I grew up in Sri Lanka, a country in which the tragedy of war was ever- present. My father was in the army, so as a child, the potential loss of his life was always in my mind. Whenever I saw my father off to war, I feared I might not see him again. However, people living in the war-affected areas, in the northern and eastern provinces of the country, experienced much greater fear and suffering.
The Sri Lankan civil war started in 1983 and ended in 2009. Two years later, I was living in Vavuniya, a town on the former war front. I was assisting the rehabilitation and reconciliation process carried out by the government as an intern at the Bureau of the Commissioner General of Rehabilitation. I interacted with former rebels, helping their rehabilitation and reintegration. I realized that even in my own country, I did not understand the reality of those directly affected by the war. After all, some of the rebels were my age. Some of the people of my country, my own age, had endured a brutal reality quite different from mine. This was one of the facts that hit me the hardest.
This experience showed me that our differences, across societal and ethnic lines, were far less than the commonalities we shared. So, how could an entire war be aroused through the pursuit of our differences? The background of civil war is very complicated. I usually don’t like generalizations, but I believe this was because of three main factors: existing social inequalities, few self-sustaining economic opportunities, and most importantly, the lack of compassion-based education. Lacking a quality education meant that people had lost their empathy. The inequalities in our society were easily exploited by self-serving people. In the midst of economic hardship, many people were quickly driven to incite violence against those different from them.
That’s why we must all build the fundamentals that drive compassion and peace. That is what education is all about. Let us implement quality programs that actively coach universal empathy. This will help us pursue commonalities between each other rather than differences. Such compassionate citizens will strive to lessen inequalities and create equitable economic opportunities.
Let’s build a society that finds and nurtures the similarities between us while valuing our differences. It is my dream to make that happen. Let us create a world where people are happy and at peace!
———–
Get a copy of WE HAVE A DREAM 201 Dreams 201 Countries