Asada M Erpini

Lankapage on 06 March reports, quoting AFP, that over 2000 Tamils from Europe protested opposite the UN in Geneva, Switzerland, demanding a trial for war crimes in Sri Lanka. They had also ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-denounced the use of Tamil children as sex slaves and the imposition of the Sinhala language and Buddhist religion on TamilsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The manipulations and the lies behind these demands and accusations are legion.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ In 1990s Switzerland had the largest relative Tamil population in Europe, which has grown to at least 50,000 today. Canada, which welcomed the Tamils who left Sri Lanka on various grounds, has over 300,000, with at least 250,000 living in Toronto alone: Toronto is considered to be the city with the highest number of Sri Lankan Tamils. The totals in other European countries that have Tamils mainly from Sri Lanka are illuminating: Germany – nearly 60,000; France ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” over 100,000; Netherlands ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” more than 20,000; Norway, Denmark and Sweden – substantial numbers.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Somewhat belatedly, the Canadian Immigration Minister is reported to have said that the MV Ocean Lady Tamils who ended up in Canada in 2009 were “asylum shopping”, adding, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-One principle of asylum law is that you seek protection at the first available opportunityƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ According to the 2011 Census of India, the population in Tamil Nadu is 72 million. The State is ruled by a lady who weeps buckets on behalf of her blood brothers in Sri Lanka, and receives ample support to continue in her acting career by the likes of Vaiko, Nedumaran and some celluloid hero in Tamil moves. But only the really desperate and those who did not have the wherewithal in Sri Lanka to raise US $ 40,000 per head to pay the human smugglers and those who had no rich ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”unclesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ in the West to advance the fee, landed in Tamil Nadu, which is only 30 Kilometers away from the shores of Sri Lanka. Instead, the large majority of the Tamils ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”persecuted by the SinhaleseƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ opted to take the perilous journey in MV Sun Sea, MV Ocean Lady or other such contraptions to seek their fortune in Canada, nearly 13,000 kiolometres away, or in other countries generally known as of people of Caucasian descent and professing the Christian faith. The country next door, with people of the same complexion, dress styles, religion and food habits and speaking the same language was not good for these ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”refugeesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The reason for engaging in asylum shopping is simple: better economy and the enviable social welfare benefits.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ According to UN data, the GDP per capita of some of the countries mentioned above in 2009ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  is as follows: Norway US$ 78673.6; Switzerland US$ 65003.4; Netherlands US$ 47889.2;

France US$ 41225.8; Germany US$ 40527.8 and Canada US$ 39795.3. Sri Lanka has US$ 2112.1 on this parameter and India, the Union of States, of which one is Tamil Nadu,

US$ 1074.5. Additionally the Human Development Index of Norway was the highest nine times and of Canada eight times in the recent past.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ If a person in Sri Lanka is not happy to continue living within its shores for whatever reason, naturally he will want to choose a country in which he will be assured of a comfortable life for himself and his family. Why should the Sri Lankan refugees not go to Norway or Switzerland and consider going instead to Tamil Nadu in India when the GDP per capita of these rich countries is more than 65 times that of India and nearly 33 times that of Sri Lanka.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It is sad that the protestors against Sri Lanka have gone to the extent of saying that Tamil girls are used as sex slaves in Sri Lanka.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ There are people all over the world who use helpless girls and women as sex slaves. The UK Daily Mail reported on 15 February that a teenage girl was kept in a cage as a sex slave in Birmingham. The same paper highlighted the case of a 10-year old girl kept as a sex slave in Greater Manchester. The Daily Mail on 06 March reports a gang of nine men involved in the sexual abuse of over 100 girls in Derby. These are just a minuscule extract of the crimes committed against girls and young women reported in one country.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Sri Lanka is not a country of hermits and saints, and if a few depraved individuals resort to illegal means to satisfy their desires, the entire country, and especially the Sinhala community, should not be vilified. Additionally such a situation should not be cited as a justification by unscrupulous individuals to gain permanent residence in the affluent countries in the West.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Tamil is one of the official languages of Sri Lanka today. There are concerted moves by the government to make Sri Lanka a tri-lingual nation. Even the Official Language Act of 1956, habitually vilified by the anti-Sri Lankan Tamils as the Sinhala Only Act, was an attempt to give due recognition to the language of over 70% of the inhabitants of the country. Hindi is the official language of India, with Tamil receiving official status in Tamil Nadu, one of the 28 states and the seven unions in India.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Tamils are, and were always, free to practice their religion in all parts of Sri Lanka with no hindrance from the government or individuals. The massive groups of Tamil Hindu devotees who gather at the imposing Hindu temples in the Wellawatte, Bambalapitiya or Kotahena suburbs of Colombo ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” now portrayed accommodatingly as Tamil areas by many media correspondents in the West ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” is ample evidence that there is no attempt by anyone to impose the Buddhist way of thinking or beliefs on a hapless Hindu population.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Protests against Sri Lanka will go on and on and on. ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-The persecution of Tamils in Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ is the trump card that opened the doors of the rich nations to many Tamils who wished to leave Sri Lanka for good. The peace that exists in the island nation at present, the influx of foreign tourists to the country and the investments by many foreign commercial concerns negate the persecution canard that served admirably well for a section of the former Sri Lankan community, now domiciled oversees. Anti-Sri Lankan Tamil expatriates dare not stop raising the issue of Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s human rights violations and war crimes at ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” or outside – every international forum: they know that will be the biggest losers, if they do.

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