We have taught the world how to defeat terrorism of the most virulent variety; we have shown the world true patriots (sycophants) and base traitors (speakers for a grossly mistreated ex patriot). We have demonstrated to the world how to live it up though in deep debt. We have made the largest slab of kiributh and grown 11 million trees in 11 minutes. We have the largest Cabinet of Ministers with geriatrics promoted to senior status. We’ve had the largest number of public holidays, added to as the whim arises – to celebrate assuming a position voted in to, and every series win by our cricketers.
Now we show the world how to effectively decimate wild life, particularly elephants, saving bullets and all. Just chuck the biggest and best onto a truck with a weak floorboard and drive forwards even when the pachyderm falls through the flimsy structure. No one is responsible; another huge art and craft of our country being passing the buck, shoving off responsibility. So the persons who killed that poor elephant are not to blame, they were carrying out orders, and the persons who gave the order are not to blame because their order was carried out crassly.
To my jaundiced eye and disgust-abberated mind, the political VIPs are to blame. They are not really bothered about the country or their duties; freebies are what occupies their time and minds. The lower rungs could care less since they too are worried about how to meet costs of living and so they do a job just to say they did it, never mind the result.
So we’ve lost another of our precious elephants. They die at the hands of trigger-happy villagers; fall into traps set for meat-for-the-pot creatures. They are driven out of their usual haunts and their traditional corridors blocked by human settlements. Admittedly, human peasants living in or near elephant lands suffer. Precious little is done to save both man and pachyderm.
But the tourists keep coming; the maids migrate to torture-lands even when unwelcome; the bands play on; the lights sparkle; wise advise is hardly given ear to and we, the hoi polloi cry over our problems, the basic one of how to exist. And we weep at the death of this great elephant – Parakrama - the magnificent tusker, who the villagers say was no bother to them. That’s Sri Lanka moving fast to be the Miracle of Asia, the Miracle of the World soon enough. Did I hear the word debacle? No? Good! Small miracle was not mega enough.
Courtesy - The Island
