Obvious differences, similar situations.

Tamils Now Languish in Sri Lanka Camps

^ Link to the article I'm talkin' bout. . .

Reading the New York Times this morning, I was caught by an article detailing the detention of Sri Lankan civilians in "internment" camps in Sri Lanka for the purpose of rooting out rebel Tamil Tiger forces hidden in the groups. The current Sri Lankan government has promised Sri Lankan citizens freedom from the Tigers, a powerful, longstanding terrorist group known to governments all around the world as one of the richest and most powerful insurgent groups in recent history. The Tiger's leader was killed last year, effectively defeating the malevolent group, but the freedom the civilians have been counting on has yet to come. Now, instead of living lives free of fear of terrorist activity, civilians are living in crowded camps which are closed to journalists, human rights workers, and aid workers. The Sri Lankan government expresses what seems like genuine regret at having to detain their own people, but claims that the indefinite detention is worthwhile. They say the camps are facilities used to uncover remaining Tamil Tiger rebels. There is no set date as to when the government will be done with their cumbersome screening processes. A goal of a year was alluded to, but government officials admit that achieving the goal will probably be unlikely due to the amount of time the screening has taken up until now.

I'm not saying that the United States is exactly like Sri Lanka. There are obvious differences. For one, Sri Lanka has recently weathered a relatively lengthy and unquestionably violent civil war instigated by the Tamali Tigers (officially called the Liberation Tiger of Tamil Eelam) in an attempt to create separate, independent states on parts of the island. For another, Sri Lanka has only been an independent nation since the mid 1900's. Other differences one might think I should add here could be similarities if our government was scrutinized in domestic news like Sri Lanka's government is scrutinized in foriegn news sources. Unfortunately, the hoops we have to jump through as American's to learn what's really going on in Washington prevent us from knowing the truth until the truth has almost become irrelevant. (Recently, when more secrets of the Nixon era were released to the general public, the information read more like a history novel than urgent political news.) Take the issue of inhumane treatment of people: both the Tamil Tigers AND the Sri Lankan government have been suspected of committing war crimes/crimes against humanity. The US's hands are certainly clean in that category. . . . . . . . . . and therefore, this is an obvious difference between the US and Sri Lanka. (There are other "differences" that I'm not going to get into - I've got to work sometime today, too.)

The similarities between the US and Sri Lanka, on the the other hand, are completely unexpected, especially to a uninformed reader of the NYT article. The picture that goes along with the article doesn't help: It makes Sri Lanka look like a destitute wasteland. However, the similarities are striking. For one, Sri Lanka is a democratic country, with universal sufferage rights, electing a president every 6 years. They've had a female president, which is more than we can say, although I think Obama makes a similarly progressive statement. The Sri Lanka economy isn't in shambles, and they're not a destitute country. In fact, they have the highest per capita income in Southeast Asia, and in 2003, they were reported as having the highest economic growth in the world. The civil war has been the most economically devistating aspect, causing a decline in tourism due to an increase of violence and anarchy. Beyond that, Sri Lanka is engaged with the UN, the World Bank, and, despite their own internal struggles, send peacekeeping troops to Haiti for humanitarian aid.

My whole point in posting this article goes past wanting to open the curtains covering reality by broadcasting some of the deplorable conditions people, who don't live under the US's bubble-world, must endure. My point involves making a connection between these internment camps in Sri Lanka and recent domestic governmental actions here in the motherland. Although there are very real differences between locking your citizens up in camps and tapping their phones or reading their mail, the core of the issues are fundamentally similar. Just like the Sri Lankan government, our former governmental leaders expressed the highest form of sympathy when they issued the Patriot Act in 2001. Like in Sri Lanka, fundamental rights were taken away from the people of the United States in an effort to fight terrorist connections on US soil. On one hand, it doesn't bother me that much, considering I don't really have anything to hide. If they want to arrest me because I was a relatively adventurous and experimental youth, fine. The chances are slim, I suppose, and that's why I'm not personally offended. On the other hand, I am offended. I'm offended because I know there is a Constitution, which includes a Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights tells me, in Amendment Four, that I'm supposed to be protected from unreasonable search and seizure. (The actual text reads: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.") I know that the line we walk between right and wrong, in an age of phantom terrorists, is pretty thin, and I know there are necessary lengths that our government must sometimes go to to protect its citizens.

You might say, "Oh, internment camps would never happen in the US. There would be too much outcry from the general public!" I'm not completely sure I agree. If the pictures of the Sri Lankan camps would be part of the evidence you'd use to claim that your fellow citizens wouldn't allow you to be detained in a camp, try and remember the pictures we were all witnesses to during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina a few years ago. Not like we didn't send aid, but for it to have taken so long to adequately help the survivors is slightly disconcerting. Especially considering that they're American citizens. The Big Easy didn't look any better off than the Sri Lankan camps look in the NYT article pictures.

Basically, to prevent anything like the Patriot Act or the Sri Lankan camps from happening here in the future, it's most important that everyone be aware (to the best of your capabilities) of what's going on in the White House, on the Floor of Congress, and in the courtroom of the Supreme Court. We've entrusted the people working there with decisions that greatly effect our lives as American citizens as well as our lives as individuals. It only makes sense to be informed. Also, try and think beyond party boundaries and canons of political philosophy and become more aware that our individual rights, not just our rights as a group or state, are vital to the concepts of liberty, justice, and human dignity. As a country, it's probably true that we stand together and we fall together. Yet, as we stand there, we've got to make sure we're standing for ideals that uphold the personal freedoms which make the United States a country worth defending.