Guilt By Ethnicity – A Liberal Sinhalese Response
By Romesh Hettiarachchi -April 12, 2014
Romesh Hettiarachchi
Dear Sinthujan,
I read with bemusement your letter to the “Sinhalese ally”. Coming after the arrest of the human rights activist Ruki Fernando, such condescension may be untimely given how devoted Ruki and other have been towards advocating for the rights of the Sri Lankan Tamil community as well as other minority groups.
Notwithstanding the emotional reaction, the allegations and insinuations in your piece deserve a response. This is mine.
The Contradictions of Being an “Anti Generalist” Generalist
The tendency in your article to rely on generalizations of the Sinhalese community to oppose generalizations of the Tamil community is fascinating. On one hand, you assert that the Tamil diaspora is not homogeneous and that there is diversity amongst the Tamil community. On the other hand, you write that the imaginary Sinhalese ally “writes, narrates and produces history as if the Tamil community should be in a museum” (really?!), feels the Diaspora “destabilizes” the country, mutes Tamil voices, has no recognition of “positive human traits” of Tamils, thinks “uniformly” that the Diaspora is bad.
This depiction hardly represents that of an ally. If as you write, the Sinhalese ally speaks, writes and thinks as if they know everything about the Tamil community but “in reality know nothing”, then by extending the same logic, you probably should reconsider how much you as a Tamil know about the Sinhalese community.
The Rise of the “Guilt by Ethnicity” Phenomenon
The concepts underlying your missive is another example of the “guilt by ethnicity” litmus test that is all too common when dealing cross culturally on matters regarding Sri Lanka and its Diaspora, Tamil or otherwise. This litmus test at times may at times be designed by those who advance ancient prejudices using the language of academia. Alternatively the litmus test is designed as a way to protect the leadership decisions made by previous generations, regardless of how terrible those decisions may have been. But in either case, the litmus test generally is that people of a certain ethnicity and those who associate with those ethnicities all think the same and act the same and as such one must always be careful when interacting with those of certain ethnicities. Read More
