Growing up during Sri Lanka’s civil war taught me that getting along with people across divides is a virtue we can learn

Growing up during Sri Lanka’s civil war taught me that getting along with people across divides is a virtue we can learn

Traditional dancers perform in front of the Buddhist Temple of the Tooth, celebrating the Buddhist festival of Esala Perahera, in Kandy, Sri Lanka, on Aug. 8, 2025. Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP via Getty ImagesI grew up in Sri Lanka. Much of my adolescence was spent in Kandy, a city built around a lake, set amid the lush tea plantations of the hill country. Its northern shore houses the Temple of the Tooth, one of Buddhism’s most sacred sites. Each ye…

Growing up during Sri Lanka’s civil war taught me that getting along with people across divides is a virtue we can learn

by Eranda Jayawickreme, Wake Forest University, [This article first appeared in The Conversation, republished with permission] I grew up in Sri Lanka. Much of my adolescence was spent in Kandy, a city built around a lake, set amid the lush tea plantations of the hill country. Its northern shore houses the Temple of the Tooth, one of Buddhism’s most sacred sites. Each year, it came alive with drummers, dancers and elephants parading through the s…