National Conference 2008: Vinoth Ramachandra

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Seetha’s Story

The story in the Daily Mirror of 14 May 2008 (page A7) about the rape of two teenage girls in Kalmunai and subsequent abduction of one of them shocked me to the core, as it must have many others. At the same time I felt that this story with all its cruelty, impunity and cowardice on the one hand and fear, pathos and hopelessness on the other was the one that epitomized the Eastern province in particular and our country in general. Political optimists will say that on balance the recent events in the Eastern province, inclusive of an election, are a beacon of hope for a war torn land. Why do I not believe that? Maybe it is my pessimistic nature or my engineering background that tends to focus on failure rather than success; and my unbelief is buttressed by stories such as this. The story raises many issues and reveals the kind of society we are now living in and shaping for ourselves.

The mother whose daughters were raped is called by the name of Seetha. The name is no doubt a fictitious one, but a Sinhala name. Were the victims in fact a Sinhala family? The reason I ask is because most Sinhala people feel that they would be spared the many terrible things happening around us on account of their belonging to the majority race. If this family were in fact Sinhala, it is a wake up call to all Sinhalese that no one is safe. It also demonstrates that what is important for safety is not one’s race but one’s alignment to the wielders of power.

Neither the hospital authorities nor the police seemed inclined to get involved in this. Did they know the perpetrators of the crime or suspect that they had powerful patrons? Or did they assume that anyone who had committed such atrocious crimes would have had to have such patronage? The father himself displayed an initial reluctance to go to the police. The police have an unenviable task in a context such as ours, but its mandate and even heritage is surely the protection of the victim and the apprehension of the criminal. When victims fear to go to the police, what does that say of the police? What does it say of our society? What does it say about those who talk about “the old values” but whose sons have all but stopped joining the police? Even in Colombo when Tamil people face hardships of various sorts it is not to the police that they go, but to a Tamil political entity aligned to the government. Is this how we wish to live, even temporarily?

How about the impunity of the perpetrators who dared to visit the scene of their crime again? Such arrogance and bravado undoubtedly smack of patronage, no doubt political, especially in the context of the election surrounding this heinous crime. Have our leaders, who pay so much lip service to religion (not only at this time of Vesak but also during all religious festivals and in fact right through the year), completely re-written all moral precepts so that right and wrong are merely synonyms for being with them and against them respectively?

Then of course there is the issue of rape, which I think Germaine Greer said was a threat that all men hold over all women. I will not debate that, but it appears that a militarized society is one where the physical needs of combatants tend to be satisfied either through prostitution or rape. The combatants are clearly important for whatever leader they serve, so it is unlikely that such actions are seriously condemned; they may even be condoned. It is not a good time to be a young woman in Sri Lanka.

Finally, although our entire land is on the verge of such anarchy, there are clearly some who suffer more than others. I weep for Seetha, but am uncomfortable that my lot is far more secure than hers. I do not have any patronage but probably do have some measure of social power. If those of us with such measure of social power seek to get directly involved with victims such as Seetha’s family, it may result in some protection being afforded to them. That would of course be risky.…

Priyan Dias
Dehiwala

May 2008