Tuesday 24 February 2009

...

I was a day overdue and highly irritable when I heard the MTV/MBC station had been attacked by “armed civilians”. Interesting when you think that there are “armed” civilians walking the streets of Sri Lanka. I have been there and have fond memories, and it saddened me to think that it was vandalised or attacked, whichever word is more appropriate. While I was thankful that no one was hurt, I was angry, and the progesterone coursing through my system added fuel to the fire. I raged on about it to my poor Hubby and my Mother who is visiting to help us with the baby.

Not sure if it was the injustice against private news organisations in Sri Lanka, or MTV in particular, or perhaps it was the obstetrician working her magic on my cervix, I went into labour that night, while still ranting about how nothing would be done about the attack and how could civilians get their hands on arms without the support of some one or some people with more authority, and in Sri Lanka’s case “power”. Authority and power are not to be mixed up, not in Sri Lanka, not in the current climes.

So I went into labour as I was saying (that is a story for another time), and our boy arrived the next day. I completely forgot about the attack, which is rather unusual for me, but I would say, something like childbirth might do that to a woman’s brain. Anyway, we had been home a couple of days, and I was just beginning to feel my numb bottom and praying desperately for some sleep when Hubby asked me if I knew the editor of the Sunday Leader. I knew it had to be bad news. Why would he ask me about someone he knew nothing about, journalists from Sri Lanka don’t win the Pulitzer, they just get killed, that is recognition of quality work. The hormones still raging through me, I did not take this news well.

What the hell is going on in Sri Lanka? I tried to live in denial for the longest time by avoiding any news coming out of the country. And now…weeks later, the government is surging into the north and east and the LTTE are flying into the city bombing or crashing into buildings, whatever it may be and my son is growing, I am recovering, but my head is full of nasty memories associated with the birth of my child. I am confused, not sure what to think. I always wanted to take my offspring to Sri Lanka, a beautiful country with beautiful people…I don’t think there will be much for him to see. There certainly will be few nice people left for him to meet. They are all leaving the country, or worse still dying!