Eelam: An open letter to my own

"My children are now in a western country. But are they safe? No not from the LTTE - you either contribute or be hounded. Don’t you agree with me that there are many Tamils outside the North and the East who are really scared of the LTTE (this includes me). So now I ask you My People "The Tamils of Jaffna" and all over the world where is this dignity that we were all talking about? "

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by V.P

(February 22, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) This letter is written because I find it difficult to keep quiet any longer and for reasons best known to Tamils I’m using a pen name.

Let me begin by saying that I am a Vellahla Tamil, a previous resident from Jaffna itself and proud to be so, although not so proud of the deeds of the Vellahlas. A few months back there was an article in the ‘Sunday Leader’ Journal where Mr. Anton Balasingham has stated that the Sri Lanka Government does not send adequate food supplies to the people of the North and that they are undergoing much hardship. In most journals where most Tamils write they accuse the government and the Sinhala people for this, that and the other.

Having gone through all the difficulties while in Jaffna with my family (wife and two children) now we are relatively safe in Colombo except for the visits by the security forces in the middle of the night and other security checks. However there is no denying that whenever there is a check the natural tendency is to be angry and a little scared. And it is a feeling we Tamils in Colombo will have to endure. It will be very much a part of our lives. There is no denying the fact that some of the acts carried out by some security forces personnel are shocking and terrible (for instance the recent Mannar rape cases).

My children are now in a western country. But are they safe? No not from the LTTE - you either contribute or be hounded. Don’t you agree with me that there are many Tamils outside the North and the East who are really scared of the LTTE (this includes me). So now I ask you My People "The Tamils of Jaffna" and all over the world where is this dignity that we were all talking about? Did our boys do it? Isn’t this what our top notch Tamil politicians of yore say time and again - that we could live in dignity if we had a separate piece of land for ourselves. Don’t you agree that they did nothing except deceive us time and again after enjoying on both sides of the Elephant Pass. Then again they called the SLFP a racist party. Now we call the Sihala Urumaya a racist party and yes I think it is too. But then what do you think TC, TULF, SLMC and all these parties are?. Are they not racist parties? If we can just take out our prejudice (which is tough) then it is almost as natural that a Sinhala racist party came about although I do not condone it and two wrongs cannot make one right.

Oh "My people the Tamil people" don’t you think it is time we admitted to ourselves and the world that we have been taken for a ride by the Tamil and Sinhala politicians. Do we really need a separate state? What are we going to do with it. Take a hard long walk to any of the top Companies in Sri Lanka and see for yourself how many Tamils are doing top jobs. Do they want a separate state? May be a few for their own selfish gains. I for a fact know that it was mostly the Vellahlas who are guilty of causing all this hardship to the Tamils and it is they who will try to run a separate state if there ever will be one. They will never ever allow a low cast to run the affairs of the North.

So can we really contribute to the LTTE or the cause?

Then again can we ever believe that Eelam will be a reality? No - I sincerely do not think the Sinhalese will ever allow it. We are so naive that we are bogged down in our own high self esteem and do not have the shrewdness of the Muslims to understand a situation. When I listen to some of the Muslims and their leaders who categorically state that they do not want a separate state I feel the Tamils are in a pathetic state.

Why did V. P (V. Prabakaran) send his children to do the Sri Lanka Government Exams when they too could have been sent to fight the Enemy ? Why are our children being taken instead of his? The answer lies in you.

Let me finish off by saying that if you think that I am a coward for not writing my name - yes I would be the first to be in full agreement but what are you ?

P. S Last week I went to see my sick uncle down a lane at Wellawatte at around 10 am and I saw this Tamil lady throwing a garbage bag from the second floor flat to the garbage collector (who probably would have been a Sinhalese). Now who has dignity and who doesn’t ? Would she have done it in Jaffna where the boys are? Certainly not. If you are not a Vellahla - you probably will never have the dignity that you enjoy in Colombo.