The fakery that is Sri Lanka, that
maintains it is a Buddhist country, but to its shame has the largest number of
disappeared and unaccounted people of any Country on the face of the Earth,
deports a Buddhist after harassing and questioning her upon arrival for having
a tattoo that depicts the Buddha on her arm a traditionally respectful place to
have a tattoo, is to me a sign of a mentally deficient policy. This is not
breaking any law!
This lady has been to Sri Lanka twice
before with the tattoo, and she has also been to Buddhist countries such as
Thailand and Cambodia, with no threat on her person for displaying a tattoo,
has come under the wrath of officials in Sri Lanka, the last bastion of
Buddhism if ever there is one, to be told that she is disrespecting Buddhism.
Imagine if you were so devoted to your
belief that you had a tattoo of your object of belief etched in your body, to
be told that you are disrespecting that belief is tantamount to heresy. What is
the difference in wearing a pendent round your neck?
I accept that the same religion is
practiced differently in different Countries and traditions and rituals may
differ, and in some cases what is acceptable in one country may not be
acceptable in another. It is however wholly out of line for a visitor to this
Country, who without any doubt came here innocently, NOT intending to
disrespect a religion she believes in and probably practices more fully than
90% of Sri Lankan Buddhists who are Buddhist in name only, for outward
acceptance but who have and do break as many precepts of Buddhism on a daily
basis, especially those who govern us, to be hauled in for questioning like a
common criminal suspect is shameful.
It is even more shameful that NO one has
come out to defend this Lady’s rights, as the person who even believes in the
absurdity of the treatment does not dare due to fear to stand up for people’s
rights. This climate of intimidation that we live in, has suppressed any show
of justice, when it is deserved, to point out the absurdity of the allegations,
and the mockery of our double standards.
If as a policy we do not accept it, and
it is NOT a criminal offence in Sri Lanka then it is only reasonable to point
this out to the lady, and request that as a show of respect for the traditions
of Sri Lanka it would be safer for her to cover up her tattoo, so that it would
not offend some people who may take offence. Mind you it is usually not the
true Buddhists who take offence, but
those who want to pretend to others they are true Buddhists, but in
private bash their wives black and blue when they get home on a regular basis.
Real Buddhists are more compassionate of others failings.
It is the hypocrisy of people that I
cannot stand, and to find that there is NO one who is willing to defend a
person from this hypocrisy further exemplifies the culture of un-Buddhism that
we live in. There is NO compassion for the innocent, and it is a further case
of the guilty conferring guilt on the innocent, a common feature of our society
in many walks of life.
I know we have not heard the last of
this incident, and the holier than thous of this Country will get on the squawk
box to further denounce this lady. It is laughable if it was not a serious
black mark on our civility to our visitors, especially one who has been to our
shores twice before without being pulled up for the same allegation.
We are a Country rapidly losing our
senses of what is right and wrong and the law of mental deviants and their ilk
taking the place of regulations and laws, will result in utter chaos. In this
series of events I wait to see what next, in this practice of one-upmanship as
a source of insecurity of a nation.
Just think if you are a foreigner seeing
this news after the HRC inquisition and damning, you would wonder where on the continuum
of insanity this nation lies. Ironically it is lost on a nation, whose Chief Priests
now wish to ban any pictures of the Buddha in newspapers, lest they be INADVERTANTLY
used as a item to dust a table or some other cleaning up task! Are they for real?
Actually non Buddhists are more sensitive
to their feelings and would be careful before using an image of the Buddha to clean,
where as it is more than likely that a Buddhist will not even be aware of his action
in insensitivity.
This article will not be complete if reference
was not made at this juncture to the behavior of Buddhist Priests in unsavory thuggish
acts of late that has sent shivers down the spines of genuine Buddhists seeing the
disrespect they have caused and nothing can close to this desecration. They have
not been arrested, have they?
The allegation, as it appears is, that the tattoo she had on her upper arm depicting Lord Buddha on a lotus flower could have created a public commotion and that alone was the grounds on which the police had sought a deportation order to have her removed from the country. There is no indication that there had been any complaint by any person, to the effect that the reverential exhibition of the Buddha’s image on a lotus flower could cause a commotion amongst the public. Thus, the police have brought on the allegations on their making and initiative. It was the duty of the Magistrate to question the police about the basis of the allegations and to inquire whether there were any grounds at all, to expect such a commotion to take place. If there was any possibility of such a commotion without any legitimate basis, it was the duty of the police and the Magistrate to take all steps necessary to protect her.
ReplyDeleteIt seems quite clear that there appears to be a link between this taxi driver from the airport and the police for extraction of bribes from tourists arriving in Sri Lanka. It is quite possible that there had been other victims of such exercise of harassment.
It was when this attempt failed that the police proceeded to make this ludicrous allegation that the exhibition of such an image could cause a public commotion in Sri Lanka. It appears quite probable that after having found no grounds to cause some fear in the tourist, and thereby to demand bribes failed, the police found flimsy grounds to charge her with, on the basis of the tattoo she had exhibited on her upper arm.
However an even more serious issue is the right for the respect of religious expression of any person of whichever religion it may be. It is the general and usual practice amongst many persons to make some public expression of their religious beliefs by way of various methods. Wearing ornaments with some religious symbols is quite a common practice of many persons. These are matters of private beliefs and every person deserves to have their private expressions of faith and love to be respected. This is not an area where any government has any jurisdiction. This is an area of inviolable rights of individual persons.
As this particular image has now been publicized by international media we have had the opportunity to having a look at the particular image that is depicted on the said tattoo. It is a beautiful Buddhist image and by no stretch of imagination could any reasonable person say that such an image could manifest any kind of irreverence to Lord Buddha. In fact, it manifests that the bearer of the image carries a deep respect for Buddhism.
The action of the police and the Magistrate would without doubt bring tremendous disrespect to Sri Lanka. It is not unreasonable for any person to think that a country where lawful authorities could behave in the manner the in which police and the Magistrate has done, and on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka is weird and crazy.
Today’s papers also carry pictures of a commuter being severely assaulted by the police at the Colombo railway station; his face filled with wounds, his shirt stained with blood. This picture is now available to the public thanks to the efforts of the journalists. The police who have come to remove some obstacles put on the railway tracks by some workers who are making certain demands have assaulted this innocent commuter who has just arrived at the station to travel back home. If the police came to remove the obstacles put on the railway tracts, they should have done so and returned as there was no resistance for such removal. But that is not the style of the Sri Lanka police these days. There has to be some persons to be brutally assaulted and some blood to be shed, if they are to be satisfied. It is these matters that should be worrying the Magistrates and others concerned with the law, and not tourists and their tattoos.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/apr/23/buddha-tattoo-cultural-insensitivity-sri-lanka-research
ReplyDeleteread for a contrarian view to the blog article
http://www.nursingtimes.net/nursing-practice/clinical-zones/mental-health/mental-health-nurse-receives-apology-over-sri-lanka-arrest/5070268.article?referrer=RSS
ReplyDeleteNow there you go, the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority are red faced at this slight to or visitors and have decided to make a statement by offereing her a holiday in the Maldives at their expense.
More opinions against the treatment of the British visitor
ReplyDeletehttps://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/sister-naomi-thank-you-so-much-for-wearing-a-buddha-tattoo-on-your-upper-arm/