Even though I had not been affected
directly by the cruel war in our country for 30 long years, I too had felt its
effects for a long time. A man’s family and the atmosphere he lives in affects
his thoughts and views. In 1989, when the war was at its peak my parents had to
leave there native place in the Eastern province and had to live in Kandy
because of the constant threat of the LTTE. This made me believe that all
Tamils were either LTTE or supporters of the movement. The different
governments which ruled our country from the time of the independence repeatedly
did great injustices to minority ethnics groups. This made me to come to the
conclusion, that the majority of our country was people who have racist
inclinations.
All those situations and
incidents made me think like a Muslim but not as a Sri Lankan Muslim. In 2011 I
got the opportunity to participate in the Future Leaders’ Conference organized
by Sri Lanka Unites. Here I got the opportunity to interact with youth from other
ethnic groups. This made me get rid of the wrong impression and hatred I had
towards these young men and women. The Future Leaders’ Conference made me
realize that it’s unreasonable to find fault with whole community because of
the wrong doings of a certain group of people and stereotyping other
ethnicities.
I was also taught a great lesson
at this conference that a selfish person only thinks about himself and has
concerns only about his community. I greatly regret for being such a person in
the past. It is feared that the recent attacks on the Muslim community may lead
Sri Lanka into yet another era of darkness.
I am certain that if not for my involvement with Sri Lanka Unites, I
would also have had the same stereotyped mindset of other Muslim youths at this
time.
Hakkani Majeed From the Eastern Province (Sri Lanka Unites Dream Team Member 2012)
Translated by - Shruthi Waduge
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