Our heart goes to our Sri Lankan neighbours and friends, and all whom we don’t know, whether they be Christians, Buddhists, Hindu or Muslim.
A series of bombs ripped through the capital of Colombo and other cities of Negombo and Batticaloa on Easter Sunday. As the deaths mount past 300 (and over 400 injured) and the country goes from shock and horror to mourning, there is another feeling. Anger.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/22/asia/sri-lanka-investigation-easter-attacks/index.html
There is anger that the government had advance notice about potential threats. These were not broad and generic, but specific. These threat reports, as indicated by the western press, pointed to suicide bombers aiming to deliver a blow to the Christian community. These threat reports also pointed specifically to large hotels where foreign visitors and local dignitaries congregate. And yet, the government did nothing.
Details are emerging slowly as the government has instituted not just a physical curfew, but also a ban on social media.
The sophisticated, murderous attacks have now been claimed by ISIS. Further, they express that their intentions with this shocking series of bombings was a form of reprisal against the Chrischurch, New Zealand bombing of a Mosque that claimed 50 victims, just weeks ago.
From a personal perspective, one of the hotels hit, the Cinnamon Grand Hotel is our go to hotel anytime we are in Colombo. We use it for business meetings, hairdresser and for lunch together before we head off back to our Southern oasis of calm. One of the Churches destroyed by the blast during Easter Sunday is where some work colleagues go to pray. One business colleague was on her way out of the door, running late as she was going to Mass for Easter. This delay may have saved her life.
Of course, a hardened look at today’s world might lead one to conclude that one isn’t “safe” anywhere. ISIS strikes again, here or there. But this feels different. And not because ISIS or some loose affiliate of the Islamic terror network may have wanted to score some PR terror points after Christchurch. It feels different because Sri Lanka has emerged from a 30 year civil war with a fragile balance of power between the four main religious groups that comprise the island’s population – the Buddhists, Hindus, Christians and Muslims. As we saw in the run up to the last parliamentary elections, one political group can easily poke at the bear and revive dormant feelings of anger and hatred between the religious communities, for political purposes. The Civil war that ended just a few years ago, will require a lot longer for sorrow and anger to subside.
Now an external global radical organization, ISIS, has descended upon the fragile peace achieved in Sri Lanka and kicked the hornests’ nest. Seven of the suicide bombers this week were Sri Lankan Muslims. How long before the anger boils over and someone, somewhere in the country decides to do his/her own personal bit of retaliation. And the cycle of violence continues, unabated.
The feelings we have at this point are of deep sorrow for our Sri Lankan “compatriots”, of any and all religious stripes. But we share the anger.
Anger of course at the perpetrators.
Anger at the mishandling by the government of critical intelligence that could have been communicated to the Church’s top echelon so that they may decide how best to protect their congregations.
Anger at the local group of radicalized Sri Lankans who sought to do ISIS’ dirty work in the country, putting ISIS’s PR war ahead of their country’s future, as this attack will inevitably send the Sri Lankan economy in a tailspin.
Anger at the government headed by two political parties that, despite repeated “instructions” given by the people at the polls, have failed to forge a path of sufficient cooperation.
Anger that the Prime Minister was removed from sitting in on Security Council meetings organized and held by the President that could have made a difference in terms of the government’s response.
Anger that some government officials were “in the know” and personally opted to avoid Mass on Easter Sunday, but did not deem it their responsibility to share whatever they knew with others, keeping this damning information as a personal asset, rather than sharing it as widely as possible for the collective good.
And we are angry at what might be yet to come.
Angry that even in the aftermath of such tragic proportions, the politicians tend to err toward finger pointing rather than introspection.
Angry that a criminal pursuit of responsible parties who withheld information about expected attacks may devolve into a politicized ritual, keeping in mind that the next set of elections are around the corner.
Angry that the very same group of national leaders who were unable to react effectively to explicit warnings about time and place of events, may be unable to muster the collective wisdom to prevent grass-root level anger to spill into communal inter-fighting.
Angry that Sri Lanka’s well deserved path to post war economic and social recovery has just been torpedoed by terrorists.
Angry that our Muslim friends will now live in fear of reprisal ~ the Muslim driver who takes us to Colombo weekly, the Muslim newspaper shop owner who gives me daily newspapers with a banter, the Muslim office worker who assists me when needed, they and so many of their fellow Muslim Sri Lankans. Because in a country so riled by violence over so many years, reprisal seems like an inevitable chapter.
In the stages of grief, we may have transitioned from shock and sadness to anger. But there will be no acceptance.
There cannot be acceptance.
I also feel this anger and much heartache. You’ve written about the terrorist act in Sri Lanka. It could be about nearly any place in the world. Somehow we have forgotten that we are all one people. No, there cannot be acceptance, here or anywhere.
Sharon you are quite right that this could have happened anywhere in the world. The inter religious conflict which has been termed the “global war on terror” is very much that…. global. So recent pronouncement that ISIS had been defeated in Afghanistan, is just the kind of pronouncement that can trigger an ISIS attack, somewhere else on the global chess board. Just to remind everyone, that no they are not defeated.
Ben
That is shocking news from Sri Lanka. I understand the anger you are feeling. I wish we humans had never invented religion. But then undoubtedly we would have come up with another, equally effective way to control, divide and terrorize people.
Deb
Deb, you are quite right.. it seems that division and war fare between groups has been a constant since the dawn of human history. If not religion, it is geography, i.e borders, if not geography, ethnic groups that dress differently, and soon, it will be about resource wars. So sadly, wishing religion away would merely replace one tribe with a different tribe as you say.
Ben
I am angry and heartbroken, but never accepting. Our thoughts with all in Sri Lanka.
Thank you Peggy.
So much hatred, so much violence. Just 3 days ago Annie and I visited the Columbine Memorial (our home school) here in Denver for the 20th anniversary of that tragedy and Annie was just in Christchurch when that event occurred. No place is safe anymore.
Steve, the observation that “no place is safe anymore” may lead one to cower and stay home and seek to never leave the driveway, or one can choose to live a global life nonetheless, just as your comment illustrates. Amazing to realise that Columbine happened twenty years ago already and still nothing has been done to deal with the gun problem in the U.S. This in comparison with New Zealand where action was taken immediately by the Prime Minister within one week, banning assault weapons.
Ben
I so appreciate your sharing a view from inside the country. Some of what you explained has been echoed by the news I’ve watched on CNN but hearing from you gives it added credence.
What has taken place in Sri Lanka is yet another travesty by people who believe that death and destruction are for the “good”.
My hope is that from these ashes movement toward a more enlightened world and the understanding that we are all connected.
A favorite Baha’i quote is – “It is not for him to pride himself who loveth his own country, but rather for him who loveth the whole world. The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens.”
Excellent Bahai quote and a wise observation which sadly does not match with the reality. The reaction to deadly evens is so skewed. When there was a terrorist hit in Paris it felt as though the world over, took on the French flag in solidarity. Weeks later, same number of casualties in a deadly blast in Pakistan and barely a murmur.
Somehow a Western mindset has taken hold where some countries are expected to have violence and therefore barely trigger a shrug.
Ben
I am pleased to see your post because I have been worried about you. You are the only people I know living in Sri Lanka and was concerned. Thanks for expalining some things, although it doesn’t make it any easier to understand why this terror is happening to innocent people around the world. It is hard to bear. Stay safe my friends. xo
Thank you Darlene for your kind words.
Ben
Peta & Ben, I was so very saddened to hear of yet another hate induced act of terrorism. I just don’t understand why we appear to be a world filled with such intolerance & all out hatred of others.
I cannot imagine the outrage & utter frustration felt towards the government who appeared to have been given warning that such acts may occur. Shame on them for not passing along vital information
Sending love & peace to you & to Ben and to the people of Sri Lanka. Relieved to hear you are okay.
Lynn thank you for your comments and thoughtfulness. Anger is definitely the dominant feeling right now in the country overall as there are so many questions that remain unanswered. But even rural folks are talking about how selfishly the government officials acted by not widely sharing the intel about upcoming threats.
Ben
Hoping Sri Lanka can recover without further bloodshed.
Yes Anabel, that is very much the question of the moment. As we write this, on Thursday, we are hyper conscious that tomorrow Friday is the first Muslim prayer day since the terror attacks and we too are hoping that the Sri Lankan populace will have the wisdom to bottle up their anger and not take it out on their fellow Sri Lankans.
Ben
I kept thinking about you and wishing you would be safe. Thank you for explaining some of what is going on, since the news don’t give a full picture. It is all so sad and heart breaking for the people affected and for the country as a whole. There are no words to convey how awful it is.
Thank you Gilda for your concern and thoughtfulness.
Ben
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and insight around this horrific development. Your description of the delicate balance of peace brings the situation and potential for further violence much clearer. I am horrified to know that those who had information saved themselves but not hundreds of others. Shocking.
Shocking indeed.
Ben
First of all, Mike and I are relieved that you are both safe and out of the country. We know this is particularly devastating for you, and touches you in a very personal way. We share your anger as we continue to follow the news about mounting casualties and the government’s unforgivable mishandling of intelligence information.
Having just visited Sri Lanka and spending a wonderful couple of days with you, we were so impressed with the tourist experience offered by this country. How sad that this horrible act of terror will quash the tourism that has been so important to Sri Lanka’s economic recovery.
Thank you for this clear, and brutally realistic picture of the situation. Our thoughts are with you guys and the people of Sri Lanka.
Caroline we were just talking about how soon this happened after you left the country and relieved you were not in Colombo when it took place. Sri Lanka as you know had just been named “Number one country to visit in 2019” by Lonely Planet and the tourism industry was expected to lift the economy in a significant way. No doubt this will impact visitors, but who knows how long before there is recovery.
When one speaks of an impact on the economy it is easy to forget that behind the statistics and numbers, are real people with real jobs, that suddenly evaporate when something like this happens. And there is no alternative demand for these jobs. So the loss of income will be the long tail of this murderous act as Sri Lankans of all religions who work in the dynamic tourism industry will be negatively impacted.
Ben
Thank you for detailing the horrific events and aftermath and for confessing that you are indeed angry. You should be. And you should worry about the Muslims — and Christians — who provide services for you, work with you on projects, and come in contact with you. I pray that you are safe. And I pray that something will happen that will ease tensions and allay fears. Just know that we are thinking of you.
Thank you so much for your concern and comments. The Sri Lankan people have been through so much… the civil war which raged for twenty nine years followed by the tsunami that ravaged the Southern coast of the country. The recovery process from that history has been gradual but slow and religious tensions are just beneath the surface.
To think that the government might have handled it differently by sharing information and hopefully prevented the tragic events, is just mind boggling and a crime against the country.
Ben
Thank you for sharing this incredible insight. My thoughts and prayers are with all people, of all races and religion, affected by this and similar tragedies.
Thank you.
Ben
I thought of you on Sunday . So glad you and Ben are safe.
Thank you Shonah.
Peta
Thanks for the “inside scoop”, Ben. Such devastating news on so many fronts. All made even worse by the knowledge that (some of) these attacks could have been prevented. Short-term thinking by officials? Lust for power and/or re-election by politicians? The damage will reach far beyond the victims and buildings. Tourism will take a hit, the economy will suffer. And then, as you point out, there are the thousands of Sri Lankans who are affected by this hate crime, and millions more who will suffer in one way or another because of what just happened.
We live in a sad world and you have all the right to be angry. Part of it is that we feel helpless as certain “evil” seems to be in charge. I’m glad and relieved that you both are safe. What has the world become? How to remain positive?
Liesbet, thank you for your thoughtful and interesting comments.
To add to the list of “short term thinking” and “lust for power”, it is tempting to add “incompetence”, but incompetence is too generous a summary of what happened. Without putting a label on it, the friction between the president and prime minister, exacerbated by the presidents recent failed attempt at removing the prime minister is probably at the core. History will not be kind to this president.
How to remain positive? Let me draw on my Jewish heritage and family history of living through World War II: Even from the most horrendous acts of human evil, the human spirit lives on and humans have an uncanny ability to endure and move forward. Hoping for light at the end of the tunnel.
Ben
You’ve expressed well all the shock, outrage, and profound sadness that this terror attack has inflicted.
It is shameful and morally criminal for the government to have done nothing in the face of credible information that danger was imminent. This is heart-breaking.
Morally criminal… Yes. Two parallel crimes… First and foremost the crimes by terrorists who would sew carnage but then the crimes of omission and inaction by government officials. They share the blame.
Ben
Thank you sincerely for reaching out to me on my site.
You have written on this crisis with a true understanding and empathy for our land. This post is truly a masterpiece capturing everything that we are all feeling right now and there is hardly anything that I can add to express my emotions.
(As an aside – I think you should add ‘writer’ to your about page. I don’t recollect seeing that but you excel in this.)
I wanted to also check out any work you are doing with the environment here as that is my passion too but could not spend time. Having spent last few days glued to the TV .. housework awaits and I need an outlet for the outrage I feel with our security apparatus. .
Thank you again for the love and caring and stay safe.
Thank you Rambling Rose for these kind words. It is always challenging as a foreigner to opine on the host country’s events and particularly so, obviously, when the events are so tragic and emotion laden. For now Sri Lanka is our home and while we may not experience the trauma as completely as a Sri Lankan national, we do feel the gut punch and subsequent sense of outrage, as you do.
Hoping and wishing for a return to peace and for the avoidance of retaliation.
Ben
The news is filled with images of people suffering after the attack, and terrible stories about the loss of loved ones. My heart goes out to them all. I really do not know what else to say. It’s just so awful.
Thank you for your heart felt words. Awful indeed.
Ben
I was relieved to see your post pop up on my e-mail screen, since I’ve been thinking (and worrying) about you and Peta. Sri Lanka? In some ways it’s the last place I expected to find in the news regarding horrific horrendous hateful mindless terrorist attacks. I tend to view the country through your eyes, the way you two live in peace, harmony, yogic-bliss, loving all those around you, as well as the dogs and the monkeys and… But then hate still sneaks in like a snake slithering to see what it can do to cause fear and to destroy the essence of peace and love. Yes, we’re all angry. But may our anger turn into a force, a desire, to spread bright unbreakable light over the evil malicious darkness. Let light live in our lives so we can move ourselves out of anger into actionable love. And may we pass that around.
Sadly these kind of attacks are of course global. Nowhere is exempt as a target.
Sri Lanka has a long history of suicide bombings as it was the modus operandi of the Tamil Tigers during the civil war. Up until 2009, there was virtually no tourism as such in Sri Lanka, except for the few intrepid ones. Colombo was a city to be avoided as bombs went off almost routinely in public places. The country thought this was over and was on a good path of recovery. However, religious tension is always just beneath the surface when you have this kind of history of civil war.
To have suicide bombers once again cause havoc, in Colombo is a sad deja vu.
Ben
Many thanks for educating us on Sri Lanka and its issues. I’ve shared your post with many.
Continuing to reel from this news as the story unfolds. I was unaware (and am horrified) that some officials knowingly skipped Easter Services without warning others and that infighting kept the Prime Minister from Security Council Meetings. I am most troubled by those who, rather than mourning, are seeking to use this and similar tragedies for political gains; not just in Sri Lanka but globally. Sadly, retribution is an endless, downward spiral. To me, love, acceptance and inclusion of all peoples with concerted efforts to disempower extremism on all sides is the solution. Only when people come together and meet in the center as one is there hope.
LIsa, good to hear from you. You make a very important point. The observation that by moving to the centre, the political centre, one may clip the wings of extremists (of all stripes). This to me feels in some way actionable and as you say “only when people come together and meet in the centre as one is there hope.”
But meeting in the centre seems do able when you are looking at a situation from the outside, whereas if you are already in the conflict, it is very difficult indeed. For instance as a naturally centrist Democrat, experiencing the Trump years is pushing me further and further to the Left in response to the Republicans moving inexorably to the right. So the centre feels in adequate when addressing an extremist opponent.
Retribution sadly is the human default norm. This is why the war between the British and the Irish lasted seven hundred years and this is why the Middle East remains as unresolved today as it did a week after the British departed their Middle Eastern colonies.
Ben
Thank you for this write up explaining the attacks over the last week. Terrible thing to happen, and glad that you Peta and Ben are okay. There is certainly anger around at what happened and what will happen through the aftermath – things like what could have been then and could things have turned out different, who is to blame, why this all happened…so many scenarios and questions to be pondered. Sri Lanka has had hard times, and this will only make life more challenging now over there. As Pam said, hopefully everyone can turn all this hatred into something where we can all work together for better times ahead.
Thank you Mabel for your concern. Perhaps this is one of these cases where politics will work as a proxy for communal violence and the removal and punishment of guilty parties who failed to do all it could to avert this disaster, or at least reduce the impact, will suffice and communal violence will be avoided.
This is our hope.
Ben
In my little world of peace and light I was shamefully unaware of all this, Peta. The scale of it is horrendous, and the intentions behind it leave me endlessly perplexed at how inhumane we can be. I’m so sorry for those whose lives have been ripped apart.
Thank you for your thoughts. Sorry to have pierced the bubble of peace and light with this intrusion.
Ben
This made me so sad. I understand your anger. It is entirely justified. I’m so sorry for
“your” island nation, and all that these bombings imply and may imply for the future. We are all so easily led, so easily afraid, so fragile. May sanity prevail. May peace prevail. May goodwill prevail. Stay safe you two, and all Sri Lanka.
Alison
Amen. Thank you Alison.
Ben
I’m so sorry, Peta! As soon as I heard, I thought of you two as I know you how much you love Sri Lanka. I can’t imagine the pain of those who lost family and friends on a morning that is supposed to be filled with joy and celebration. And you are right, there can be no acceptance of this senseless violence against each other. It has to end! May we learn to live in peace someday….
Thank you Ann for your thoughtfulness and concern. Hoping that peace returns to Sri Lanka as the country continues to recover from a brutal history.
Ben
Things like this are shocking, disgusting, pointless. Do the perpetrators think it’s going to do anything but piss people off? It’s not going to stop Christians from being Christian, Muslims from being Muslim, or Buddhists from being Buddhist. Do they want a war? Nobody wins in war.
Perhaps this will be an impetus for Sri Lankan’s to kick out the current crop of politicians that allowed this to go on despite the warnings.
Glad to hear you two came out of this safely.
“It’s not going to stop Christians from being Christians….” such a simple concept and yet so true. It is perplexing how the human race continues to wage these insanely futile wars. To what end? And what is the point??
The people went to the polls and delivered a very clear message. They expected the two parties and specifically, the president and the prime minister to get past their policy differences and govern efficiently for the interest of the country. In this they failed miserably. Something has to change.
Thanks for your comments Dave.
Ben
We were and are thinking of you guys. Glad you are ok, but gutted that so many innocent people lost their lives in such horrible and heartless acts of terror…
Thank you Maya.
Ben
I had a feeling my comment did not go through yesterday, and indeed I don’t see it here. Please just know I’m thinking about you and, even more so, the people in your adopted land. So very sad, especially with everything they have already been through.
Thank you Lex. Yes, Sri Lanka has a long history of loss and conflict and were slowly but gradually healing. Very sad to incur yet more loss on a nation so previously impacted and hardened by communal violence.
Ben
When I think of Sri Lanka, I think of you Peta and Ben, and the stories you have written about the country and the people within. My heart goes out to you and your beautiful, adopted country. Anita
Thanks Anita. It has been a very hard time for Sri Lanka. So many lives lost, and the discovery that there has been a full scale infiltration by ISIS getting ready for a bunch more attacks with stocks of ammunition all over the country has created fear and stress throughout the country. Hoping for more peaceful times….
Peta
Ben and Peta, Thank you for sharing an exceptionally difficult post. I agree, that in the stages of grief, there can be no acceptance. I am deeply saddened by this tragedy.
Thank you, Erica for your comments. Difficult times for Sri Lankans, yet again.
The news of this senseless attack was so shocking and made me shudder as well as sending reverberations around the world. How does a country and a city recover from such an evil assault on its people? The fear of future attacks cannot be far from the minds of all those affected. I hope the Sri Lankan government will in future be much more vigilant than they were in this case. What a stressful period this world is going through. We just never know what will make the news headlines on any given day. Hugs to you and Ben.
Thank you for your kind comments. Yes, you are right, “the fear of future attacks cannot be far”. In the case of Sri Lanka, there is now a double, and justified, fear.
One is more of the same – additional ISIS-supported or influenced attacks. And in fact, the police and military are finding multiples caches of ammunition and bomb making equipment, so all signs are that this was to be one round of multiple rounds of terrorism.
But, in addition, since this attack occurred in a country with a history of interfaith tension and past violence, there is the very real fear of Catholic retaliation (which has already started) and, if the government isn’t able or willing to contain this wave of retaliation, there could easily be the next round of muslims pushing back on their catholic compatriots.
What is so hurtful in all this is that there is ZERO history of catholic against muslim tension between the two equally sized minorities in Sri Lanka. Plenty of Buddhist Sinhalese majority against Tamil minority of multiple religions (Hindu, Muslim, Christian), but muslim vs catholics is a painful new chapter in Sri Lankan life. So there is simultaneously a new sense of vulnerability amongst Christians, justifiably. And there is a new sense of vulnerability amongst muslims.
As the country was slowly emerging out of its decades long civil war funk, a handful of extremists managed to deliver a most unwelcome blow. And regretfully, the government failed miserably in its anticipation of the threat, preparation by failing to focus on the monitoring of new threats by returnees from Syria, and reaction to valuable intell from allies.
Ben
I’m thinking of you and your wonderful Sri Lanka I am so glad you’re ok obviously but my heart weeps for all the families that mourn their loved ones. As we’re about to embark on a long business trip to Asia Japan Korea Singapore Malaysia Thailand I say to myself yes nowhere is safe but their economy needs us and we must travel and support these broken countries… All my love and thanks for sharing all this with us xxxx bisous Barbara and Tim
Barbara! How nice to read you. Thank you for your comments. Sounds like a great trip coming up.
I think I need to take issue with your characterization however to some extent. No doubt that tourism is an important part of the economy for several of the countries you mention, however I am having a reaction to your description of these as “broken countries”. A bit of a western ethno-centricism is creeping in and, as I know you are so well travelled, I am tempted to think that this is more about expediency of writing than an actual misread of the situation. That said, I hope you won’t mind if I challenge a bit your sense of “broken countries”.
To start with Japan, Korea, and Singapore all have roaring economies. To be sure all countries have SOME challenges. Living in France, you know all too well what challenges France faces from high unemployment to creeping racism, just to mention these. For my part I would venture that the US has more challenges than all of these combined with a broken political system, rampant corporate corruption and dramatically under-resourced infrastructure. So in a sense there is “breakage” everywhere. But the very countries you mention, I would be tempted to put in the vibrant and healthy categories.
Japan does have some challenges around its demographics, i.e. an aging population, but beyond that, the economy remains extremely strong, the balance of payment is as well so the one big ill that affects the country is perhaps is “too much work”. Our tourism dollars or Euros won’t fix that.
Korea of course faces the existential threat of a North Korean neighbour with potentially lethal military capability, but then again, they have faced that reality for several decades and I actually don’t think too many people lose sleep over Kim Jong Il’s latest military parade. The economy is super strong, unemployment is low, Koreans are notably healthy etc. Again, while Korea is yet to be a major tourism destination, their economy doesn’t depend at all on tourism, so these tourism dollars/Euros are not, in my view, a gift from the west that matters meaningfully. And I just don’t see where Korea is “broken”.
Singapore is just nowhere near the broken label. Singapore has been an exemple of thoughtful, steady growth and development, visionary governance and domestic peace for decades.
Malaysia, I would agree, has had many challenges as a result of having an uber-corrupt regime for decades that stole public funds to such an extent that history books have and will be written about just how craven a corrupt government can go. That said, Malaysia has finally rid itself of that regime and a new leadership is in place now that is starting to bring Malaysia back into the fold of robust, growing South East Asian economies. The country’s muslim population has not been contaminated with bellicose radical islam teachings and the standard of living is growing slowly but surely. I am quite sure that from a French perspective there could be some aspects of “basic necessities” that could appear to be lacking, perhaps in the healthcare sector, but again, I certainly wouldn’t consider Malaysia “broken”. Pillaged by the former government, yes. Broken, no.
And finally Thailand… very much unbroken. To some extent, one could point to extreme grief at having lost a long-loved King, but I don’t think that’s what you were thinking about re countries being broken. Thailand has a solid tourism sector and yes I would agree that tourism income is an important part of the economy. Of course, I don’t think of it as our having to travel to support Thailand, or any these countries, but rather being fortunate that these countries are open and accessible for us to be able to partake, for the short duration of our travels, of all the marvels that make up Thailand, from the beaches to the temples, to the food, to the massage, to the art and craft and to the phenomenally friendly people. I tend to think of travel to such destination less as our doing them a favor with our travel revenue and more of their doing us a favor by sharing their rich history and culture and geography.
I hope this friendly pushback doesn’t come across as antagonistic and argumentative. I felt that not addressing this characterization of “broken countries” would be tantamount to agreeing, and, obviously, I don’t. I’m sure you and Tim will have a fabulous trip and hope it won’t be all business and that you will have enough time to discover these beautiful lands, peoples and cultures…
Ben
It very weird how educated people become blind due to religious disbelief and conduct such heinous activities
Jogi, thanks for your comments. Actually it is quite the opposite. Two of the perpetrators were highly educated (lawyers..) and their act was not out of disbelief in religion, but quite the opposite. It is their reading of Islam and their religious jihad that made them take action.
Ben
Simply heartbreaking. Thank you for sharing your knowledge from your inside understanding. I can only pray for you, the people of Sri Lanka and it’s recovery from this outrage. And that somehow we will accept that we are all one and what we do to anyone we do to all.
Sadly Eileen, the news from Sri Lanka is rather disheartening. Buddhists have taken to the streets to seek revenge and retaliation on the Muslim community. Revenge is a strange thing ~ people seem to need an outlet for their rage even though that rage is used against innocent people. And of course the cycle of retaliation never ends.
Ben
Peta and Ben – your heartbreak and anger shine through your words. When I heard about this, I immediately thought of you. I sure hope that things can go back to being balanced and that you won’t have to live in fear in your beloved adopted country.–Warm wishes, Julie
Thanks J.D. for thinking of us. We are in the States, but our hearts break for what is happening. The latest events of Buddhists retaliating against innocent Muslims is really horrific. The cycle just never ends. We are not sure when we will go back because these events have a direct impact on Ben’s work, but not only that, the negative energy is not something that I particularly want to be enveloped by..
Peta
Attacks on innocent people are so senseless and pointless. Now that a few weeks have passed since the attack, are things getting back to normal? Do you know if many tourists canceled trips or if the attacks have hurt the economy? When things like this happen it is always the poorest and most vulnerable who suffer the long term consequences.
Jeff, these are great questions. Sadly, the post terrorist strike actions by the military going house to house have surfaced a large stock of hidden ammunition and bomb making materials confirming that ISIS had not only planned one strike but was gearing up to establish a robust base in Sri Lanka.
Another consequence has been that Buddhists are attacking innocent Musims because they want revenge ~ There is an ongoing wave of retaliation which is in our opinion, tragic.
From a tourism point of view, multiple governments have issued travel advisories for Sri Lanka and as a result tourism has plunged. And this in a country that was just recently named as the top destination to travel to in 2019 by Lonely Planet and others.
Yes, this will dramatically hurt the economy and many will struggle to make ends meet. The hospitality industry has just reported that current occupancy which is typically around 60 – 75% has plunged to 10%.
Peta & Ben
Peta and Ben, thanks for these inside insights about this terrorist event and the political and religious situation in Sri Lanka. So very sad to hear about the waves of retaliation as a consequence.
Jude