Diaspora Diaries: “I pledge allegiance…”

By H. Herath

(March 02, New York, Sri Lanka Guardian) Protests and rallies are often carried out to express concern over a variety of issues. More often than not, a protest or rally expresses an opposing opinion to an event or situation. We have seen throughout the years: protests for the sake of peace, protests against wars, protests against governments and laws. There are protests that gain sympathy from the general public; those typically deal with human rights and oppression, like the protests Burma or Tibet. There are rallies that reflect the public’s opinion with certain issues, such as the rallies against war in Iraq. These assemblies have a variety of settings: large metropolitan areas, small farming communities, and universities. Yet, every now and then, there is a protest, or rally, that is held with distressing content and displayed in an inappropriate environment.

The city of Toronto, Canada, boasts one of the largest Sri Lankan Tamil populations in North America, if not the world. That being said, while we all hope that living outside of Sri Lanka would bring about a different mind-set, there are those within the Sri Lankan Tamil community that candidly support the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, commonly known as the LTTE. Keep in mind, that there are many Toronto-residing Sri Lankan Tamils that oppose the LTTE and its various factions; thus it is crucial not to pass judgment on an entire community based on the extremist views of some members. For those that back the Tamil Tigers, their support is not only found within the generations of our grandparents and parents, but groups of young adults – even teenagers – endorse the guerilla movement; and, in this past month, their blatant support for the LTTE was put on display for all to see.

The early weeks of February saw a pro-LTTE rally take place on the grounds of Canada’s York University. A large group of Sri Lanka Tamil students gathered to arrogantly wave the flag of the LTTE; student after student carried the banners of the Tigers as they marched through university grounds and into university buildings. The students rallied around speakers that shouted propaganda and called for a Tamil Eelam. The most egregious act during their rally for separatism was the burning of the Sri Lankan flag. A more recent protest at the University of Toronto – Scarborough mimicked the actions of the rally at York University. Again, it was students who gathered to hold up the flag of the LTTE, it was students who shouted for a Tamil Eelam, and it was students who burned the flag of Sri Lanka.

As a student, and as a member of the Sri Lankan Diaspora, I am disappointed and discouraged by the acts of these students. Yet, I’d like to examine these events from a pragmatic standpoint. These students expressed blatant support for a terrorist organization, and the means of their expression took place on university grounds. Perhaps the officials at York University were taken by surprise with the rally and burning of the Sri Lankan flag; but I would think that such an incident would place neighboring universities on an alert for these types of activities. That being so, why wasn’t the protest at the University of Toronto-Scarborough disbanded? After all, politics in this decade have been centered on terrorism, so how could this have happened at a public institution?

Beyond the operational questions of these rallies, I begin to wonder about the mind-sets of these individuals who participated in this acts. Do they really think that they represent the needs of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka? We have all heard reports of thousands of Tamil civilians being trapped in the front-lines of the battle, and thousands more are displaced and living in IDP camps; would these victims want the fighting to continue? It’s unfortunate that these students do not realize the fundamental difference between themselves and their counterparts in Sri Lanka. They are fortunate enough to return to the safety of their respective homes, and to carry out life in a developed country; they have a roof over their heads, enough food to eat, and the opportunity to live. They can participate in a rally, and then simply walk away and resume the rest of their daily schedule. Yet it is their families and friends, those they left behind in Sri Lanka, that continue to live in fear and suffering; for it is them that bear the consequences of this war.
By blindly supporting the motives of the LTTE, they are prolonging the distress of their own people. As for the acts taken on the Sri Lankan flag, the protestors not only scorched an emblem of our heritage, but they burned a symbol of love, compassion, sympathy, and equanimity. So, I ask: now what? Do we just continue to bear witness to more pro-LTTE demonstrations? As these students continue to swear allegiance to the red banner of the LTTE, I hope they realize the amount of suffering experienced by the people in Sri Lanka. More importantly, I hope for a speedy realization that peace and unity is the only way to save the people, all the people, of Sri Lanka.

(The writer, Sri Lanka Guardian’s correspondent to t New York, can be reached at hh@srilankaguardian.org )

-Sri Lanka Guardian