MY SRI LANKA, THROUGH THE YEARS

The year was 1963. It was another beautiful, sunny Friday afternoon in the coastal town of Bambalapitiya as I walked down the stairs of the St. Peter’s College hostel and hopped into my father’s vehicle to be driven home for the school holidays. My father was based at the Air Force camp in China Bay, a camp that would be closer to my heart later on, and it was customary for my siblings and me to spend our school holidays with him and my mother.

GROWING UP IN POST-INDEPENDENCE CEYLON

As the car headed towards Ratmalana, I noticed that the landscape of Colombo had begun to change, learning the reasons for this later in life. Branches of the newly established People’s Bank were starting to come up ushering in the era of nationalization by the government of Mrs. Bandaranaike with the aim of spurring local businesses. Meanwhile, tension was brewing amongst different communities after the establishment of Sinhala as the official language of the country in 1961. Divisions within society and the marginalizing of minority communities and religions during this period led to some of the darkest days I would live to see later on. Just over a decade after the British rule had ended, Ceylon was still struggling to establish political stability with the Prime Minister having just survived a coup d’état in 1962 and representatives of the two leading ethnic communities at constant loggerheads following the withdrawal of the Bandaranaike - Chelvanayakam pact in 1957 by the former.

On the positive side, the rupee was still quite strong, trading at under five rupees against the US Dollar, which was welcome for an economy that was largely reliant on agricultural exports including tea, rubber and coconut. The country’s foreign relationships with key stakeholders such as Britain, India and Russia were also at a commendable high with Mrs. Bandaranaike playing a key role in reducing tensions between India and China.

GLORY DAYS!

Fast forward to 1978, the year that I followed my father’s footsteps and joined the Sri Lanka Air Force to become a pilot, the socio-economic landscape had changed drastically. This was on the eve of President

J. R. Jayawardane becoming Sri Lanka’s first Executive President, the beginning of a new era. The country also moved out of statist economic policies into an open economy. This meant the welcoming of dynamic industries such as food processing, apparel and a more vibrant financial sector. While it rang in a stronger economy at first, it would see a serious downturn due to the start of the war against terrorism, a few years later.

For me personally, the late seventies were the formative years of my career in the Air Force, the years that harnessed my skills and brought out the best in me as a pilot, thanks to the tireless efforts of my instructors. These were still peacetime years, where we had time to be actively involved in sports at club level. I chose rugby, a sport I excelled in during my days at St. Peter’s, although I was also into swimming, athletics and basketball back then. But of course, those were days when sports encounters were friendly affairs with the victors and the runners-up, both getting together after a game to have a good time! The young officers back then were a fun lot, with who I made memories that still linger on. Oh those glory days!

TROUBLED TIMES

The seeds of separation that were sown in the early years after independence had started to take root almost immediately. The “Ceylon Citizenship Act” that discriminated against the Indian Tamil estate community, the controversial “Sinhala Only Act” which discouraged Sri Lankan Tamils from entering the civil service and political maneuvers of both Sinhala and Tamil leaders over decades, were significant in devising a conflict that brought doom to the economy and thus, the nation. Tensions escalated very fast in the late 70s and reached breaking point in 1981 with the burning of the Jaffna Library and the 1983 ambush of a Sri Lanka Army patrol by the LTTE. It resulted in one of the bloodiest wars the world has ever seen, a war which never seemed to end. The LTTE terrorists did not show empathy over their own people, but instead played into the petty political agendas of many interested international parties. 25 years and thousands of deaths later including two Heads of State and my own brother, the war ended with a military victory for the Sri Lankan forces against the deadliest terrorist outfit in the world.

Post-war Sri Lanka brought a lot of hope to all communities. The Tamils of the north, even though tentative were looking forward to an economic revival and genuine reconciliation. So did the Sinhalese of the south. The country was led by a visionary leader who believed in Sri Lanka becoming the wonder of Asia. But corruption and petty party politics started affecting the very fabric of this nation. In the case of South Africa, the healing of hearts and minds of communities played a pivotal role in the reconciliation process. However, in Sri Lanka this issue does not seem to have been addressed in a manner acceptable to all parties concerned. Religious disharmony replaced ethnic disharmony and we were at risk of another conflict. The Great Book says “Where there is no vision, people perish” and what we as a country need is a proper vision.

Sri Lanka boasted of 244,000 hectares of tea plantations in 1980, with the area diminishing by 30% over the next 40 years. Earnings from agriculture contributed to 33.53% of the national GDP in 1974 while it contributed just 7% in 2022. Imagine, if the contribution from agriculture was the same now as it was in 1974? That would be an additional USD 23.6 billion to the GDP. That along with the contributions from dynamic industries like apparel and tourism would have made Sri Lanka one of the most prosperous countries in the world. This is what we should aim for. Instead of trying to force every educated youth to the state sector and under privileged youth into driving trishaws and delivering food, they must be inspired into taking up professions such as agriculture, IT and R&D through proper training and provisions for attractive incentives. This is the way out!

MY BEAUTIFUL SRI LANKA

I love my Sri Lanka and her people. My father commanded the Air Force for almost 5 years; my brother lost his life fighting for this country. My wife sacrificed her entire youth and a lucrative career to be by my side as I fought the war and then she spearheaded the Seva Vanitha Unit in serving the families of the Air Force and minority communities in war-torn areas in an unprecedented manner. Now my son serves in the Air Force, and my daughter is studying to serve the nation in the Foreign Service. I bid farewell to a career in an international airline and chose to put my life on the line for this nation. I want to see Sri Lanka win!

My vision for the country is for it to be as prosperous as we were in the times of the great kings and during the era when our tea, rubber and coconut were world famous. I envision a peaceful country where there are no Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims or Burghers but a country with Sri Lankans. One with people that defy party politics and support a visionary leader, regardless of the blues, greens or reds - one like the great King Dutugemunu of Sri Lanka or the great King David of Israel. As the almighty God as my witness, for this I will commit my whole life.

Marshal of the Air Force Roshan Goonetileke is the present Governor of the Western Province in Sri Lanka. He previously served as the 12th Commander of the Sri Lanka Air Force and the Chief of Defence Staff. Goonetileke is the most decorated officer in the history of the Sri Lanka Air Force and is held in high esteem for the role he played in ending the almost three decade long civil war that tore down the country’s economy and claimed thousands of lives. As a result, he was bestowed upon with the honorary rank of Marshal of the Sri Lanka Air Force in 2019, the first Sri Lankan to receive this honour.