Shiranee Tilakawardane
Equality and Globalization
President Schapiro, Dean Roseman, Reverend Spalding, distinguished guests, fellow parents and, especially, dear graduates, Class of 2007, it is indeed a singular honor to be so graciously invited to speak at this ceremonial occasion, marked with such splendor and tradition.
I particularly welcome the opportunity to speak at a religious service that includes so many faiths. My own country, Sri Lanka, is in many ways an experiment in religious pluralism, where Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, and Christians need to strive towards living in harmony, and where I too need to be mindful of how best to live out my own Christian convictions in a diverse nation and world.
It is perhaps opportune at this time, at the threshold of a new beginning in your young lives, to look back fleetingly on what you have gained in the past four years. Your certificate reflects your academic gains, but makes no reference to your growth in relation to your own independence, identity and special intimacies. As gold is refined in the hottest of furnaces, so, too, are your life’s experiences, with its joys and hurts, all of which have shaped your inner growth. How will you use these distinctions – both academic and experiential – and convert them to a wisdom that will add value to your life? Will you use it merely towards consumerism like the young man who bought a brand new Ferrari? He parked it, and as he opened the door a car hit the door. He stood screaming, “My Ferrari! My Ferrari!” And during this lamentation, while he had his arms outstretched, another car knocked off one of his arms. But he went on, “My Ferrari! My Ferrari!” A passerby stopped and pointed this out to him and he stopped in mid sentence and said, “My Rolex! My Rolex!”
Will you be like this young man or reflect differently? Such a reflection must surely begin with the realization that you are here because you were born to a particular family and a background that was not of your choice. A fleeting second of a difference in your destiny, and you may have been looking down, not at your well shod feet but those calloused from walking barefoot on tangles and tar. You may not have had a good shirt or a single change of clothes, and your only burning need may have been to assuage the hunger in your stomach. And we, my dear parents, could well have been facing the most painful journey any mother could take, that of helplessly watching the life of your infant ebb away out of hunger. A child dies of starvation in the world every 15 seconds. In the duration of my speech, many such infants will die.
Instead, here we are in a magical moment of plenty and splendor, sharing an occasion that can only give us sheer joy and tears of profound happiness. Just think and ponder that, but for one fraction of a moment in destiny, you may not have been experiencing this life of achievement, of love and of provision and just feel a deep sense of gratitude and thanksgiving for this blessing. Let it fill and overwhelm you and flood your soul. For this is the power that will be the catalyst for change, which will take us out of our moral paralysis and self-centeredness, which mar our collective responsibility for a just world.
Dear students, though you walk out into a world beset with problems, you are surely all the better equipped to meet it, having the distinct advantage of an education in one of the finest teaching academies, which also respects diversity and inclusiveness. You have achieved maturity, success and the tools with which to be independent. So, despite a world in turmoil, you can work towards peace and tranquility, which encapsulates the equality and dignity of every human being. You can commit to a life of social concern and responsibility, which entails forgiveness, resistance to temptation, good faith and fair dealing, and demands deeper loyalties than sect or nation.
A U.N. report reveals that the basic health and nutritional needs of all developing countries could be satisfied with $13 billion annually. It is strange that, although money cannot be found to heal the sick and feed the hungry, military expenditure topped $798 billion annually. Sixty to 70 times the wealth required for the alleviation of poverty, a root cause of war, is spent instead on weapons of death. Is this not a horrific contradiction to the central message of sharing and caring that we hold as cherished values?
A just world is more than an imposition of justice; it is a lifestyle where we should do unto others as we would wish to be done unto us – a common phrase, but a valuable precept. Today, there exists universal vulnerability because we have veered away from the fundamental ideal of the equality of all people. It is difficult to explain or define equality, and indeed it is easier to understand and define its opposite. Inequality is where there is discrimination, abuse of power, unequal treatment and exploitation.
I am a member of a forum of international judges that works to deliver gender equality and human rights awareness amongst judges of the Asia Pacific region. A visit was arranged for the judges to a small shelter called Maiti, nestled in the foothills of the Everest range. The girls at the shelter were beautiful, all between eight and 12 years, and appeared engrossed in making bead necklaces. All wore long sleeves. When the sleeves were lifted we could see the horrific scars on their arms made by cigarette burns and cuts that were a prelude to their forced sexual labour.
Over a period of time, exploitation and discrimination gives rise to wounded feelings, marginalization and alienation. In extreme cases it can trigger acts of violence, even terror. Remember violence is the symptom, and we need to treat the disease that underlies it. We need to afford everyone a level playing field.
We must therefore aspire to a society where equality is not only an ideal but also a global constitutional norm. This is how we can build bridges, rather than erect walls, in the pursuit of justice for all in a multicultural and multi-racial society. We need a culture of respect in place of a culture of contempt, a culture of human rights in place of a culture of hate. The tragedies that define our times can be prevented if we truly believe in the dignity of all men, women and children. There can be no peace without justice, no freedom without human rights, and no sustainable development without the rule of law based on substantive equality.
We cannot afford to remain inactive in the face of our intergenerational accountability to construct a world that affords to all the same life that we enjoy. We can do this only through sacrificial giving. What do I mean? Let me tell you a story. A king left 17 camels to his three sons, leaving 1/2 to his eldest, 1/3 to his middle and 1/9 to his youngest son. They consulted all the mathematicians of the land and they could not divide the 17 camels. Shortly thereafter they met an old woman and told her of their predicament. She replied, “Well I do not know how to help you, but I have a single camel, and you can have it.” Then the 17 camels became 18. 1/2 was 9, 1/3 was 6, and 1/9 was 2. 9 + 6+ 2 added up to 17 and they were able to return the one camel to the wise old woman. So we too need to share, sometimes even sacrificially, to remedy a consumerist and bitter world. We need to lead a life that is value oriented, filled with the spirit of giving, joy, and the wonder of life and nature.
When we held you as little infants in our arms, you were blessed with the gift of such a free and happy spirit. But as adults this can only be ensured through sharing and forgiveness. Don’t ever let anyone fill you with hatred and bitterness. If you have had quarrels and anger, do not carry them into your future, for they place a heavy burden on your life. When I was your age I was severely discriminated against, and told I could never be a state prosecutor as I was a woman. But I was determined. When I was finally taken in, my boss told me on the first day that he had been one of two board members who had resisted my application. He said he would make certain that I would leave before the end of three months. I was sent to the remotest of courthouses. I was often weary, dreadfully uncomfortable, scared, bitten by bugs and mosquitoes, but never defeated. I came close to giving up but remembered the challenge I had been given, and somehow found an immense strength from within to succeed and overcome. I learned to look for the funny and enjoyable moments in life: the beautiful scenery, the cows that chewed their cud over the half-walls of those courthouses, and the people who crowded around to see the “woman prosecutor.” I always worked hard and concentrated on winning my case. I have never felt bitter against that boss. Instead I committed myself to fighting discrimination and injustice wherever it occurred but especially where it affected women or children.
Let me end by also saying that, as we gather as a family today, you are not only the Class of 2007, but a member of the family of 2007. Just as we embrace you at this joyous hour, never forget that our arms are open even wider at times, should they ever come, when you encounter defeat and brokenness in your life. Together, may we be a nucleus of a new world order of peace, with justice, love, hope and equality.
All of us – your parents, faculty and administrators – bless you all. Go with hope, with joyful ideals, and conquer the world. Take your young shining lives filled with hopes, dreams and courage, and light up a dark and broken world. Go reach for the stars, they may be closer than you think. May the divine empower you and protect you. God bless, and a blessed night to you all.
June 2, 2007