When your first question is, “Are you Sinhalese or Tamil?
Reposting here because r / srilanka took it down because they needed me to prove with evidence which I have but that’s not my goal here.
Last night I came across a Reddit post that caught my attention. It described an incident involving a newly opened food outlet at Kamu Food Court on Hospital Street, Fort, opposite Fairway. I wanted to go back and read it properly today, but I couldn’t find it anymore. Maybe it was removed, or maybe I just couldn’t locate it.
The reason I’m sharing this is because I believe that post maybe is about the same person and the same outlet where I had an unpleasant experience. Reading it reminded me of what happened to me, and I felt it was worth sharing.
I’m deliberately not naming the restaurant or anyone involved because my intention isn’t to start a witch hunt. I simply want to share what happened to me.
This happened the day before the restaurant officially opened. 10th June. I went there with **Friend A**, who had invited me to stop by before the opening. Once we arrived, we met **Friend B**, who had previously told me he was associated with the restaurant in some ownership. I had simply gone to spend some time with my friends and have a look around before the opening.
Friend A introduced me to one of the people there. He clearly had some ownership to this place too. Mostly at the cashier. Instead of greeting me normally, the very first question he asked was whether I was Sinhalese or Tamil.
I didn’t answer immediately because I genuinely thought I had misheard him. He then asked about my religion instead. I told him I was Hindu and asked why it mattered.
He replied,
*“Sorry, I don’t talk to Tamils or Tamil Buddhists.”*
He then went on to say that he only associated with *“pure Sinhalese”* and made several other remarks about Tamils. I was honestly shocked because I had never experienced someone speaking to me like that in person.
At one point, I asked my friends something and they responded in Tamil (My friends are Tamil speaking Muslims). He immediately became visibly upset, and told me not to speak Tamil around him.
I stayed calm throughout the interaction. I didn’t argue, insult him or raise my voice. I was simply trying to understand why he was speaking to me that way.
When Friend A mentioned that I work in branding and design, he asked whether I *“only use Tamil traditional colours”* in my work. He was insulting me in every way he could. Even about Tamil weddings and more. Later, when I genuinely couldn’t read the restaurant’s cursive sign and asked my friend B what the restaurant was called, instead the guy replied,
*“Are you illiterate? No wonder you’re Tamil.”*
Out of curiosity I did ask him what his religion was. He replied,
*‘I’m a Buddhist, exactly where I was meant to be, born in a Buddhist country’*
By that point, I decided to leave. Lied to my friends I have work and Booked an uber.
What has stayed with me isn’t just that I was personally insulted. It was seeing someone openly judge another Sri Lankan based on their ethnicity, religion and the language they speak.
The reason I’ve thought about making a police complaint, and the reason I’m finally sharing this here, is because this incident has genuinely stayed with me. It’s been over three weeks. What made it even harder to process was that the two friends I was with knew him well, yet neither of them stopped him while he was making those remarks. Afterwards, they tried to comfort me by telling me not to take it personally and that this was simply how he came across when meeting people for the first time. That’s his first impression? And they made it sound so normal. That’s not.
I don’t think behaviour like this should become normal or be brushed aside. Sri Lanka has people from different ethnicities, religions and cultures, and for the most part, we live and work together with mutual respect. I grew up with Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim friends, and they’ve treated me with nothing but kindness and respect. That’s why this experience was so difficult for me to process.
It’s 2026. We should be moving further away from prejudice, not towards it. I don’t care whether someone is Sinhalese, Tamil, Muslim, Burgher or from any other community. If we continue allowing hatred like this to exist, it only damages the society we’re all trying to build together.
I’m not asking anyone to harass this person or boycott the business. I’m simply sharing my experience because conversations about racism within our own country are worth having, and because no one should feel unwelcome for speaking their mother tongue or for belonging to a particular ethnic or religious community.
**Lastly, I want to make something very clear. I’m only sharing my personal experience and looking for guidance and discussion. Please don’t use this post as an excuse to spread more racism, hatred or abuse towards the person involved or anyone else. Responding to discrimination with more discrimination only makes things worse. I don’t want us to stoop to that level. If anything, I’d rather this conversation be about how we can encourage mutual respect and ensure that no one, regardless of their ethnicity, religion or language, has to go through something like this again.**
Lots of love to you readers 🫶🏼
**UPDATE (Edited on 4th July 2026)**: Hey lovely readers,
Thank you to everyone who took the time to read my post and offer advice. I wanted to let you know that I have now formally filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka regarding the incident.
Since two of my friends were present throughout the incident, I listed them as witnesses and informed them afterward.
Unfortunately, they were unhappy that I had filed the complaint and chose to stand by their friend instead. They have also told me they no longer wish to continue our friendship because of my decision to proceed with the complaint.
As a result, I honestly don’t know how strong my complaint will be. The authorities may or may not contact the witnesses, and I can’t say whether they will support my account if they are asked to provide statements. Regardless, I felt it was important to report what happened rather than stay silent.
It’s been difficult, but I don’t regret speaking up. Thank you to everyone who encouraged me to stand up for myself while keeping the discussion respectful. Whatever the outcome, I hope this contributes to a broader conversation about treating each other with dignity and respect, regardless of ethnicity, religion or language.