Have We Lost Sight of Human Decency?: Sangakkara on SL Tensions

The former Sri Lankan skipper has urged the people to come together to say no to racism.

File photo of former Sri Lankan cricket team captain Kumar Sangakkara. 

(Photo: Reuters)

Reacting to the ongoing tensions in Sri Lanka that led to the government declaring emergency for 10 days, cricketing legend Kumar Sangakkara urged his countrymen to not endanger their future.

Asking if the Sri Lankan people have lost the basic sight of human decency, former Sri Lankan skipper said that everyone must feel safe and accepted inthe country, regardless of ethnicity and religion.

Have we lost sight of basic human decency? Are we so morally corrupt that our mindless decisions are endangering our future? We are our sisters’ keepers, we are our brothers’ keepers. We have to make sure that in Sri Lanka, everyone must feel safe, loved and accepted regardless of ethnicity or religion.

Kumar Sangakkara, Sri Lankan cricketer

He urged everyone to come together and say no to racism, stating that it does not matter if a person is a Muslim, Sinhalese, a Tamil or a Buddhist, and that everyone should have the same deep love for the country.

When we look at fellow Sri Lankans’ eyes, we shouldn’t see a Muslim, a Tamil, a Sinhalese, etc. We must see ourselves in each other. We must see the same hopes and dreams and the same deep love for the country.  Lets not allow our vision to be blinded by hatred, ignorance and fear.Together, Lets say no to racism.

There have been tensions in Sri Lanka as clashes emerged between Muslim and Buddhist communities after the death of a truck driver from the majority Sinhalese Buddhist community who died days after he was involved in an altercation with four Muslims.

Sri Lanka had declared a state of emergency for 10 days on 6 March to rein in the spread of communal violence, a day after Buddhists and Muslims clashed in the Indian Ocean island's central district of Kandy.

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