MORE VIRUS!

The “HUNGER” ‘VIRUS’ kills about 8,000 children a day and the vaccine for it exists, it is called ‘FOOD,’ but you won’t hear that in the media.  Do you know why?? Because “hunger” does not kill the rich.  Heart-wrenching pictures of children around the world, do not seem to create an atom of sympathy among those who have.  It could also be called a ‘pandemic’ but the bigger more disastrous pandemic is ‘rich.’  Reflecting on why the hunger of the masses cannot be brought to some level of control by the rich, one can only conclude that to rid the world of ‘hunger’ is not possible because the rich do not feel its pangs!!!  You can cure a virus, an epidemic, or even a pandemic because you have vaccines, medications etc., but when you do not feel the awful pangs of hunger, when your stomachs are always full sometimes even bursting, how can they even hope to understand the hunger of those who ‘have not?’  COVID 19 came into being with no warning, it was an act of God, it hit the rich and poor alike regardless of who or what they are!  Sadly, however, we still have those who DO NOT CARE, they have not learned; therefore it is correct to say they never will.

The world was very proud, the rich, the achievers, the millionaires, the billionaires, thought they had everything and that everything they possessed was the result of their hard work or their good fortune.  However, when COVID 19 came knocking it didn’t separate the rich from the poor it took whomever it chose; ironically, COVID 19 seems to have found it easier to close in on the rich and famous, bringing them to their knees to ask for a miracle!  Today, as the fear of this virus and the probability of it destroying even more than it already has still keeps going around the universe, it is time even now for people to go down on their knees, join their hearts and hands together and ask for forgiveness and healing. The whole world stopped spinning, the noise and destruction that crippled the environment was silenced, the proud and powerful were humbled, everything kept closing and crashing in around us.  Maybe this virus was God’s way of purifying and cleansing our souls and the world we live in.

"The world was very proud, the rich, the achievers, the millionaires, the billionaires, thought they had everything and that everything they possessed was the result of their hard work or their good fortune"

We are still living our lives like there is no tomorrow, like we will be here forever, instead of joining our hands and asking for healing, protection and forgiveness, begging God to just wipe it off the face of the earth.
Bringing a little mirth into the stark truth of what we are facing; a Britisher asked; Why no politician in Sri Lanka tested positive for Corona while lots of politicians around the world, even some of the Prime Ministers tested positive for Corona?  REPLY - The Politicians in Sri Lanka have always maintained “Social Distancing” with people immediately after elections for several decades!!!   That way they are safe in more ways than one, they make no promises and give no guarantees you see, so they are cleverer, cunning and more astute than you think!!!   

For most of us, change is uncomfortable but more often than not inevitable!!! Change is uncomfortable but that does not mean it is not worth it, we find our President and Prime Minister both urging change in almost every area of our lives!!! We need to work together to face the economic crisis which, as we all know is a worldwide phenomena today resulting from the global pandemic.  Humanity is the need of the hour, whoever won or lost is not important, it is the principle of humanity in the essence of social morality that matters.When we had to elect a new President, the people of Sri Lanka believed that it was time to find the strength and the courage that lay within them to pick up the pieces and begin again, to trust somebody new and so they chose Gotabaya!!!  The people were sick and tired of Ranil’s procrastinating games, no matter what the issues were, he had this morbid compulsion to keep postponing without making decisions till the last moment!!!  The people of Sri Lanka could not even begin to comprehend his lack of leadership!!!

Talking of change, our President has indeed demonstrated radical change, he is all over Inspecting this, touring that, openings here and there, functions everywhere!!!  We cannot however call for changes only in the hierarchy; we have also got to think in terms of change as a nation!!!  There is so much change that can be effected in our lives; our outlook on life, the way we act and react, our concern for others, especially the poor and underprivileged; all this could contribute towards making us a great nation.

"For most of us, change is uncomfortable but more often than not inevitable!!! Change is uncomfortable but that does not mean it is not worth it, we find our President and Prime Minister both urging change in almost every area of our lives!!!"

It seems our people have learned to judge our politicians and understood who they have voted for!!!  Our country is bordering on economic bankruptcy; the worst of the white-collared criminals are still at large with no resolution in sight!!! The crucial underlying question that we need to know most of all is who we can trust, is it those we have voted into positions of power!!!  We are confident that those in power now will give us better standards of education, make education easily accessible to the poor children, that they will think of the Forces children, perhaps come up with a plan to help poor kids who sometimes come to school hungry and could at least be given a glass of milk, maybe they can ask all the multimillion dollar corporations to come up with a wholesome sandwich or snack for poor kids, which one of them can garner up worthwhile community projects, get the schools involved in school gardens and distribute the crops to the children themselves, healthcare is the next important issue, what kind of health benefits would be given to the disabled, the elderly who are already in Homes and particularly those who are not, the poor who desperately need medical attention, a law and order Minister who can ensure that court cases, especially of the poor, do not go on for intractable periods of time, formulate some kind of an insurance scheme which will benefit the poor and downtrodden, make employment abroad safe for the countless women who through sheer force of circumstance are compelled to work abroad, especially in the Middle East and who eventually end up not getting paid, being raped, brutally treated or even murdered!!!  

There is SO MUCH, SUCH A DEVASTATING AMOUNT TO BE DONE, THE BURNING QUESTION IS WHEN IS IT GOING TO START???  WHO WILL BE GENUINELY CONCERNED TO START ONE OF THE ABOVE OR EVEN BEGIN MULTITASKING FOR THE BENEFIT OF SRI LANKA AND HER CITIZENS???  THE COMMON GOOD OF THE MOTHERLAND IS THE UNDERLYING FACTOR HERE!!!  IT IS INCUMBENT THAT ALL POLITICIANS REGARDLESS OF PARTY RISE UP TO ACHIEVE THIS FOR OUR MOTHERLAND!!!  IF, EVEN SOME OF THIS COULD AT LEAST BEGIN TO BE ACHIEVED, THEN WE COULD TRULY CALL ‘SRI LANKA, A LAND LIKE NO OTHER!!!’ 

To our President, I would like to end with the immortal words of the great Mahatma Gandhi:
“BE THE CHANGE YOU WISH TO SEE IN THE WORLD”  -  MR. PRESIDENT! 

                THE VOICE