One country...one people

I've never been through anything more surreal. I was at the CH & FC watching Sri Lanka bat when suddenly we heard what sounded like a couple of explosions. The electricity was shut off. 1500 people were stranded in the dark. No one was let out. No one was let in to the grounds. Then there was gun fire which was followed by a burst of flares from all directions of Colombo's night sky. Surprisingly everyone didn't panic. We got news that Colombo was under attack. No one knew exactly what was going on though. Then everything quietened down. About an hour after the lights went out, they were turned back on again. The screens were still turned off so no one knew what was happening to the match. At that point i'm not sure many people cared. People were too busy finding out whether their loved ones were ok, if they could get on the already congested mobile networks. But a little while after the lights were turned on, there was another burst of a million flares that lit up the night sky. It would've looked gorgeous if not for the emergency of the situation. There was more gun fire. And then we saw a plane in the sky. Everyone panicked. The main ground lights were turned off. People were breaking the bulbs of the lights in the food stalls in order to get the whole place dark again. Then the electricity was turned off again. People started running everywhere. Some were crying. Some were just sitting there. I'm proud to be from where I am. We, as a people, have been through a lot. Alot more than what others have been through. We've grown up through war and strife. We've gone to school amongst bombs going off and people being killed. I'm proud of what our people have become. I'm proud of the fact that everyone at the CH, whatever their religion, race, caste or creed were worried about each others families. What happened to the world cup? I don't really care. I'm proud of the way our team played right throughout. We're an island nation at war, but we still conquered the world in my heart. I'm proud to be Sri Lankan.

With their tanks and their bombs and their bombs and their guns...

Not this time, but it could easily have been (Reposted due to disappearing posts:)) It was bound to happen sooner or later. I said bye to my mum around 11:30pm. She was heading to the airport to fly off to Hong Kong. She must've got to the airport around 12:15am. I must've fallen asleep around that time. At 12:51am my phone rang and my mum, almost in tears, was saying that the airport was under attack and that she could hear bombs and gunfire and that the passengers were being evacuated. I panicked. All sorts of things ran through my head. There was no immediate information on the internet or the tv! We couldn't even get through to her 5 minutes later cause all the lines were jammed. We couldn't go there cause the roads were closed. At around 3:30am, having resigned my self to the fact that i can't do much from here, i tossed and turned and fell asleep. Was mighty glad to wake up around 6 to the news that it was only the airforce camp and not the civilian airport. Mum came home at 6:40am. Passengers had been taken to the Galadari in Colombo. This was to be expected. Our forces are pounding LTTE targets in the North and East. The civillians in those areas are constantly fleeing heavy fighting at the risk of their lives and their livelihoods. Our beloved president announces that he will use military force to drive out the LTTE and that it would take 2-3 years, obviously paying no regard whatsoever to the Ceasefire agreement. Fair enough, it has become a useless piece of paper. But then if you are going to make such strong statements publicly, can you not put your foot down and declare that the ceasefire doesn't exist? We're very lucky that the LTTE hasn't carried out an attack on the civilians of the south as of yet in retaliation to the recent pounding in the north. I believe that in the eyes of the international community the LTTE scored plenty of points last night by attacking a military target, which is allowed under the laws of war in retaliation to attacks on it's own military positions. Not that the laws of war have been respected at all in the Sri Lankan conflict. But i'm so relieved that the civilians at the airport, including my mum, were spared by the LTTE who could've very easily created much more chaos. I can't believe our government is still under the impression that this war can be won militarily. Both sides have tried and failed. Which in itself obviously is a clear indication to us as to the sheer deadlock in warring ability. But our leaders and theirs are oblivious to this fact. The international community too is calling for an end to hostilities. Over 20 years, over 68,000 lives (and that's only official records), and so many gajillions of rupees that could've been spent on making this island a true paradise have been lost on this useless war. I think it's time to bite the bullet. Everyone wants peace. Then why is this so hard to achieve?