Parallels for Sinhala Buddhists from Brexit & the British
Shenali D Waduge
When the views of the majority populace of a country are ignored and they react after enduring with patience they cannot be ridiculed as being xenophobic & racist. Going against the established system manipulated and well controlled by a handful of people is not an easy task but 52% of the Brits showed the world that it was still possible. The Brexit vote shook the mental disposition of many who thought they could drive any liberal-theory home and people would buy in blindfolded. Brexit showed that even the poor and downtrodden still had power to change and change they did creating a domino effect across the entire European Union. The lesson for Sri Lanka and in particular the Sinhala Buddhists who find themselves being treated like a minority majority is that they too have the powers to change the established system. Prof. Scott Anthony perfectly sums up the status quo which Sinhala Buddhists will well agree with “the actual people who voted for Brexit are precisely not the people who get invited to explain their reasons, especially to an international audience.” This is the same case ailing the Sinhala Buddhist majority in Sri Lanka.
According to Prof. Scott, the British that voted to Leave the EU did so against the advice of the leaders of all the major British political parties, ignoring US President Barack Obama and EU leaders, as well as an internationalarray of major businessmen, scientists and cultural figures. It was one of the first occasions that the people’s will came to the fore devoid of media and other manipulations. The Brits went against conventional wisdom. They refused to fall prey to the fear psychosis media and powerful others were repeatedly telling them.
Brexit has exposed the political, economic and social crisis that prevails and ushered a rebellion of sorts against the established systems.
Prof. Scotts analysis of what the Brits were fed & similar stories are being fed to the majority in Sri Lanka
· Leaving EU would increase terrorism
· Pensions and public services would be cut
· World war 3 would start
· Brits were creating national hara kiri
· The Brits who were voting out were labelled ‘racist’ ‘xenophobic’
· The Brits under 30 saw the EU as a marker of cosmopolitan internationalism
· The older generation of Brits saw the EU as propagators of a false, almost parochial kind of internationalism
· Trade unionists blame the EU's enforcement of regulations on freedom of movement and freedom of capital for pushing down wages and undermining full-time, secure employment.
There are common traits that the Sinhala Buddhists share with the Brits.
For both, the vote was a mark of protest. Brits that voted for Brexit and the Sinhala Buddhists in general are poor – their decision invariably was one based on the logic that the less you have, the less you had to lose in voting. The poorer the area the more likely they wanted to leave EU. There was nothing in it for them to really stay. The Brexit voters were of an older generation, the Sinhala Buddhists today disgusted with how the country is being sold for toffees are similarly of the older vintage able to understand the ramifications. The Brexit voters were also less-educated, living in the outskirts while Sinhala Buddhists who make up the majority vote base as well as provide the manpower for the armed forces that defend the nation and also the Buddhist clergy that also continue to keep the identity of the country alive were also poor, less educated and living in the outskirts.
While the Sinhala Buddhists do not have a Nigel Farage what is interesting is that Nigel Farage the leader of the UK Independent Party did not even win the parliamentary seat he was contesting at the 2015 May election. Yet he was able to muster the sentiments of what the majority of Brits felt so while a ‘wanted’ sign for a true Sinhala Buddhist leader still prevails there is hope that a man or even woman can emerge at the right hour representing the majority populace in Sri Lanka!
Another hopeful moment for the Sinhala Buddhists is how racially and religiously diverse areas like Birmingham, Nottingham and Leicester in fact voted to leave the EU. Then there is Barking and Dagenham in East London where less than half its population were half British and 62% voted to leave EU. Therefore all is not lost afterall. Nevertheless, Scotland that voted unanimously to remain in the EU is more like the Northern Province always following orders of India in whatever votes that take place.
Of course there are issues that the majority populace in Sri Lanka can connect with sharing the sentiments of the Brits
Billionaire Peter Hargreaves, says Brexit will push Britain to emulate Singapore.
"It was a mosquito-infested swamp with no natural resources…….All they had were people with brains and hands and they turned it into the greatest economy in the world. I believe that will happen to us, too."
What the Brits and the majority in Sri Lanka do overwhelmingly share is the issue of demographic changes visibly frightening the Brits as a result of free flow of immigrants/asylum seekers and what not while the Sinhalese see the signing of the ETCA with India on a similar footing with Indians flooding into Sri Lanka. In both cases the fears are valid.
If Brexit voters felt that Britain was losing something very valuable to the powerful bureaucracy in Brussels, the majority in Sri Lanka are fearing the same with India eventually ruling over Sri Lanka.
If the Brexit voters feared the authority of Brussels to impose laws & regulations upon all EU members and free trade of goods and serves, free movement of people the same fears are what engulfs the people’s objections to signing ETCA with India.
Just as the majority in Sri Lanka are proud of and wishes to keep its heritage, culture and traditions without it being kept on par with cultures that have come later day and are trying to place their cultures and traditions above that of the majority, the Brits too began feeling the same. Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Blaszczak has correctly pinned down how problems have been created ‘multiculturalism and political correctness’ is to blame.
In short, you just cannot put culturally diverse civilizations with different values and goals most of which aim to destroy historical identities of others, together and package it as multifaith, multi-religious etc. Ideologies that have hatred imbibed into their religious texts and teachings plus a plethora of new ideological schools of thoughts that are emerging as free-thinkers cannot harmonize with civilizations that are dharmic and nonviolent.
As Sri Lanka experienced with the hypocrisy of the ‘national government’ denying the franchise of the SLFP voters at the last election, the Brexit voters are now feeling that the UK MPs might do a U-Turn and find some way to avoid leaving the EU. Days after the Brexit result the possibility of this occurring looks a reality!
The Brexit voters has enabled the ignored lot to finally have their say which again is an inspiration to the majority in Sri Lanka. Political correctness has meant anyone questioning neo-liberal policies are branded a bigot or racist and silenced using the tool of global media and local lackeys. The inconvenient truth is always silenced. Brexit showed that there are plenty of possibilities to change the status quo. The vote in fact has shaken a lot of people who thought they could comfortably feed lies to people and fool them.
It is now time for the castigated majority in Sri Lanka to also rise and be heard.