No Heroes...They were but men.

No heroes
There were no heroes here
Amongst the men who tramped through
Rutted, quaking moor,
Or crawled, cat-silent, Over skittering scree
To prove the way.
No heroes fought the blazing fires
Which sucked the very blood from Ship and man alike.
Or braved knife cold
Without a thought To save a life.
No heroes they, but ones who loved
Sweet life and children's laugh,
And dreamt of home When war allowed.
They were but men.
~David Morgan

They were but men. Living in this time period it is far fetched to believe in simply your own culture, your own identity, your own nation as being enough to fight for. With the large amount of people living outside of their "home" it isn't enough to want that anymore, peace needs to be sustainable wherever you live. This way of thinking does not diminish your identity but it does allow you to understand your place in the world. The term fighting for freedom is not something to be taken lightly, it is not something to paraphrase nor protest about unless you truly understand the statistics of the very freedom you are talking about.

The participants in the war in Sri Lanka are both fully responsible for the atrocities that have marked the period of bloodshed and violence in the country since 1976, however while one is the country's government the other is an organization that despite their starting ideals has become an international terrorist organization.

I do not say this lightly, it is considered as such by 30 countries, and Canada and the United States are included in that. The label is not affixed lightly and nor is the list of those killed by either side anything to proclaim to the world. The country has been killing itself from the inside for decades, either in retaliation for violence or a precursor for it. Neither side has put civilians first but both sides have had the challenge of dealing with the bodies.

So as the bodies of Tamil, Sinhalese, Malay, Moor, all line the memories of the world, what are people proclaiming? That this will never end...

Specifically that the search for separation will continue by any means necessary, that the fight for freedom will continue in a different form.

If this was a fight for freedom, a fight for rights or for a place to house your people how could it not end in the sight of the thousands murdered for your cause? How can a government asking for peace and inclusion not suit your requests for equality?

Could it be that you are merely incapable of delivering your people out of the emotional spin of war? That terrorism is a likely answer to deal with the aftermath of all that have already been killed for your cause. How can that be? How can tht make any sense to those who stand for hours outside around the world?

Because really after all of these years, all of the dead people, the vanished prisoners, the amass of money, the call for all people to answer for this fight, what are you left with? A large diaspora of your people who are still waiting for your proclamation of an end to the struggle. But without thought as to the future of your culture you continue to seek vengeance for something that everyone says you can have, the equality you seek is not elusive.

The true nature of a culture is in its people, it is its ability to further itself despite diaspora, despite war, despite terrorism. There are thousands if not millions of Sri Lankans living outside of Sri Lanka today and we are capable of exercising our freedom to not proclaim war, to not donate to a cause that is dead, to not allow others to tarnish our reputation as a people. While many non Sri Lankan people may not understand what is going on, I know that many of those same people standing outside protesting do not know the whole history either.

Organizations prey on people and their emotions, their sense of identity and their need to feel included in their own culture, but it is up to you as an individual to differentiate the true nature of an organization, whether there roots are nationalistic or terrorist.

For those who may not know, Sri Lanka is a beautiful island with as many different landscapes as there are people and most people live amongst each other harmoniously, they seek to have a life that does not consist of bombings and war. They simply like every nation wish to have a place where they can see their children grow up, whether they be Tamil, Sinhalese, Malay etc...

That need is not something uncharacteristic of any country in the world...so when next you hear of the continuation of this war for freedom, please take a second look because the war was ended by one side, it only continues at the hands of those who refuse to let peace be the outcome.

Those of us who seek moderation regardless of our nationality are always left holding the most casualties...