When Barack Obama won the election in November 2008, there was an air of optimism that "change" is possible in any situation.

Many in Sri Lanka also wrote with hopefulness that there might be a possibility (like in the U.S.) that someone from a minority could be elected president of Sri Lanka. I am sure, several cynics will counter argue that perhaps Sri Lanka has a long way to go before that happens.

Amidst signs that the Sri Lankan army is winning the war against the Tamil Tiger rebels, the assassination of the editor of a Sunday newspaper and the attack on a private TV station a few weeks ago highlight the challenges facing the country in moving beyond the conflict.

However, one thing that struck me whilst watching the inauguration of Barack Obama was how much he talked about everyone needing to play a part in forging change.

The key is to start with ourselves as Mahatma Gandhi once said that "if you wish to see change in the world, you should be that change." There is nowhere this is more relevant than here in Sri Lanka.

We can argue till the cows come home about political and military solutions to the failures from all sides in this conflict - failure to ensure the safety of civilians, failure to tolerate dissent and failure to enjoy freedom in the media. The tragedy is that we are as guilty as those we complain about.

In reading the responses to my blog, I believe we ourselves have to be self-critical. While the comments complain about the bigotry and intolerance of others, the viewpoints illustrate their own writers' intolerance and bigotry. This is indeed the sad fact of the conflict in Sri Lanka. There is no hope of moving forward if we cannot even remove the mistrust, prejudice and hatred we have among ourselves.

We have to have the intellectual empathy to acknowledge that everyone has justified grievances. The Tamils (as do the other minorities) have justified grievances against the State about their treatment. This of course does not justify armed violence or the slaughter of civilians like the ethnic cleansing against the Muslims in the northern province in 1990.

The state has the right to ensure that everyone within its shores is looked after justly and equitably and that civilians are not harmed in any way.

Let's face facts, those who are fighting and those who are backing the fighting are not necessarily those who are suffering from the results of the war. It is the civilians who are the biggest losers.

Moving beyond the conflict will have to require everyone to play a part. The most important legacy that we can leave our children and our children's children is a country that is united in its diversity. I know this is no easy task.

I recently was in the company of a few young men and women in their mid twenties and I noticed their ability to look beyond the differences that existed between them. However, what also struck me was their ignorance of what was happening in the country, who are the key stakeholders and what the issues are.

I remember thinking to myself, that if this generation, born and bred in Sri Lanka, coming from all parts of the country are so indifferent and apathetic to the suffering of their own people, then there is certainly a lot to be done.

People need to be educated to help them understand the mistakes of the past so that it is not written again. The new generation will have to understand that you measure someone based on their character, behaviour, attitude and moral integrity and not the community they belong to or how rich they are or what their faith is.

This is the monumental task facing all concerned - state and non-state actors, organizations and individuals.

At the 2007 Commonwealth People's Forum in Kampala, civil society leaders called for "the creation of an enabling environment to foster: unity in diversity, where there would be respectful and meaningful dialogue and collaboration between people with different identities and values; and practical grassroots action and community linking partnerships to build peace, prosperity and well-being for all Commonwealth Citizens". It is with this vigour that people will have to work to create that environment.

While Barack Obama's election has brought optimism for change, the war on Gaza at the beginning of the year has shown us the greater challenges that lie ahead. We need to move away from political violence flavoured by faith (culture and identity) where the world is seen through a singular lens of 'good' and 'evil' and 'us' vs. 'them'.

The world's inability to respond to the Gaza crisis shows the weakness that still exists.

However, the important thing is not to lose hope. This is the key message for Sri Lanka as well. It is for everyone to be loud so that we can shout against injustice no matter where it is committed and who commits it. For as Martin Luther King said, "the tragedy of the situation is not that the bad people are loud but that the good people are very quiet".

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