The Tide Is Turning, Muslims Cannot Live Cocooned

By Mass L. Usuf –November 5, 2015

Mass L. Usuf

“The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

Whenever the issue of IDPs was discussed by the Tamil politicians amongst themselves or with the government or with India or with NGOs etc. the resettlement of the displaced northern Muslims was never given the place it deserved. They continued to live with host families where several households crowded under a single roof, without adequate sanitation or water supply. Most lived in refugee camps. In this lot were women, children, the disabled, those chronically ill and many who were economically vulnerable. No one cared for them for the past disgraceful 25 years.

In this state of affairs, it is indeed heartening to read in the columns ofColombo Telegraph so much being written about Muslims in the aftermath of the UNHCR Resolution. I say it is heartening not because these writings referred to the plight of Muslims but marvelling at the scholarship, intellectualism and liberality in the pens through which these thoughts flowed. The indomitable spirit of justice and the conscience of feeling towards fellow humans were the manifestation of these civic minded citizens.

Nationally, this is a favourable sign that Sri Lanka is returning towards a free, liberal and civil society. Not that these were not there in the past. They were indeed there but at the beck and call of the establishment. The steady exodus of the daring journalists and the untimely death of the not so fortunate scribes bear grim testimony to the extent of the freedom prevalent at that time.

Turn of the tide

Those who contributed to the Colombo Telegraph were not politicians. They were folks who looked at the issue with equanimity and proffered their opinions sans prejudices – be it religious, racial or political. Their writings have now been the catalyst to create a ripple effect in arousing public opinion about the plight of the hitherto neglected Muslim IDPs.                                              Read More