A Christmas Reflection: Finding Light in the Debris

As we stand on the threshold of Christmas 2025, the usual festive sparkle feels a bit dimmed this year, doesn’t it?

We are a nation in the middle of a ‘Ditwah’ hangover. We see the scars on our hillsides, the ruins of state assets, and the even more tragic ruins of humanity. My heart remains heavy with the image of that poor elephant—a majestic creature whose final hours were spent in a burning agony that only ended when he finally closed his eyes. It’s a metaphor, isn’t it, for a country that often feels like its own spirit is being scorched while we watch from the sidelines.

The Law and the ‘Shenanigans’

While many are decorating trees, we see the political ‘shenanigans’ in the opposition benches—lies, and as the saying goes, ‘damn lies.’ We see a government that treats the law like a suggestion, breaking the borrowing limit by 1.4% as if it were a minor clerical error rather than a breach of our financial foundation.

We see the Supreme Court—the final bastion of our justice—expressing its frustration that its orders are falling on the deaf ears of the IGP and the Police Commission. When the law-enforcement officers choose which laws to follow, we aren’t just in a ‘slope stabilization’ crisis; we’re in a moral landslide.

The Uninsured and the Unseen

And let us not forget the ‘Mom and Pop’ stores. Hundreds of small businesses, the backbone of our communities, standing in the mud today with uninsured stocks and zero assets left. They aren’t looking for a ‘Christmas Miracle’; they’re looking for a fair chance to restart.

The Faraz Perspective – www.shauketaly.com

So, how do I greet you? I greet you with the truth. Christmas isn’t about ignoring the mud; it’s about the hope that we can clean it up. It’s about the resilience of the Sri Lankan spirit that survives even when the IGP stops listening or the Treasury starts overspending.

To the families in the temporary shelters, to the shopkeepers cleaning their counters for the tenth time, and to those of you who are simply trying to make sense of a trillion-rupee recovery—I wish you peace. Not the easy peace of a holiday card, but the hard-earned peace of a people who refuse to be broken by cyclones or ‘shenanigans.’

Let’s use this season to hold those in power accountable. Let’s demand that the ‘system change’ actually includes the rule of law. And most importantly, let’s look out for one another, because it’s clear that the ‘system’ is far too busy with its own borrowing limits to look out for us.

Please forgive me if I can’t bring myself to say “Merry Christmas” – but Marisa, Aston, Chanel, Felicia, Ali, Aathy, Ruzaik, Sunita, Hashan, Ravindu and Lucco understand the agony of being unable to say that – hundred of others – my wonderful loyal viewers and readers understand the connundrum too. There are people I simply can’t name who understand the agony – they know who they are!

I wish you all only the very best. Look out for each other, Unity is Untramelled Power. Keep the faith, keep your eyes open, and as always… God bless you all.