Madame Ambassador Chung, Your Message Will Live On Forever!

By Marlon Dale Ferreira –

The Honorable Ms.Julie Chung
Ambassador of the United States of America
The Embassy of the United States of America
Colombo
Sri Lanka
11th July 2022

Your Message Will Live On Forever

Dear Madame Ambassador Chung,

Ayubowan!

The 9th of July 2022 has now become a historic day in the annals of Sri Lanka’s history with protesters breaching all security defenses and taking control over the President’s House, the Presidential Secretariat and also the Prime Minister’s official residence at Temple Trees in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

I am sure that whilst being the current Ambassador of the United States of America in Sri Lanka, these unforgettable series of events that took place, will be etched in your memory as significant moments in your entire professional diplomatic career.

On the evening of the very same day the 9th of July 2022, my wife and I decided to travel to the President’s House and see for ourselves as to what had taken place a few hours earlier.

Once we reached the President’s House and went inside, we saw a priceless piece of history thrown on the floor.

It was the Visitors Book, where Heads of State and also Ambassadors such as yourself had scripted beautiful handwritten messages and had personally autographed its pages.

I instantly told my wife to pick it up and hand this priceless piece of state property to a Sri Lanka Army Officer who was standing nearby and informed him to ensure that this Visitors Book be kept safe.

We were happy that he obliged and gladly handed it to his care.

However, prior to handing it over to him, we did take a picture of your photograph that was inside the book, along with your beautiful handwritten message. We also filmed it on our phones, which also captured the crowds that had gathered inside the Presidential Palace.

The reason we took these pictures is, if in the event this Visitors Book happens to get lost in transit, your beautiful message will forever be preserved, just the very same way you had scripted it.

Your message reads as follows:

“It is truly an honor to serve as the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka at this juncture for both of our countries and the entire Indo Pacific region.Together we can use this time to build upon the seven decades of trust and partnership between our great nations, and together we can address the many unique challenges of this era.
I look forward to working with you and the people of Sri Lanka to strengthen democracy, increase prosperity, and ensure a healthy, connected and secure future for all.”

There were certain key attributes in your last sentence such as “strengthen democracy, increase prosperity, ensure a healthy, connected and secure future for all”, that really touched me as a citizen of Sri Lanka.

This is, as it provides much hope to us as a nation that has been battered and bruised after tumultus years of uprisings, a 26 year old brutal civil war, natural disasters such as a Tsunami, frequent earth slips and floods, a Covid-19 pandemic, the worst socio-economic crisis that has plummeted our country into bankruptcy and finally a political crisis to hit this nation, as never seen before since gaining Independence in 1948.

I am confident and also hopeful that your message will soon spring into action, that will help us heal as we rebuild.

My sincere best wishes is that your tenure as the US Amabassador to Sri Lanka will be spent with much joy and that you will evetually take back the happiest and fondest of memories, of the time spent in this our paradise isle.

Kind regards

Marlon Dale Ferreira
Hon.PDC (EIU) Paris, France

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