Cricket and Air Raids

Twenty eighth April was a great day of anticipation for us in Colombo. Something was going right for Sri Lanka for a change. Sri Lanka had worked its way to the finals and was facing Australia at the Cricket Word Cup played in Barbados. Australia turned out better beating Sri Lanka in a rain sodden game. Losing the match that night would have been ok, but to have Colombo pounded from the sky by terrorist bombs took the cake.

It really hit home again the next night when our second daughter Aitana (11 years) came to our bed and said she is scared to sleep. The day had gone ok, but night time brought her terror.

On the big day, we had seen the first half of the match starting about 7 pm at a private club on a big screen and as the kids got sleepy, came home. As we do not have our TV hooked up, a hasty temporary antennae was jigged up by our son Sacha and it worked. So, we could watch Sri Lanka bat the second half in the comfort of our home. As we were settling in and Sri Lankan hope Sanath Jayasuriya was getting into form and putting the ball away, the lights went out. This was very unusual and I wondered whether the electricity board installations had been hit by terrorists. I was close. It was lights out for an Air Raid !!!

With the blackout, Sacha and I went to the rooftop to look around and noticed the entire city in darkness except for a few large buildings with generators. Over the wall I could see our neighbor's large screen TV on as they had a generator too. So, Sacha and I perched on a wall and tried to follow the match.

Suddenly, we heard what we thought was fire crackers. We craned our heads to see whether Sanath was hitting sixes or whether we had reached a hundred.

Then I could not believe what saw. There were red flares looking like small UFOs flying into the sky in the hundreds and the occasional white light blasting in the sky like huge sky rockets all coming from the west side of the city. As Sacha and I looked on in wonder, the sky lit up in the east (about 5 kms away) and a click and a loud boom happened twice. Having heard many bombs go off in my time, when a boom follows a click, I know. At the same time, Sacha pointed to a small flying object in the sky and we heard the drone. The LTTE had struck again. By this time the rest of the family were on the roof. It was eerie to say the least.

A wave of sadness overcame me. I wondered how many innocent people would have got burned up by this terror. The flares continued and gun fire was all around us. I wondered whether there were street battles. I managed to call my sister, Ranmali who was watching the match with us at the club and they had been at a hotel at the time. Guests were asked to leave their rooms and shelter in the lobby. This is war !!!

It was a tragicomedy as these same small (home made) planes had hit the air force camp near the airport and few days before and tried another attack and here they were again many days later doing another raid.

As I was pondering on how Aitana was feeling, I realized how it must be for all those innocent people in the north and east when the Sri Lankan Air Force bombs are dropped and some times missed targets and fell on civilians. I thought of what many of the innocent people in English and German cities felt like in the world wars when there was nothing one could do when terror fell from the skies. This was not funny anymore. I realized how helpless we all were, but I had to reassure Aitana and hope for the best.

My thoughts went deeper into pondering on when all this was going to stop? My wife, Samantha and I chatted into the morning. Not soon, we reckoned.

Not as long as we are divided as a people, as a nation.

Not as long as there are hawks on both sides who's regressed minds bring them joy through violence and destruction.

No as long as long there is much money to be made dealing in arms.

Not as long as we have arms manufacturers who innovate and create more and more sophisticated weapons in the name of keeping the peace.

Not as long as small nations like ours fall prey to the divisions that race, religion and wealth (having and not having) bring, egged on by those lords of war.

Not as long as we all continue to live our lives of selfish contradiction.

In the meantime, I assure my children that things will be ok, give them good values, teach them love and compassion, but also give them the strength to fight for what is right hoping they will be the ones to take up the noble battle to change all this? lest we go out in a whimper? Besieged in Colombo, but life goes on - really.