another starting point, yet another turning point, yet another point of no return. It holds, within it, the power to change the trajectory of a ‘complex’ problem that has plagued three generations of people over the past 75 years.
I want to end with a short anecdote. Like all over the world, in Sri Lanka too, people have been gathering together to protest the ongoing horror in Palestine. At the most recent protest I attended, I was standing next to a young, bespectacled man, who was clearly out of his comfort zone within the protest. He hardly raised his voice, he looked bewildered, but he stood with us, in the pouring rain, in the face of police resistance and intimidation, holding up a banner demanding the end to genocide. I had to ask him why he was there. His answer was not complex. It was powerfully simple. “I am a pharmacist. I watched the bombing of the hospital yesterday. I could not sleep. What is happening is wrong.”
If the courageous and empathetic Israelis whose family members were killed or taken hostage can call for peace and a cessation of hostilities, why can’t we?
If the traumatised people of Gaza, right now being bombed, are calling for peace, why can’t we?
If a timid pharmacist cannot sleep at night, how can we?
by Dr Gotabhya Ranasinghe
Senior Consultant Cardiologist
National Hospital Sri Lanka
When we sought a meeting with Hon Dr. Ramesh Pathirana, Minister of Health, he graciously cleared his busy schedule to accommodate us. Renowned for his attentive listening and deep understanding, Minister Pathirana is dedicated to advancing the health sector. His openness and transparency exemplify the qualities of an exemplary politician and minister.
Dr. Palitha Mahipala, the current Health Secretary, demonstrates both commendable enthusiasm and unwavering support. This combination of attributes makes him a highly compatible colleague for the esteemed Minister of Health.
Our discussion centered on a project that has been in the works for the past 30 years, one that no other minister had managed to advance.
Minister Pathirana, however, recognized the project’s significance and its potential to revolutionize care for heart patients.
The project involves the construction of a state-of-the-art facility at the premises of the National Hospital Colombo. The project’s location within the premises of the National Hospital underscores its importance and relevance to the healthcare infrastructure of the nation.
This facility will include a cardiology building and a tertiary care center, equipped with the latest technology to handle and treat all types of heart-related conditions and surgeries.
Securing funding was a major milestone for this initiative. Minister Pathirana successfully obtained approval for a $40 billion loan from the Asian Development Bank. With the funding in place, the foundation stone is scheduled to be laid in September this year, and construction will begin in January 2025.
This project guarantees a consistent and uninterrupted supply of stents and related medications for heart patients. As a result, patients will have timely access to essential medical supplies during their treatment and recovery. By securing these critical resources, the project aims to enhance patient outcomes, minimize treatment delays, and maintain the highest standards of cardiac care.
Upon its fruition, this monumental building will serve as a beacon of hope and healing, symbolizing the unwavering dedication to improving patient outcomes and fostering a healthier society.We anticipate a future marked by significant progress and positive outcomes in Sri Lanka’s cardiovascular treatment landscape within the foreseeable timeframe.
by Fr. Emmanuel Fernando, OMI
Jesuit Fr. Aloysius Pieris (affectionately called Fr. Aloy) celebrated his 90th birthday on April 9, 2024 and I, as the editor of our Oblate Journal, THE MISSIONARY OBLATE had gone to press by that time. Immediately I decided to publish an article, appreciating the untiring selfless services he continues to offer for inter-Faith dialogue, the renewal of the Catholic Church, his concern for the poor and the suffering Sri Lankan masses and to me, the present writer.
It was in 1988, when I was appointed Director of the Oblate Scholastics at Ampitiya by the then Oblate Provincial Fr. Anselm Silva, that I came to know Fr. Aloy more closely. Knowing well his expertise in matters spiritual, theological, Indological and pastoral, and with the collaborative spirit of my companion-formators, our Oblate Scholastics were sent to Tulana, the Research and Encounter Centre, Kelaniya, of which he is the Founder-Director, for ‘exposure-programmes’ on matters spiritual, biblical, theological and pastoral. Some of these dimensions according to my view and that of my companion-formators, were not available at the National Seminary, Ampitiya.
Ever since that time, our Oblate formators/ accompaniers at the Oblate Scholasticate, Ampitiya , have continued to send our Oblate Scholastics to Tulana Centre for deepening their insights and convictions regarding matters needed to serve the people in today’s context. Fr. Aloy also had tried very enthusiastically with the Oblate team headed by Frs. Oswald Firth and Clement Waidyasekara to begin a Theologate, directed by the Religious Congregations in Sri Lanka, for the contextual formation/ accompaniment of their members. It should very well be a desired goal of the Leaders / Provincials of the Religious Congregations.
Besides being a formator/accompanier at the Oblate Scholasticate, I was entrusted also with the task of editing and publishing our Oblate journal, ‘The Missionary Oblate’. To maintain the quality of the journal I continue to depend on Fr. Aloy for his thought-provoking and stimulating articles on Biblical Spirituality, Biblical Theology and Ecclesiology. I am very grateful to him for his generous assistance. Of late, his writings on renewal of the Church, initiated by Pope St. John XX111 and continued by Pope Francis through the Synodal path, published in our Oblate journal, enable our readers to focus their attention also on the needed renewal in the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka. Fr. Aloy appreciated very much the Synodal path adopted by the Jesuit Pope Francis for the renewal of the Church, rooted very much on prayerful discernment. In my Religious and presbyteral life, Fr.Aloy continues to be my spiritual animator / guide and ongoing formator / acccompanier.
Fr. Aloysius Pieris, BA Hons (Lond), LPh (SHC, India), STL (PFT, Naples), PhD (SLU/VC), ThD (Tilburg), D.Ltt (KU), has been one of the eminent Asian theologians well recognized internationally and one who has lectured and held visiting chairs in many universities both in the West and in the East. Many members of Religious Congregations from Asian countries have benefited from his lectures and guidance in the East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI) in Manila, Philippines. He had been a Theologian consulted by the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences for many years. During his professorship at the Gregorian University in Rome, he was called to be a member of a special group of advisers on other religions consulted by Pope Paul VI.
Fr. Aloy is the author of more than 30 books and well over 500 Research Papers. Some of his books and articles have been translated and published in several countries. Among those books, one can find the following: 1) The Genesis of an Asian Theology of Liberation (An Autobiographical Excursus on the Art of Theologising in Asia, 2) An Asian Theology of Liberation, 3) Providential Timeliness of Vatican 11 (a long-overdue halt to a scandalous millennium, 4) Give Vatican 11 a chance, 5) Leadership in the Church, 6) Relishing our faith in working for justice (Themes for study and discussion), 7) A Message meant mainly, not exclusively for Jesuits (Background information necessary for helping Francis renew the Church), 8) Lent in Lanka (Reflections and Resolutions, 9) Love meets wisdom (A Christian Experience of Buddhism, 10) Fire and Water 11) God’s Reign for God’s poor, 12) Our Unhiddden Agenda (How we Jesuits work, pray and form our men). He is also the Editor of two journals, Vagdevi, Journal of Religious Reflection and Dialogue, New Series.
Fr. Aloy has a BA in Pali and Sanskrit from the University of London and a Ph.D in Buddhist Philosophy from the University of Sri Lankan, Vidyodaya Campus. On Nov. 23, 2019, he was awarded the prestigious honorary Doctorate of Literature (D.Litt) by the Chancellor of the University of Kelaniya, the Most Venerable Welamitiyawe Dharmakirthi Sri Kusala Dhamma Thera.
Fr. Aloy continues to be a promoter of Gospel values and virtues. Justice as a constitutive dimension of love and social concern for the downtrodden masses are very much noted in his life and work. He had very much appreciated the commitment of the late Fr. Joseph (Joe) Fernando, the National Director of the Social and Economic Centre (SEDEC) for the poor.
In Sri Lanka, a few religious Congregations – the Good Shepherd Sisters, the Christian Brothers, the Marist Brothers and the Oblates – have invited him to animate their members especially during their Provincial Congresses, Chapters and International Conferences. The mainline Christian Churches also have sought his advice and followed his seminars. I, for one, regret very much, that the Sri Lankan authorities of the Catholic Church –today’s Hierarchy—- have not sought Fr.
Aloy’s expertise for the renewal of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka and thus have not benefited from the immense store of wisdom and insight that he can offer to our local Church while the Sri Lankan bishops who governed the Catholic church in the immediate aftermath of the Second Vatican Council (Edmund Fernando OMI, Anthony de Saram, Leo Nanayakkara OSB, Frank Marcus Fernando, Paul Perera,) visited him and consulted him on many matters. Among the Tamil Bishops, Bishop Rayappu Joseph was keeping close contact with him and Bishop J. Deogupillai hosted him and his team visiting him after the horrible Black July massacre of Tamils.
Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement
By Gomi Senadhira
senadhiragomi@gmail.com
“You might tell fairy tales, but the progress of a country cannot be achieved through such narratives. A country cannot be developed by making false promises. The country moved backward because of the electoral promises made by political parties throughout time. We have witnessed that the ultimate result of this is the country becoming bankrupt. Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet.” – President Ranil Wickremesinghe, 2024 Budget speech
Any Sri Lankan would agree with the above words of President Wickremesinghe on the false promises our politicians and officials make and the fairy tales they narrate which bankrupted this country. So, to understand this, let’s look at one such fairy tale with lots of false promises; Ranil Wickremesinghe’s greatest achievement in the area of international trade and investment promotion during the Yahapalana period, Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA).
It is appropriate and timely to do it now as Finance Minister Wickremesinghe has just presented to parliament a bill on the National Policy on Economic Transformation which includes the establishment of an Office for International Trade and the Sri Lanka Institute of Economics and International Trade.
Was SLSFTA a “Cleverly negotiated Free Trade Agreement” as stated by the (former) Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate on the SLSFTA in July 2018, or a colossal blunder covered up with lies, false promises, and fairy tales? After SLSFTA was signed there were a number of fairy tales published on this agreement by the Ministry of Development Strategies and International, Institute of Policy Studies, and others.
However, for this article, I would like to limit my comments to the speech by Minister Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate, and the two most important areas in the agreement which were covered up with lies, fairy tales, and false promises, namely: revenue loss for Sri Lanka and Investment from Singapore. On the other important area, “Waste products dumping” I do not want to comment here as I have written extensively on the issue.
1. The revenue loss
During the Parliamentary Debate in July 2018, Minister Samarawickrama stated “…. let me reiterate that this FTA with Singapore has been very cleverly negotiated by us…. The liberalisation programme under this FTA has been carefully designed to have the least impact on domestic industry and revenue collection. We have included all revenue sensitive items in the negative list of items which will not be subject to removal of tariff. Therefore, 97.8% revenue from Customs duty is protected. Our tariff liberalisation will take place over a period of 12-15 years! In fact, the revenue earned through tariffs on goods imported from Singapore last year was Rs. 35 billion.
The revenue loss for over the next 15 years due to the FTA is only Rs. 733 million– which when annualised, on average, is just Rs. 51 million. That is just 0.14% per year! So anyone who claims the Singapore FTA causes revenue loss to the Government cannot do basic arithmetic! Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, I call on my fellow members of this House – don’t mislead the public with baseless criticism that is not grounded in facts. Don’t look at petty politics and use these issues for your own political survival.”
I was surprised to read the minister’s speech because an article published in January 2018 in “The Straits Times“, based on information released by the Singaporean Negotiators stated, “…. With the FTA, tariff savings for Singapore exports are estimated to hit $10 million annually“.
As the annual tariff savings (that is the revenue loss for Sri Lanka) calculated by the Singaporean Negotiators, Singaporean $ 10 million (Sri Lankan rupees 1,200 million in 2018) was way above the rupees’ 733 million revenue loss for 15 years estimated by the Sri Lankan negotiators, it was clear to any observer that one of the parties to the agreement had not done the basic arithmetic!
Six years later, according to a report published by “The Morning” newspaper, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) on 7th May 2024, Mr Samarawickrama’s chief trade negotiator K.J. Weerasinghehad had admitted “…. that forecasted revenue loss for the Government of Sri Lanka through the Singapore FTA is Rs. 450 million in 2023 and Rs. 1.3 billion in 2024.”
If these numbers are correct, as tariff liberalisation under the SLSFTA has just started, we will pass Rs 2 billion very soon. Then, the question is how Sri Lanka’s trade negotiators made such a colossal blunder. Didn’t they do their basic arithmetic? If they didn’t know how to do basic arithmetic they should have at least done their basic readings. For example, the headline of the article published in The Straits Times in January 2018 was “Singapore, Sri Lanka sign FTA, annual savings of $10m expected”.
Anyway, as Sri Lanka’s chief negotiator reiterated at the COPF meeting that “…. since 99% of the tariffs in Singapore have zero rates of duty, Sri Lanka has agreed on 80% tariff liberalisation over a period of 15 years while expecting Singapore investments to address the imbalance in trade,” let’s turn towards investment.
Investment from Singapore
In July 2018, speaking during the Parliamentary Debate on the FTA this is what Minister Malik Samarawickrama stated on investment from Singapore, “Already, thanks to this FTA, in just the past two-and-a-half months since the agreement came into effect we have received a proposal from Singapore for investment amounting to $ 14.8 billion in an oil refinery for export of petroleum products. In addition, we have proposals for a steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million), sugar refinery ($ 200 million). This adds up to more than $ 16.05 billion in the pipeline on these projects alone.
And all of these projects will create thousands of more jobs for our people. In principle approval has already been granted by the BOI and the investors are awaiting the release of land the environmental approvals to commence the project.
I request the Opposition and those with vested interests to change their narrow-minded thinking and join us to develop our country. We must always look at what is best for the whole community, not just the few who may oppose. We owe it to our people to courageously take decisions that will change their lives for the better.”
According to the media report I quoted earlier, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) Chief Negotiator Weerasinghe has admitted that Sri Lanka was not happy with overall Singapore investments that have come in the past few years in return for the trade liberalisation under the Singapore-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement. He has added that between 2021 and 2023 the total investment from Singapore had been around $162 million!
What happened to those projects worth $16 billion negotiated, thanks to the SLSFTA, in just the two-and-a-half months after the agreement came into effect and approved by the BOI? I do not know about the steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million) and sugar refinery ($ 200 million).
However, story of the multibillion-dollar investment in the Petroleum Refinery unfolded in a manner that would qualify it as the best fairy tale with false promises presented by our politicians and the officials, prior to 2019 elections.
Though many Sri Lankans got to know, through the media which repeatedly highlighted a plethora of issues surrounding the project and the questionable credentials of the Singaporean investor, the construction work on the Mirrijiwela Oil Refinery along with the cement factory began on the24th of March 2019 with a bang and Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his ministers along with the foreign and local dignitaries laid the foundation stones.
That was few months before the 2019 Presidential elections. Inaugurating the construction work Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the projects will create thousands of job opportunities in the area and surrounding districts.
The oil refinery, which was to be built over 200 acres of land, with the capacity to refine 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day, was to generate US$7 billion of exports and create 1,500 direct and 3,000 indirect jobs. The construction of the refinery was to be completed in 44 months. Four years later, in August 2023 the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to cancel the agreement with the investors of the refinery as the project has not been implemented! Can they explain to the country how much money was wasted to produce that fairy tale?
It is obvious that the President, ministers, and officials had made huge blunders and had deliberately misled the public and the parliament on the revenue loss and potential investment from SLSFTA with fairy tales and false promises.
As the president himself said, a country cannot be developed by making false promises or with fairy tales and these false promises and fairy tales had bankrupted the country. “Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet”.
(The writer, a specialist and an activist on trade and development issues . )
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