Behind the Smile of the Sri Lankan – Achter de glimlach van de Sri Lankaan

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Behind the Smile of the Sri Lankan – Achter de glimlach van de Sri Lankaan

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Achter de glimlach van de Sri Lankaan is still to be translated into English. Below the translated text of the back cover of the book.

Whatever is so magical about the apparent paradise-like Sri Lanka? What is behind that generous smile? Sri Lankans talk about their lives, about the clashing cultures of Buddhist Sinhalese, Hindu Tamils, Muslims, Christians, and Burghers. As well as the heritage of their colonizers, the Portuguese, the Dutch, and the British. How the elite of yore still rules politics and business and how language divides the nation. Tourists travel through the backdrop of beautiful temples, fortresses, tea plantations, and the jungle in which perky elephants and peacocks roam. A glimpse behind the scenes shows a different reality: strong cultural traditions at births and marriages, strict observance of the horoscope, and continually emerging ethnic violence. In the daily struggle for existence, in a culture where time is elastic and the truth flexible, the Sri Lankan remains resilient and hospitable. Enterprising expats, foreign investors, and Sri Lankans in the diaspora use the highway to modernity. Tower apartments rise between the temples. Major powers are building motorways and ports, in particular, to serve their own purposes. Due to the island’s favorable geopolitical location, the power of China, India and the US is visible. Does the Sri Lakan still feel “at home” in his own country?