REBUILDING THE NATION

Our media reminded us that it was one month since the Easter massacre.to again see so many people in their grief at the loss of parents, children, whole families wiped out, was indeed painful and kept many of us wondering what we could do.the communities, churches, a number of religious groups have all come forward to aid those affected and restore some normalcy to the lives of the hundreds affected. Many of us are wondering about the future of this nation.

We all saw the breaking down of many traditional barriers, how people, even clergy of different religions came forward to help in whatever way possible , those affected. The great leadership given by the Archbishop of Colombo, His Eminence Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, largely contributed to the maintenance of peace and calm immediately after these attacks.the involvement of a number of Buddhist clergy in relief work was heartwarming.

We all saw the breaking down of many traditional barriers, how people, even clergy of different religions came forward to help in whatever way possible

Prominent Muslim leaders called for soul searching to understand how such terrorists came from their community and called for a Sri Lankan identity. I believe all these are good signs and if we do the right things, we can rise up as a strong united nation.

Prominent Muslim leaders called for soul searching to understand how such terrorists came from their community and called for a Sri Lankan identity

Of course there were political opportunists as we saw in the NWP (Minuwangoda), who want to further their political goals by capitalizing on these situations, and the authorities must deal very strongly with them and with elections round the corner we should also give them the right answer. Religious leaders must come down hard on such extremist groups within their group. As they have shown us after the Easter violence, religious leaders can do much to bring about unity among our people. Equally and perhaps more importantly there must be a major overhaul in our education system. No schools must be allowed for particular religious or racial groups. Every school and every classroom must be multicultural. There could be difficulties, but they must be overcome.

EKSITH

FERNANDO