How Do You Know You Are Sri

Lankan ?
| by Pearl Thevanayagam
(August !" #$%" &ra'(or' )K" Sri Lanka *uar'ian+ You ,over the settee with
-olythene an' sit on ,hairs. You -ut away mi,rowave oven" li/ui'iser" (oo' -ro,essor
an' grin'er whi,h were kin'ly 'onate' by relatives toiling in 0i''le 1ast or 1uro-e
insi'e the show,ase with ,erami, -lates an' ,hina tea set whi,h you have not taken out
sin,e you got marrie' an' was -resente' with as we''ing gi(ts.
You also have a what2not with em-ty (oreign li/uor bottles alongsi'e -lasti, (lowers in
a ,erami, vase.
Starters (or a meal (or guests are always ,utlis with 0D ,hilli sau,e" -atties an' mutton
rolls although the (illing is -il,har's an' -otatoes an' not mutton. The inimitable
(inger bowls are -ro'u,e' at the table so the guests 'o not see the mayhem in the
kit,hen with all the (rying an' ,urrying. Tasselle' ,otton serviettes are a sine /ua non
an' you -rovi'e toilet -a-ers bought (or the s-e,ial o,,asion with a bu,ket in han' in
the loo so they (eel more -uri(ie' an' saniti3e'.
You invite guests (or 'inner an' even when they say they have ha' enough you -ile
their -lates re-eate'ly. You give them tea with three s-oon(ul o( sugars an' sweetene'
,on'ense' milk whi,h sti,k both your li-s together even though you may be showing
signs o( 'iabetes.
Your (ri'ge is not in the kit,hen but in the sitting room or hall where it rests with the
television. You wat,h television while entertaining guests thereby being utterly ru'e
while your little brats lie on the (loor wat,hing Tom an' 4erry or Ha ha hari hava. You
-ro'u,e -hoto albums (rom your ,hil'hoo' an' bore your guests to 'eath.
Then you are sur-rise' how little 0alinga" 5aghavan" Douglas or 6mtia3 ha' grown
sin,e they saw them (ive years ago. 6t 'oes not 'awn on them that they shoul' not have
been arreste' in a time war- an' remain babies (orever. Si3ing your guests (rom to- to
toe you ask how mu,h they -ai' (or the 7ewellery on the wi(e8s sel( an' -rou'ly boast
you -ai' 7ust 5s one lakh more (or yours.
This brings me to an ane,'ote a teenager tol' me how her relative in Lon'on was
making a living by ,ooking string2ho--ers #%9: an' 'istributing to restaurants to sen'
her sister in ;olombo her rent an' e<-enses. =hile she 'es-at,he' goo'ies to her
sister through a (rien' he was invite' to 'inner. Strangely there was no smell o(
,ooking an' all o( a su''en there a--eare' on the 'inner table string2ho--ers" sothi"
sambal" mutton ,urry an' -rawns or'ere' (rom a take2away.
&y the way it is not un,ommon to see 'ie2har' Hin'u Tamil women selling li/uor in
o((2li,en,e sho-s a,ross Lon'on whereas ba,k home in the >orth an' 1ast they woul'
be -ariahs i( they so mu,h as were seen near a tavern. The sten,h o( (ish is more
-revalent in Hin'u Tamil homes than ;hristian ones. The Hin'u Tamils (re/uent
&illingsgate" the wholesale (ish market in 1ast Lon'on" an' have 'ee- (ree3ers to sto,k
u- (or rainy 'ays with seer (ish" ,rabs" -araw (ish" ma,kerel" shark" -rawns et,.
6( you think >orthern Tamils are starving" think again. Their age2attaining ,eremonies
an' we''ings are generously (un'e' by relatives who never let out they are ,leaning
toilets or working (or three -oun's an hour in su-er2markets an' restaurants run by
Asians an' -arti,ularly Sri Lankan Tamils while sharing a room with seven others.
They woul' not bat an eyeli' when they (ork out 5s ?. (or a 'inner -late at a (ive
star restaurant sin,e @@@@..(oreign ,urren,y (rom relatives who slave in the =est (eel
they nee' to look a(ter their relatives who have un'ergone har'shi-s to sen' them
abroa' in the (irst -la,e.
Little 'o they realise these ha-less relatives are merely e<isting an' not living a li(e o(
lu<ury. Dias-ora Tamils sweat it out in the =est to (ee' their relatives who believe they
are living a goo' li(e. They work in san'wi,h -a,king an' vegetable -ro,essing
(a,tories 7ust to meet the mortgages on their homes. They are ,annon (o''ers to their
em-loyers who e<-loit them to the hilt sin,e most o( them 'o not bother to learn
1nglish nor 'o they mingle with other ,ommunities whi,h is -itiable.
=hen bills arrive they 'um- them in waste2-a-er bins sin,e they ,annot ,om-rehen'
they woul' be ,harge' interest at a -remium rate. 6t is only when baili((s arrive they
awaken (rom the slumber an' seek soli,itors to -lea' their ,ase. An,e again they are
ri--e' o(( by the soli,itors whose hearts are ma'e o( stone an' nary a kin' thought (or
their ,lients e<,e-t to ri- them o(( o( their har'2earne' money. They mesmerise them
into im-arting their money -ro,ure' (rom -awning the wives8 7ewellery an' their
savings towar's engaging barristers who are in ,ahoots with the ,orru-t soli,itors.
0any a Tamil soli,itor (irms have been stru,k o(( Law So,iety although they re2sur(a,e
un'er 'i((erent names.
Dias-ora Tamils think nothing o( (lee,ing their own kin' sin,e their only motive is to
a,,umulate an' to hell with others. 6s this what war 'oes to those who ha' to 'u,k an'
'ive to survive an' then they lose all the morals an' belie(s they were brought u- with.
An interesting observation is that 'uring s,hool holi'ays Sri Lankans visit 1uro-e
where their relatives live an' instea' o( visiting -la,es o( ,ultural interest they stay
in'oors with ,urtains 'rawn u- wat,hing Sri Lankan -rogrammes on television"
making 6'ly" thosai" -ittu an' gossi-ing whi,h is -retty mu,h what they were 'oing
ba,k in the )K. Sri Lankan 'ias-ora 'o not ,are two hoots (or 1uro-ean ,ulture an'
they remain isolate' so mu,h so >orway" Swit3erlan' an' *ermany kee- them (ar
away (rom their ,iti3ens in en,laves 'emar,ate' (or re(ugees. They are treate' on -ar
with the 0aoris o( Australia or the 5e' 6n'ians in the )S.
*iven the gol'en o--ortunity 'ue to their re(ugee status where they have (ree housing"
health,are an' e'u,ation one woul' think they woul' want to -rogress. >o sirree" they
want to ,rawl ba,k into their own -rote,tive shells o( being Tamils an' ,linging onto
their ,ulture an' nationalism. They are immune to anything outsi'e their -eri-hery
e<,e-t making money at any ,ost.
*etting ba,k on tra,k with what 'istinguishes Sri Lankans living in Sri Lanka (rom
others be they Tamils" Sinhalese" 0uslims" 0alays or &urghers is that they have this
laisse32(aire attitu'e an' they think nothing o( entertaining their guests with the best
they ,an o((er no matter how har'2u- they are. Times are ,hanging o( ,ourse an' now
ea,h one (or himsel( an' *o' (or us all is the urban attitu'e although Sri Lankan
hos-itality is still -revalent in the villages.
=hen you bi' a'ieu to the guests" they 'ither on the 'oorste-s (or a goo' hal( hour
saying how they nee' to go home an' you wish they get the hell out so you ,an stret,h
your legs an' en7oy some -ea,e an' /uiet a(ter -reten'ing to en7oy their ,om-any.
=ith all their /uirks an' i'iosyn,rasies 6 wish this islan' restores -ea,e an' harmony
among Tamils" Sinhalese" 0uslims" 0alays" &urghers or native Be''ahs sin,e they are
the salt o( the earth whi,h 6 -rou'ly ,all Sri Lanka.
0ay this isle retain its -ast glory an' may it be blesse' by the almighty *o'" Allah"
Hin'u 'eities an' Lor' &u''ha an' save it (rom ra,ist elements.
(The writer has been a 7ournalist (or #? years an' worke' in national news-a-ers as
sub2e'itor" news re-orter an' news e'itor. She was ;olombo ;orres-on'ent (or Times
o( 6n'ia an' has ,ontribute' to =all Street 4ournal where she was on work e<-erien,e
(rom The *ra'uate S,hool o( 4ournalism" ); &erkeley" ;ali(ornia. ;urrently resi'ing
in )K she is also ,o2(oun'er o( 14> (1<ile' 4ournalists >etwork+ )K in #? the
membershi- o( whi,h is # (rom % ,ountries. She ,an be rea,he' at
-earlthevaChotmail.,om+
Poste' by Thavam