Find suitable reasons of distrust that grew between the Sinhala and Tamil Community?
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Answer:
On to your right is the vast expanse of the deep blue sea. From the South-East tip of this island country, Arugam Bay, all the way up to Point-Pedro, the northern most point of real estate in Sri Lanka, the continuous break of wave after wave on the high waters of the Indian ocean reminds one of the relentless sagas of life represented by a ferocious ocean whose mysteries and splendor never cease to frighten the timid and charm the eternal voyager.
When speeding on the highway from Kumana, the birds’ sanctuary bordering on the Yala-east wildlife reservation, to the virgin beaches on the eastern coast, one is encompassed by the sheer delight of depthless seas and the caressing breeze. It is enlivening the spirit and rejuvenating the physique.
On your left, spanning the landside from Sammanthurai almost all the way up to Akkraipattu is one single field of paddy, like an enormous green carpet laid on earth, lush and opulent, stretching as far as the eye could see. This, the Southeastern land, they say, is the rice bowl of Sri Lanka. What is visible to the naked eye is the proud product of months’ and years’ labor, from ground preparation to selection of the seed, nursing the young crop, protecting it from wild animals, releasing the precious water from the field channels and organizing the harvesting festivals, recreating the cultural grandeur of a farmer community of years gone by. This stretch of paddy is miles long and contributes to the vast granaries in the country year after year.
When the traveller reaches further north, he is greeted by the palm trees planted in the middle of the road, resembling a relatively richer community and on either side of the path are beautifully maintained shops whose facades reflect cleanliness and posh upkeep. While the inventories inside these shops might include from dates imported from the Middle-East to strollers from Singapore and Thailand. Prices are kept at reasonable levels which are affordable to a middleclass community whose path in this part of the land is undoubtedly showing an upward climb. Labor sold in the Middle-East is turned into goods and services provided to a thriving and grateful community. This is Kaththankudi, an oasis in the eastern deserts of Sri Lanka.
From the rocky shores of Arugam Bay to the ancient Swami Rock in Trincomalee, not just one single story, but many tales of woe and success are written and told by the usual inhabitants in the Eastern coast villages. From abject poverty to the riches of modern day amenities, a cohesive group of men and women mostly sharing one faith- Islam- is reaping the yields of exported labor and inter-community exchange of commerce. Muslims, like their Sinhalese brethren, too have been captivated by the whirlwinds of corrupt politics; they have been deceived by their politicians while the poorest of the poor, whether Sinhalese, Tamil or Ceylon Moor, still look to government for free goodies and friendly intervention.
The machinery of government is keeping a stranglehold on their spirit of enterprise and thwarting the free life of a free-market-oriented entrepreneur. Nationalization that started in the mid-fifties and continued with each Sri Lanka Freedom Party-led regime killed the free enterprising spirit of a free people. The ‘common man’ who gained a sense of ‘identity’, thanks mainly to the ’56 transformation, began thinking that nationalization was a gift from the heavens. In a cruel irony, nationalization made private sector-owned profit-making ventures into state-owned loss-generating enterprises. Profit became a by-word for a social and economic sin.
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