By The Admiral
In a thunderous rebuke of empty rhetoric and political apathy, 'The Admiral' delivers a chilling warning to the nation: nature does not wait for committees.
As storm clouds gather over the East, West, and Uva, this piece serves as a desperate plea to move beyond 'disaster tourism' and initiate immediate, tangible action. It is not just a critique; it is a demand for preparedness before the next wave strikes. Read on for a wake-up call that Sri Lanka cannot afford to ignore.
It is not time for politics. It is time to look after people. It is time to build roads and bridges. It is time to bring homes to people. It is time to bring livelihoods back to those who lost everything.
But what are we doing. We are talking about rebuilding. Just talking. Words. Empty promises. Press conferences. Disaster tours in helicopters. More words.
What have we actually learned. Nothing.
The rain came. People died. Children lost parents. Homes washed away. Livelihoods destroyed. And now everyone says we will rebuild. We will be ready next time. We will not let this happen again.
Really. Let us see if we are ready now. Right now. For another round of rain. For more floods. For more earth slips.
The weather does not wait for our meetings. The sky does not care about our committees. The rain does not read our press releases. It will come again. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe next week. Maybe next month. The sky is speaking. The earth is warning. And we need to listen.
This time, they say the East might face it. The West could be next. Uva might suffer again. Or maybe all three at once. We do not know for certain. But the sky says something is coming. The earth remembers what just happened. We are gambling with people’s lives by hoping it will not happen.
We need to be ready to look after the East if it comes. We need to be ready for the West. We need to be ready for Uva if they face another blow. When the next storm hits, the government machinery must step in swiftly. Not after three days of screaming from the opposition. Not after bodies start floating. Before. Immediately. Swiftly.
The boats must be ready this time. The rescue teams must be in position. The hotlines must actually work. Someone must answer when people call for help. Our leaders must act before the disaster, not after. No more helicopter rides for bird’s eye views after people have drowned.
We need to look at what another round of rain means. On top of everything this country has already gone through. On top of the economic crisis. On top of the poverty. On top of the hunger. The people cannot survive another disaster like the last one. They have not even finished burying their dead.
Our leaders need to be looking at the sky. They need to learn how to read what the sky is saying. They need the wisdom to look at the sky and the earth together and prepare. Not their phones. Not their luxury vehicles. Not their political games. The sky and the earth.
The people are ready to rebuild. They always are. They have no choice. They will pick up the pieces of their broken lives and start again because that is what they always do. They will bury their dead, dry their tears, and try to survive another day.
But the leaders need to be ready. The systems need to be ready. The boats, the medicines, the shelters, the food supplies need to be ready. We cannot wait for the next cyclone to arrive before we start talking about being ready.
It is time for the nation to wake up. Not after the next disaster. Not after more deaths. Not after more suffering. Now. Right now.
It is time to rebuild, yes. But first, it is time to prepare. To actually prepare. Not with words. Not with meetings. Not with press conferences. With action.
Get the boats ready. Fix the hotlines. Train the rescue teams. Stock the emergency supplies. Build the shelters. Clear the drains. Strengthen the weak points. Look at what the sky is telling us and actually do something about it.
Stop talking about rebuilding and start preparing for the next storm. Because it is coming. The sky does not lie. The earth does not forget. And if we are not ready, if we waste this time on politics instead of preparation, then the blood of the next victims will be on our hands.
The people cannot afford another disaster. But they will face one anyway. The question is whether they will face it alone again, or whether their leaders will finally stand with them.
Wake up.
The sky is watching.
The earth is waiting.
And they will not wait forever.