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health problem? Unusual heat Dr.
Terrence de Silva In terms of the total number of disasters occurred and the deaths due to disasters, Sri Lanka is not identified as a disaster prone country. However, as far as the total number of people affected are concerned Sri Lanka is also listed among the top 20 countries prone to disasters. It has been estimated that heatwaves (hot environments) during the period 1947-1980 had claimed over 7000 lives worldwide. This is a small number when compared with deaths due to other disasters. For example 499,000 lives were lost due to cyclones (including hurricanes and typhoons) during the same period and the corresponding figures due to earthquakes were 450,000. There are relatively few health studies related to disaste`rs and with regard to heat-waves they are even fewer. Of the studies carried out, only a few have been analysed scientifically. All the observations with regard to heat waves are related with studies conducted in foreign countries. Hot weather is an important determinant of human deaths. In some countries a major heat wave can cause thousands of excess deaths during a summer. Periods of very hot weather are considered as heatwaves. These vary greatly in intensity and duration. The temperatures usually mark diurnal fluctuations. Their effect on human beings is not the same in different geographical areas. Moreover, the micro climates, behaviours and pre-existing medical conditions of individual human beings dramatically affect the biological consequences of macro-environmental heat. Determining the precise hot weather conditions leading to an adverse impact on health of the people remains an area for further scientific investigation. Several incidents of heatwaves have occurred in various parts of the world. On July 21st, 1987 and lasting almost 10 days a heatwave hit Athens, and maximum daily temperature in the city centre ranged from 41 degrees Celsius to 44 degrees Celsius, minimum temperatures were 26-28 degrees Celsius. The health effects of this is well documented in the medical literature. It is recorded that the heatwave affected hundreds of people, overloading the health services of Athens and creating serious problems at the city’s cemeteries. Eighty-six hospitals (public and private) reported 2,960 heat-related admissions, including 926 deaths. However, 2,000 excess deaths occurred over the expected number for this period in Greater Athens which could probably be attributed to the heatwave — (Ref. the Lancet, Sept. 3,1988 page 573). In Sri Lanka too, the temperatures in this year have risen by 3 to 5 degrees Celsius more than the average of the previous year. There was a report of a soldier dying of dehydration after routine exercise. Global warming, the Green House Effect, El-Nino effect are put forward as reasons for this extraordinary weather pattern. Meteorologists have discovered that El-Nino is an abnormal warming of the sea surface in the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean off the coast of Peru and South America. The sea surface temperature rises by about five to six degrees Celsius. El-Nino affects global weather patterns, varying from country to country. While some countries may experience spells of drought another may have unprecedented wet weather conditions. High level of humidity is generally observed in Sri Lanka due to the sea breeze coming into the land (around 80%). Scientific basis For practical purposes, there are four physical processes involved in thermal homeostasis. 1. Heat gain from metabolism (metabolic heat from biochemical reactions) 2. Heat loss from evaporation (through the skin and respiratory system) 3. Heat gain or loss from conduction & convection (conduction occurs in instances where substance is in direct contact. If the substance is air or fluid transfer of heat is hastened by the flow of air or fluid over the body surface (convection) 4. Gain or loss of radiant heat energy (gain from or loss to the environmental objects by radiation) Four meteorological variables significantly influence the physical processes mediating thermal homeostasis. 1) Air temperature (measured by shaded dry-bulb thermometer) 2) Humidity (measured either as the dewpoint temperature or by comparison of dry-bulb and wet-bulb temperatures) 3) Air motion (wind speed) 4) Solar radiant heat energy (measured in a variety of ways) (1) When the air temperature is low, metabolically generated heat is more easily lost from the body to the air via conduction and convection. When the air temperature equals the body temperature (37 degrees Celsius) the loss or gain is minimal. When the air temperature goes above the body temperature heat may be gained from the air. (2) High humidity limits the cooling effect of the evaporation and therefore leads to increased heat stress. (3) Increased air speed facilitates convective heat transfer and the evaporation of sweat. (4) Radiant heat energy ads to heat stress (eg. one feels hotter under direct sunlight than in a shade even under identical air temperature, humidity and wind speed) The radiant heat is less on cloudy rainy days. Thus, the stress that hot weather places on thermal homeostasis is not a simple function of temperature alone. Other meteorological variables come into play. A number of indices have been developed for the purpose of yielding a single number expressing the combined effects of the environmental variables relevant to heat stress. eg. Effective Temperature (ET), Apparent Temperature index of Steadman, Heat Index etc. Heat stress indices have significant limitations. Most indices involve implicit assumptions about metabolic heat production, clothing and body habits. Since these parameters vary the heat stress value obtained for any single person will be an approximation. In addition value obtained to a region or country may differ greatly from the values obtained if one could measure the micro climates to which the individual is exposed. Health effects of heat 1. Heat stroke, 2. Heat exhaustion, 3. Heat syncope, 4. Heat cramps There is evidence that heat waves may also increase illnesses and deaths due to other condition that occur even in the absence of heat stress. eg. -- strokes (cerebro vascular accidents) -- ischemic heart disease (myocardial infarction) (It has been observed that there is increased coagulability of blood in heat stressed persons. This is the biological basis for increase of these diseases. It is likely that pre-existing disease may be worsened.) -- respiratory problems (pneumonia) There are other less serious conditions like prickly heat rash and other skin conditions. Deaths among debilitated persons who are chronically ill due to large number of causes, eg., Nephritis, diabetis are likely to be increased. Apart from the illnesses there are other psycho-social problems associated with hot-environments. In New York city in 1966 a striking increase in the number of homicides committed during a hot weather period was observed. Heatstroke a) classical type Classical heatstroke is said to occur largely in sedentary elderly people who are exposed to a prolonged period of heat stress. Exertional heat stroke affects younger, relatively fit persons who exert themselves in a hot environment, beyond their capacity to maintain thermal equilibrium. In heat strokes the rectal temperature will be more than 105 F (40.6 degree Celsius) mental status is affected, and the patient may be delirious, stuporous or comatose. Anhydrosis (absence or greatly diminished perspiration) may or may not be present. Heatstroke is a medical emergency as permanent neurological damage or death could occur. This condition is treated by rapid cooling by means of ice massage or ice water bath and supportive treatment. Heat exhaustion Heat syncope Heat cramps Health effects The effects are also commonly seen more in urban areas than in rural areas. The masses of stone, brick, concrete and cement that are typical of urban architecture absorb radiant heat energy from the sun during the day and radiate that heat during nights that would otherwise be cooler. In many cities there are relatively few trees to provide shade. Increasing deaths observed during heat waves are more distinct among children below 5 years and among elderly people over the age of 65 years. Prevention of health
effects Air conditioning can prevent heat-strokes. Maintenance of adequate hydration is important. Unless there is a medical contrain-dication, persons at risk from the heat should be advised to make a special effort to increase the amount of liquid they consume. Salt supplementation may not be essential, but adequate intake of salt with meals is important. Use of salt tablets as a preventive mean is not recommended. Persons at high risk should be advised to reduce activity during spells of heat. All preventive measures should be targeted at high risk groups, children and elderly people. Emphasis should be on long term measures to protect the environment. The cities are more affected than rural areas. The living environment in cities should be organised in such a way that they will have more trees and shady areas as in rural villages. The lure of the United States of America and Negombo By C. H. Fernando I knew him only as uncle Cooray alias Grant, who had sailed in American ships and returned to Sri Lanka to live a quiet life in the coastal town of Negombo. I remember him as a heavy-set, quiet and almost taciturn but friendly person who stayed in the background while his wife Margaret, did most of the talking with my parents. I knew he was related to us on my father's side. My father's side of the family had fallen on bad times. My grandfather who was one of the richest men in town had lost his money in a bad business deal (what's new). Perhaps high living also played a part in the debacle to near poverty. He lived in a mansion and had a gatekeeper. There were stables for horses and horse carriages for the family to ride in. The only reason we visited the Cooray's was perhaps because their house was right on the highway from our home in Nugegoda to my mother's ancestral home slightly north in Marawila, where my father had a medical practice. My father's family had had a long medical tradition and my father, Maria Joseph Fernando, affectionately known as "M. J" was the seventh generation of physicians in this tradition. His half-brother, Leander, who was well read in the classics and English-educated, as a native (Ayurvedic) physician and was well respected. He was a herbalist and claimed that he had a cure for rabies concocted from herbs brought from the Himalayas. The Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces stationed in Sri Lanka on the front line with Japan in the Second World War was Sir Geoffrey Layton. He, too was a believer in herbal medicine, I was told that on a visit to Negombo he had sounded out Leander on whether he wished to have an Imperial Honour. Apparently Leander's answer was a simple 'no.' Negombo was a very unusual town. The people were supposed to be Sinhalese but spoke Tamil and a sort of Sinhalese with a distinct Tamil-based accent. This coastal city had a ruined Dutch fort and had been an important trading centre between southern India and Sri Lanka. This trade connection was the reason for Tamil being the "Lingua Franca." Negombo (Sinhalese-Meegamuwa) was also referred to as "little Rome." Apparently Buddhists, feeling that there is no place for a "little Rome" in what they consider a Buddhist country, are building Buddhist temples and now have a very large Buddhist secondary school in the area. However, the dominant religous group remains the Catholic. I sometimes wonder whether religion is about spiritual things or power. In Negombo as in many other places, the stomach for religious fervour has waned noticeably with the availability of other forms of activity and entertainment than in earlier times. I recall there were riots from time to time in the forties involving gangs from Seaand Grand streets. The occasions were generally church festivals celebrated at one of these two churches. I was told that the original riot was a result of a disputed call by an umpire at a cricket match between teams from two secondary schools, Maris Stella College and St. Mary's College whose supporters probably came from the two church solitudes on Grand and Sea streets. Although there were no guns in the hands of the public, deaths were not infrequent at these riots from stabbing and hurled missiles. Negombo has Dutch built canals from their colonial era. These canals are largely clogged but small parts remain functional. These connect with the lagoon. Crabs and shrimps are harvested in the lagoon but the pollution from a rapidly growing population threatens this resource. Negombo is one of the major fishing centres in the country. Famous for its seafood cooked in Sinhalese, Tamil, Hindu and Muslim styles. In the early part of this century, epidemic bubonic plague flared up frequently. Infected rats came with cargoes from India, a hotbed of plague. Later in Colombo, the Health Department instituted a plague watch in the country which was done by trapping rats and counting the ratio of plague and non-plague carrying fleas (Xenopsylla cheopis and X. astia). When this ratio showed a high value precautions were taken by trapping and killing rats on a mass scale. However, in Negombo the infected rats and their fleas were not counted as they came on ships where no trapping was done. During the frequent plague epidemics the local priest, Father Visterini, who I guess was a missionary from Italy, teamed up with my physician grandfather, David Peter Fernando, and ministered to the ill and dying. There are many stories associated with these epidemics. One of the most often repeated is a supposed miracle that is said to have occurred during a particularly severe epidemic. People claimed they had seen St. Sebastian mounted on a horse riding through the town at night. Very soon after this the plague abated. An authentic touch was added by the claim that the sword of the soldier saint had been found on the road he had been seen riding on. The sword was missing from the statue in front of St. Sebastian's church. I garnered details on the life of the Cooray's from my sister, Josephine, the family archivist. Mr. Cooray, whose first name was Bastian, had stowed away on a ship that had docked in Colombo around 1910. With the outbreak of the world War he enlisted in the American merchant marine and served as a seaman. Shortly after the end of the war in 1918, he was demobilised. In the merchant marine his name was changed to Grant. Bastian Cooray-Grant received his severance pay and reverted to Cooray, as he had been known in his native town, Negombo. The name Grant was not an appropriate name in his home town. However, people continued to call him Mr. Grant on occasion. He married Margaret Fernando (almost everybody in Negombo was a Fernando, a residue from Portuguese colonial influence). They settled down to a modest existence in a small house opposite the general hospital. Soon the severance pay was spent and any savings they had were also gone. Margaret had talked to some friends including a notary (lawyer) about the wartime service of her husband with the American merchant marine. The lawyer told her that Bastian Cooray may well be entitled to an American pension as a discharged war veteran. The US Embassy in Colombo was contacted and after some delay the pension came through together with arrears. The monthly pension of 60-80 dollars was a substantial amount of money for a Sri Lankan family a that time. The family continued to live a little less modestly. I first met the two comely teenage daughters of the Cooray's when they came to live in our sprawling, ten-room, Portuguese style house, built on two hectares of land. Our house was situated in Nugegoda, a suburb seven miles from the capital and still quite rural at that time. There are now about 25 houses of modest size in the former garden where we had our house some the thirties to the late fifties. Our garden bordered a rice field. Praxede, the younger of their two daughters, was a tomboy while Gladys, as I remember her, was inordinately shy. They spent about two years with us attending school. We had a string of relations who lived with us and attended schools in or near Colombo. My father was a firm believer in education and he put his money gladly into this enterprise. I lost touch with Gladys and Praxede in the late forties. My Uncle Cooray-Grant died in the fifties. The American Embassy in Colombo sent a marine honour guard to provide a gun salute at his graveside. He was given this honour as a veteran of the American armed forces in a small town so far away from anything American. Patriotism may be the refuge of scoundrels but dead patriots can be worth a lot to a proud nation. I had heard through the grapevine that both the daughters had married against their parents wishes. I was quite surprised that Gladys had gone out on a limb. Pracede. I could imagine being independent. Sri Lankan women were still expected to marry according to parental wishes but education and the social chances of the postwar world made it easy to buck the rules. Also the caste system and the social arrangements in Sri Lanka were far less rigid than in India. In 1995 I spent three months in Sri Lanka teaching at the Universities of Kelaniya and Peradeniya. I lived on a coconut estate a few miles from Negombo for over a month and took the opportunity of visiting the town I knew fairly well, thirty five years before. I learned that Praxede was a successful businesswoman living at the same place we visited their family nearly 50 years ago. She owned a pharmacy and a medical services complex situated strategically opposite a large government hospital. The premises provided space and facilities for consultation of government doctors by private paying patients. This is called channelled practice and is part of the two tier system of health care that exists in Sri Lanka now after the free health system was unable to provide the services it had provided in the forties. We had only a few minutes together because both of us had other commitments. Praxede said she was going to Germany to see her son who was professor in a Technical Institute near Karlshruh and also seek medical help from specialists for a neurological condition. She told me she had been in contact with my late physician brother, Frank who migrated to New Zealand and died there a few years ago. My younger brother, Ivor, a motor engineer, who died of liver cirrhosis more than two decades ago after a long association with alcohol abuse had spent his last days at her house. Many thoughts of associations over the years flooded through our minds. She reminisced about my father, doctor uncle, and many other mutual friends and family. Her husband, a businessman had passed away. She recalled how my father had delivered her children. She looked intently at my hands took them in hers, felt them tenderly and said with much emotion how much my hands resembled my fahter's. I asked her about Gladys. Her husband had died of kidney failure. Glady's son was a professor at one of the Sri Lanka universities. Gladys, she said, needed constant care now. I had not seen Praxede for over 35 years. We said we would meet soon again but this was more a wish than promise. She wanted to know whether I needed something from Sri Lanka to take back with me to Canada. I indicated that meeting her had been a reward and that I would take back the memory and cherish it. Two years later I heard from Praxede. She was making arrangements to buy a scanning machine for providing services to poor patients who were being charged large sums of money they could not afford, by specialist doctors who owned their own machines. Former
D.I.G. Sundaralingam warns by Kirthie Abeysekera R. Sundaralingam told the 20th International Conference on 'Asian Organized Crime' held in Toronto, that "time is running out." He called for "collaboration, co-ordination and co-operation" among the International police to combat international criminality. Sundaralingam was flown in from the International Police Organization Headquarters in Lyon, France, as the keynote speaker at the four-day conference attended by some 800 police and customs officers from Europe, America, Canada, HongKong, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and many other countries. Making a presentation on the "Global Drug Traffic and the Changing Scenario," Sundaralingam, a 30-year veteran of the Sri Lankan police who retired as Deputy Inspector-General of Police in 1984, and is now in his 13th year with Interpol, warned that the world will face a "New drug crisis in the millennium." Sundaralingam who is Interpol's leading expert on Global Drug Criminality, said there was an increasing world demand for hard drugs. Cocaine and Heroin have led to new production areas, new supply routes and new syndicates emerging in different parts of the world. This, he said, is causing serious concern to the international law enforcement community. Sundaralingam observed that cocaine and heroin were flooding the American and European markets, with new destination networks operating in Asia and Africa. New drug menu Sundaralingam made an impassioned plea to the law enforcement community to take a "hard line" against the kingpins and money launderers in the drug business. Biggest Winner We are facing a "crisis situation," he said. Free trade has been globalized, transport has been revolutionized, technology has turned magical and global banking has become electronic. In this scenario, crime syndicates are exploiting the situation, Sundaralingam observed. Criminality has become universal and is spreading its vicious tentacles far and wide. Sundaralingam said no country, no continent and no hemisphere can stand on its own today. There has to be a united and concerted global effort to fight this rising menace. "The threat is growing, Time is running out," Sundaralingam warned. In a post-conference, exclusive interview with 'The Sunday Island,' Sundaralingam said Europe is facing 'the nightmare of the millennium," unless drastic steps are taken to control the growth of organized crime. He said Britain was facing a drug crisis that will see open warfare on the streets between rival drug gangs. He believes that the next few years will see more drugs flooding the streets of Europe. With trade barriers coming down all over Eastern Europe, suppliers were finding it easier to get their goods into western Europe. "We once lived in hope, but now we just live in fear," he observed. "Sometimes, you pay a high price for freedom." He estimated the drug trade as worth billions of pounds a year. "The Highways of Europe are now the freeways of the drugtrafficker," he said. There are no checks or controls. Over 2,000 kilograms of heroin was seized in Britain last year, second only to Turkey. What was seized was worth millions of pounds, but was a mere 15 percent of what is coming this way. "It is flooding in by air, sea and road, The Nigerians are even posting it to addresses in Britain from Thailand." Sundaralingam said the biggest players in Britain at the moment, are the Turkish gangs. But they are being challenged by the Albanians who have already taken control in Switzerland, and are beginning to make their mark in Britain. "They are very clever and they have almost edged out the Turks in getting the drugs to Britain," Sundaralingam said. The British Broadcasting Corporation has invited Sundaralingam to appear in a "Panorama Film' to be shown at the United Nations General Assembly meeting on International counter-narcotic policy, in June. The BBC's interest in Sundaralingam is a result of what it said was "an excellent paper" he presented to the International Conference for Criminal Analysts in Manchester recently. The BBC is particularly interested in discussing with Sundaralingam the success or otherwise, of American efforts in Columbia and the rise in global cocaine production. On July 13, 1997, 'The Sunday Island' reported exclusively that Sundaralingam had won encomiums from United States President, Bill Clinton and US Drug Czar, Barry McCaffrey for his appraisal of the international drug scourge. Washington said Sundaralingam was the first foreign drug expert to have been asked to brief top US drug analysts on the activities of international drug syndicates. by Joe Segera These bandsmen in their crumpled old railway guard trousers and frayed white jackets with brass buttons whose shine is long gone are a dying breed. Time has caught up with them. People now prefer to have their funerals without the "Bandkarayas" who are now out of tune. In the old days no funerals in Colombo North and the Negombo area was complete without the brass band. The few brass bands that are still around are living hand-to-mouth. Their signboards with high-sounding names are no longer common with even the letters fading away. "They are dying", said an old cynic at Kotahena, "to give way to the kollas and their beat groups. Take Danny Uncle for instance, forty years ago he just could not cope with the bookings for his brass band. It was a question of playing for more than one funeral a day from Kochikade, Kotahena and Grandpass to the Madampitiya cemetery". According to Danny Uncle band playing in those days was really hard work — "our partons insisted that we play right down the route and at the grave side. And they wanted the most solemn or catchy tunes, he told me wiping his wrinkled face with an old hanky. There repetoire was very limited. They knew no Beethoven or Mozart, but only some marches and of course, "Nearer My GodÉ" Danny Uncle had some uproarious stories to relate. I kept on prodding him with just another short dram of "Gal" of the Canal Row variety. And the old boy continued his yarns. "At some funerals there were mourners who had imbibed their "Gal" in a desperate bid to drown their sorrows and they were the folks who often pushed up for more and better tunes. And it so happened that Danny and his band had played at a funeral in the evening after playing at one in the morning where they were liberally entertained with toddy and "Gal" after burying the dear departed. They were all in good spirits. Some of the mourners wanted them to play a good farewell tune soon after they had finished with the moving strains of "Nearer my God". "Our Jolly old trumpeter quickly rose to the occasion, thought for a moment and began playing " show me the way to go home". The drunken drummers also joined and the mourners appeared to appreciate it. We later heard that the dead man was a reputed Baila singer". The tragedy with this vanishing fun-loving tribe is that very few of their children are taking to the "profession". The bookings are few, mostly for funerals, the Royal-Thomian match, merry-go-rounds at carnivals and church feasts. Way back in the days when the late Mr. S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike was Prime Minister, I was covering one of his tours in the Negombo district where he was welcomed by a brass band in the Wennappuwa area. The MP was the late Mr. Hugh Fernando who was the host. As the bandsmen were interested in meeting Mr. Bandaranaike, Mr. Fernando introduced them to him. After shaking hands, the bandsmen were so thrilled that they started playing "Sugar bush I love you" with much gusto as if they were fully oiled with the "white stuff", from nearby Dankotuwa. Apparently embarrassed by the brass band’s performance, Mr. Hugh Fernando was feverishly waving his white hankercief signalling the bandsmen to call it a day. Prime Minister Bandaranaike sensing the worry written on Mr. Fernando’s face, patted him on the back and said, "Hugh, don’t worry. They have a sense of humour. Let them play on.... There's more in your cuppa than you think! By Maxwell Fernando Chinese for centuries have been cultivating and drinking tea, so too have the Shan people of Burma and Siam. The fact is that the tea plant Camellia Sinensis was found growing wild over an area that stretches for 1,200 miles north and south and 1,500 miles east and west, from China down to Vietnam and Nagaland to Thailand. There are of course marked differences to be seen in the species found in this vast area. In the rigorous climate of China, Camellia Sinensis has a bush, that even when unattended, seldom grows to more than ten feet in height. In Assam this species is referred to as a forest tree, which can grow to well over thirty feet in the wild state. Whatever the grouping are, they are closely related, and when subdued and domesticated, they produce tea. Tea will grow anywhere where the soil is acid, the rainfall not less than forty to fifty inches a year, and the variance between the hot and the cold seasons not too marked. Medicine It was during the early part of the seventeenth century that tea started to penetrate the European markets, after the tea routes to China were opened. The Honourable East India Company, from the beginning of the eighteenth century held the exclusive right to trade in tea, and this monopoly was maintained for the next hundred years. Exports of tea increased rapidly, and by 1805, England alone was importing more than seven million pounds. In 1880, China reached the crucial period in its tea trade, when over 300 million pounds were exported, of which about half went to England. The tea drinking habit by then had got securely established in the country. In 1883 the East India Company lost its legal monopoly in China. They were forced to look elsewhere to establish trade ties, which would not involve paying for tea in silver which caused a bullion crisis, or in opium which caused a moral one. This was a crucial period for the British trade with the Far East, and all trade policies had to be adjusted virtually overnight. The supply of Chinese teas to the Western world was fast drying up, and immediate action had to be taken to counteract the position. Assam The district of Assam was found to be the ideal location of the tea project, but there was disagreement with the type of tea to be grown. Dr. Wallich, the curator of the Calcutta Botanical Gardens was in favour of establishing an equivalent of the Chinese tea industry in India, with Chinese planting material. Others promoted the use of native tea seeds from the tea forests found growing wild in Assam. The large leaf deep-rooted Assam varieties when pruned, did better in their native soils than the imported Chinese varieties, which were more suitable for higher elevations. It did not take long for the Assam planters to learn the art of growing and handling of the crop. There was a spontaneous reaction to this strong Indian tea, in Britain, and thereafter Chinese teas were condemned and consigned to the dustbin. The introduction of strong Indian teas to the British market, brought about radical changes to the preparation of this beverage. They began to add milk and sugar to the cup to soften its potency, and this in turn made a real contribution to the average British diet. According to Daniel Green, the author of A Plantation Family, 'a cup of plain tea contributes about four calories and a small amount of vitamin B to the diet. When milk and sugar are added, this is increased to forty calories and a small amount of protein. Since the British drink about six cups of tea a day on average, it can be seen that tea drinking began to contribute about 240 calories to the daily diet, and this could amount to 10% of the total calorie intakes of the poor'. Coffee Lanka These were taken care of at Peradeniya and Nuwara Eliya, but nothing was done to grow them commercially, despite the government's declaration that tea was likely to be a new and profitable speculation which would give rise to a valuable source of revenue. The only other attempt to grow and manufacture tea was made by the two brothers Gabriel and Maurice Worms, on their estate at Pussellawa. It is no doubt ironical to discover that these two German Jews, both men of fortune, should have cast aside high finance and high society, in order to become large scale coffee planters, and to pioneer the cultivation of tea in the island. Chinese expert The teas thus produced, were given to their friends in England as gifts. Although the cost of producing tea was considered excessive at around Pound Sterlings 5 per pound, it nevertheless remains as the first record of tea actually grown and cured in Ceylon and exported to England. There was overproduction of coffee in the early 1860's and the Planters Association of Ceylon was hard pressed to find alternatives. It was finally decided to promote the cultivation of cinchona and tea as suitable crops. Encouraged by what was happening in India with tea, the government decided to send an experienced coffee planter to Assam to report on its suitability for Ceylon. The report was considered comprehensive and great. It was this report that made most planters to launch on tea cultivation. He recommended among other things, that Ceylon was suitable for the cultivation of tea, that seeds and plants could be obtained from Assam, and that, in order to produce only high quality teas suitable for the London market, upland rather than lowland tea should be grown. There was spontaneous reaction from coffee planters to this report. It was James Taylor, who had already made a name for himself by his trial planting of cinchona, who turned to tea in a big way, and before long he was considered the father of Ceylon tea. It did not take long for the blight to destroy the country's coffee industry causing plantations to be abandoned. Most of the pioneer coffee planters were forced to leave the country as destitute persons, having lost all. There were however a few planters of the calibre of James Taylor, who remained in the island to point the way to a new crop and a new extension of the plantation industry. (The writer who's worked in the Tea trade for over four decades is presently consultant at Sommerville and Co. Ltd.) Review by D. B. Kappagoda The first festival was held in 1996. This year's festival is the second. The plays selected for the festival were: Ajasatta, Alladin and The Wonderful Lamp, Rajjuruwo Udai Udai, Saliya Asokamala, Ran Masuda Shupayada, Siri Sangabo, Bonakota Shokda, and Vessantara. European puppeteers promoted an awareness on socio-economic political issues of the day. During the French Revolution, puppeteers were not tolerated by the rulers. The leading puppeteer Sherapin was assassinated because of his provocative presentations that influenced the people and theatre. In Britain, Germany, Czechoslovakia and Russia there were faculties in the universities to promote the art of puppetry. Puppeteers convert hilarious situations out of sensitive socio-economic issues. In our country the weekly programme on TNL 'Always Break down is now popular because of its topicality of the issues portrayed. Puppetry has a long tradition in our country beginning at Ambalan-goda which kept this tradition alive. Negombo, Pitipana, Kegalle, Alapalawala, Undugoda, Gampaha, Kandy and Jaffna too practise puppetry. Puppetry generates laughter and is effectively used to fashion the philosophy of life of the people. In ancient times the rule of king Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe was critically dealt with in the Ehelepola Rukada Natum in 1810. The art of puppetry in our country is still under developed compared to the standard in other countries. Present day puppetry can be divided into string puppets, glove puppets and shadow puppets. Whereas mask puppets, mammoth puppets, black theatre puppets, colour lights and sound mixing puppets and rod and threads manipulations fall into the second category. The third category consists of finger puppets, supporting stick puppets, two dimension puppets, electronic puppets and animation puppets. The first presentation at the festival was Ajasatta by Sri Anura Rukada Kala Sangamaya directed by Nalin Gamwari — a string puppetry in which Devadatta who was against the Buddha failed to win over King Bimbisara to his side. Devadatta finally succeeded in deceiving king Bimbisara's son. In this moving story the nature of parental love and the ill effects of associating with the indisciplined clergy are highlighted. Alladin And The Wonderful Lamp was a shadow puppet presentation based on "Arabian Nights" directed by Kosala Priyan Kumara for Tharanga Rukada Shilpin. It has a lesson for the present day children. As a result of the education they receive the in born talents of the children get lost. The play shows how the art of puppetry could be utilized as a medium of education. Rajjuruwo Udai Udai presented by Thisara Kala Kavaya is directed by Sunil D. Jayaratne. The story deals with a crow and a king. A crow unable to tolerate the insults of a proud king, releases its droppings into the mouth of the king. The angry king launches a hunt for the crow. A boy was able to catch the crow and he produced if before the king. The crow tactfully explained to the king about his impishness and manages to get himself freed from the wrath of the king. Saliya Asokamala presented by Sigiri Rukada Kala Shilpiyo and directed by G. M. Sepala was the famous love story between Saliya and Asokamala. Using string puppetry the director ably related the story through dialogue, song and dance. Ranmasuda Shilpa-yada is presented by Sri Lanka Aruna Rukada Kala Sangamaya of Panadura and directed by Milan Gamwari. According to the story, a rich person who didn't care for education did not allow his son schooling. As a result the son could not manage his fortune and ran through his wealth and ended up as a pauper. Sirisangabo presented by Nipuna Rukada Kalakavaya Ambalangoda and directed by Nihal Gamwari was based on the historic episode of King Sanghabodhi and Gotabhaya. Bonakota Shokda presented by Hemendra Dias Panadura and directed by himself deals with the adverse effects of liquor making man a beast. In presenting this story the director has used hand puppets. The last of the presentation was Vessantara by Sarasavi Rukada Sangamaya, directed by Chandraratna Wilgampola. The story centres around king Vessantara who donated his wealth and gave up his kingdom and aspired to Buddhahood. The director used string puppets to relate the incidents of this Jataka story. How a southern village got its own power by Vaidehi Perera The villagers are largely tea smallholders working between 1 and 3 acres of land. Piles of green leaf are stacked beside most doors. Neighbours are reached by clambering through tea bushes or crossing the stream flowing through the hamlet. The sound of water is never far away and the steram is the focus of the villagers’ first foray into the world of corporate governance and infrastructure development as they harness the water to supply electricity to around 100 houses in the vicinity.
The Bank also arranged for a grant of 1.5 lakhs from the Global Environmental Facility (GEF). With the villagers' own contribution of capital and ‘sweat equity’ (the villagers put in a stipulated amount of hours of labour towards the construction of the power plant as part of their equity contribution), the new project was commissioned in 1998. Pilot project A micro hydro-electric power project, like most things ingenious, is an engagingly simple idea. All that is needed is a slope and a flow of water — the steeper the slope and the greater the volume of water the better. The only capital cost is the turbine. In Sri Lanka the turbine is an ordinary induction electric motor coupled to the water flow. The site at Pathavita was surveyed by ITDG’s consultants, who found it suitable for a micro hydro-electric project. The original power unit was funded through grants and donations in 1993. The turbine had a 4 kW capacity but engineers reckoned that given the head and flow of the stream, there was the potential to generate 10 kW all year round incorporating more families into the scheme — an unlikely proposition without access to long term credit. NDB loan With term finance from the NDB, and the villagers own contribution, the new project was commissioned last year. It supplies a modest 100 watts per household, chiefly used for lighting — a cleaner and safer alternative to the earlier kerosene lamps. Wattage is generally calculated in terms of the bulbs, televisions and radios each household uses. Decisions are made jointly through consensus, although Amarasinghe is clearly the leader. He keeps a watchful eye on the meter and has rigged up a trip to prevent overuse. Once this goes off, power has to be reconnected at source — a petty nuisance that usually discourages imprudence. The villagers all chip in to clean the turbine of clogged leaves and are eager to show off their acquisition to visitors. With a shrewd eye on costs, the villagers have decided to limit wear on the turbine by restricting hours of use. The river is diverted at 3.30 p.m. each day by the simple expedient of stopping the outlet with a few planks and the power switched on. Each householder pays Rs. 100 a month towards the bank loan and Rs. 10 towards the wage of a hired hand who operates the turbine. A further Rs. 5 is levied to maintain the equipment. For the Rs. 115 a month the 100 or so households have access to 100 Watts of power. The drawback, is that the villagers have only very basic power for 16 hours a day and a zero potential for expansion. But they have made the kind of leap from darkness to light that urbanites take for granted. Another virtue of micro-hydro is its minimum need for maintenance. ITDG has trained the villagers to undertake most repairs themselves and outside assistance is rarely needed. Major changes Micro hydro schemes are not new to Sri Lanka. Early this century small rivers were used to power estate factories with the machinery connected directly to the turbines. Then came cheap and seemingly limitless electricity on the national grid and most of these 600 odd units were abandoned or dismantled. Now that the CEB’s electricity is no longer cheap or certain, there is a revived interest in these schemes. Recently, the CEB, long a natural adversary of independent micro hydro schemes, have even advertised for contractors to set up micro hydro units. Micro hydro can be used to power small industries like sawmills, rice-hullers and grain mills. Though not possible at Pathavita — already running at optimum capacity — it remains an income generating option for other rural communities, especially in the South Western and Central regions where rain and hills are both plentiful. Politician It is a clean, renewable energy source as the water is re-directed to the river after the turbines are driven. It has seemed to make villagers more conservation conscious as they see the direct link between rainfall and their power supply. At Pathavita some of the higher ground has already been reforested. Pathavita has found light at the end of a tunnel. But this is only the beginning. Pentecost — The birth of the Church The Rev. Shelton de
Silva "Pente" means fifty in Greek and Pentecost means the fiftieth day after the Passover. There were three great Jewish festivals which every male Jew who lived within twenty miles of Jerusalem was expected to attend. Passover was the first and Pentecost was the second, in importance. Remember that by IAD the people of Israel had been taken captive during their history by many imperial powers and forced to settle down in neighbouring lands. This was called the Dispersion. Some remained where they had settled because they had married foreign wives, others remained behind because of trade and business. All however yearned to go to Jerusalem for one of the major festivals, as Moslems today feel obliged to go to Mecca at least once in a lifetime. These were men from Egypt, Mesopotamia, Libya, Cyprus, Cyrenacia etc., who knew a little Aramaic — the language in which the Torah was written — and Greek, the language of the Greek and Roman Empires. The New Testament tells us that Jesus had warned his disciples that when he was gone he would send them a "counsellor" to help and guide them. At Pentecost we see the fulfillment of that promise. At first the experience of the Holy Spirit was in a sense a shattering one. Nothing like this had ever happened to them before and it went to their heads like new wine. They felt confident and powerful; able to do things they had never dreamt of doing in a measure that made them behave like people slightly drunk. No wonder the people who saw them said that the disciples were full of new wine. Peter, the acknowledged leader, had to point out that these men were unquestionably sober. What had happened had been prophesied by the prophet Joel. God’s promise of a religious experience had just taken place. Peter had to explain the context of the happening. As they all knew, the disciples were the followers of a rabbi called Jesus of Nazareth. This Jesus had been the victim of a plot hatched by the High Priests of Israel and was eventually crucified by Rome as a rebel against Caesar. This Jesus had died and rose on the third day and the disciples were witnesses of his resurrection appearances. He had been with them and had explained to them what his resurrection signified. He would send them they Holy Spirit. At first the new born church did not know to handle this new experience of the Holy Spirit in their midst. Ever since the Maccabbean revolt, the Jews had begun to think that there must be some future life for their noble dead, who died in the defence of their loyalty to God. They began to believe in the resurrection of the noble dead on the Last Day when God terminated history. The resurrection of Jesus made them think of his rising as an anticipation of first fruits of resurrection of the body. When Pentecost took place they began to think that history was being wound up by God and that the last day was round the Corner. This was part of the reason why they instituted their primitive socialism and pooled all their resources and shared their wealth. If history was in the process of being wound up, it was pointless to continue in their business activities or do anything except pray and heal and speak in tongues. This encouraged a great many idlers to think that they were on a permanent ‘dole’ and never had it so good. They need not work or worry about food. St. Paul was a rabbi and every rabbi had a positive attitude to work, and supported himself financially. In St. Paul’s case, he made tents to support himself. This ideleness of the early Christians went against the grain and in 2 Thess. 3:10, Paul says, "already during our stay with you we laid down this rule: anyone who will not work shall not eat. We mention this because we hear that some of you are idling your time away, minding everybody’s business but their own". With Pentecost came the gift of speaking in tongues and healing. These new activities took a permanent place in the early Church perhaps because of their dramatic and spectacular qualities. Now when Christian worship invaded the Gentile communities, the usual conventions of Jewish synagogue worship were abandoned. These conventions were that they prayed, sang a few psalms and then the elder in charge of synagogue worship asked some distinguished visitor (if present) to explain the writings in the Pentateuch or the Prophets. In Jewish worship the men sat on one side and the women, soberly dressed with their hair covered, listened on the fringes of the synagogue. Here in the gentile Christian meetings there was a rebellion against Jewish conventions for had not Christ set them free? As a result there was no sense of order in their worship. They did whatever they wanted, whenever they felt like it. While one spoke in tongues, another burst forth into loud prayer and a third felt moved to sing a psalm at the top of his/her voice. The effect was chaotic and Paul told them that if anyone entered the room or hall where the synagogue met he would think he had walked into a madhouse. Paul said something like this: "All these things you are doing may be led by the Spirit, but God is a God of order and not disorder. A better way to conduct worship — he uses the phrase "a more excellent way" was (a) to get somebody to interpret or translate what the speaker spoke in tongues, so that the whole congregation could be edified. (b) to remember that the main Christian ethic was the practice of LOVE. You may be eloquent, courageous enough to suffer torture, (give your body to be burnt): have the gift of healing. You may be able to do many things that most people cannot do, but it all your activity is not shot through with love you are bogus — a miserable failure as a Christian. Pray for those who persecute you; be kind and patient with those who irritate you and are jealous of you and judge you from the most petty standpoint. The big thing in Christianity is the capacity to love — or outlove all opposition. As we celebrate Pentecost — the birth of the Church — (which by the way is one of the proofs of the Resurrection) — let us recall what happened. They were baptised by the holy Spirit into a new life. But this does not mean that they were sinless. As we look at the Church and at ourselves, we see that both we ourselves and our fellow Christians may appear to others as very painful people. There have been a few reformers like Tertullian who wanted to found "a pure Church". The truth is that the Church is a community of forgiven sinners, who often lapse into their sinful ways. We have no means of sorting out the good from the bad, the wheat from the chaff. Whereas we would prefer to uproot the weeds and preserve the wheat (and then to what group would we belong?) Jesus advised us to let both grow together and at the harvest the Lord of the Harvest can separate one from the other. The Church must have discipline as it orders its life in things moral and intellectual. Apart from this it must be tolerant and loving. She is the mother, not the magistrate. As for ourselves, as far as we are concerned, we must be ruthless in ourself — examination and pray for forgiveness when we are found wanting. As far as others are concerned, we must be tolerant; for tolerance and kindness and patience are aspects of Christian love. World No - Tobacco Day Dr. J. B. Kelegama Tobacco-related
Diseases Tobacco smoking accounts for one in seven cancer deaths worldwide and about one in three in developed countries. In India, however, about half of all cancers in men and quarter in women are attributed to tobacco use. 85 per cent of lung cancers in men worldwide and 46 per cent in women are caused by tobacco. It is also known that tobacco causes other forms of cancer; such as those of the lip, oral cavity, larynx, pancreas, oesophagus, lung, kidney, bladder, renal pelvis, stomach and cervix. A study by researchers at the University of Birmingham indicates that men who smoke can damage their sperm and pass the risk of cancer to their children. It showed that up to 15 per cent of childhood cancers could be due to smoking fathers. All evidence indicate that the tobacco epidemic is shifting from developed to developing countries and Eastern Europe. The WHO estimates the number of smokers in the world at 1.1 billion or about one-third of the global population aged 15 years and over. Approximately 47 per cent of men and 12 per cent of women smoke. It is significant that of the total 1.1 billion smokers 800 million or 73 per cent are in developing countries, and this ratio is estimated to rise to 85 per cent by the mid-2020s. In China alone where there are 300 million smokers, there are about 750,000 tobacco caused deaths a year. In Eastern Europe which now forms one of the largest markets for tobacco, an estimated 41 per cent of all deaths among men aged 35-69 years were caused by tobacco. Betel quid chewing with tobacco is the most common cause of oral cancer. In South and South-East Asia, more than 100,000 new cases of oral cancer are diagnosed annually. There have been cases of six year old children in Indian with sub-mucous fibrosis, a pre-cancerous condition. Smoking among the young Where cigarette advertising is banned, tobacco companies reach the young by sponsoring sports such as motor racing and cricket and cultural events such as plays and paintings. Conditioned by such advertisements, the young tend to underestimate the risks of smoking and the addictiveness of nicotine for the immediate psychological benefits derived from smoking. Further, children are influenced by parents who smoke, and perceive smoking to be adult behaviour and take up smoking to appear more grown-up. Perhaps the most effective technique for promotion of cigarettes is sponsorship of sporting events, particularly cricket, in order to create a positive image of smoking among the young. A study of 1948 children aged 13-16 years in Goa, found that watching cricket matches sponsored by tobacco companies (e.g. Wills Cup) created a "wrong perception in the children's minds that smoking gives more strength, improves batting and fielding and ultimately increases the chance of winning". When our children watch cricket matches on television, we tend to forget that they are exposing themselves to the subtle advertisements of tobacco companies designed to hook them to smoking. Tobacco contains a substantial amount of nicotine which is recognized as a drug of addiction and tobacco dependence has been classified as a mental and behavioural disorder according to the WHO International Classification of Diseases. Among addictive behaviours, cigarette smoking is the one most likely to take hold during adolescence. A study found that 42 per cent of young people who smoke as few as three cigarettes a day go on to become regular smokers. This underlines the need for effective youth-oriented smoking cessation programmes to counteract the billion dollar cigarette promotion campaigns to hook the young. Such programmes should include higher taxes to raise the price of cigarettes, prohibition of tobacco advertising promotions and sponsorship of sports and cultural events, ban on sale of cigarettes to minors, prohibition of smoking in public places, mass media education programmes to teach children about the dangers of tobacco and lobbying of politicians to make them understand the need for tobacco control measures by the government. New legislation in USA The new Tobacco Bill passed by John McCain's Senate Commerce Committee in April 1998 envisages larger expenditure by tobacco companies and more stiff penalties. The companies are required to spend $10 billion now and $506 billion over 25 years to settle claims and to pay for anti-smoking programmes; requirements on advertising and reduction of children's smoking are more or less the same as in the earlier settlement except that no animal figures like Joe Camel can be used and penalties for failure to reach the goal of 60 per cent reduction in children's smoking in ten years have been raised to $3.5 billion; the US Food and Drug Administration could regulate tobacco as a drug and could ban nicotine if necessary; unlike in the earlier settlement, tobacco farmers and displaced workers are to receive $28.5 billion in compensation. Individual liability claims have been raised from the maximum of $5 billion to $6.5 billion annually; the most significant difference between the old and the new scheme, however, is that the new bill does not grant immunity from other lawsuits. The tobacco companies, will not doubt, challenge the new bill in the courts. The US government seems to be determined to impose greater penalties on tobacco companies mainly to protect the children. President Clinton in a recent speech challenged Congress to get tough on what he called the gravest health threat facing children in America - "an epidemic of teen smoking spread by multimillion dollar marketing companies". He quoted statistics that 3000 children start smoking each day and that 1000 will die early as a result. "Let's do what it takes to bring teen smoking down". He raised the price of cigarettes by $1.50 a pack over ten years with penalties on tobacco companies if they continue marketing to children. Health benefits of
quitting smoking Sri Lanka It is encouraging to note that the World President of the International College of Surgeons, Professor Earl Own of Australia called for a ban on smoking at the recent conference in Colombo. The government should be thanked for banning cigarettes and liquor advertisements and smoking and drinking scenes in teledrama in all state and private television channels with effect from 15 February 1997. TV stations have also been instructed to carry a warning about the dangers of smoking and drinking before and after the teledrama programmes. This has been done on representations made by the Sri Lanka Medical Association. Union Assurance Company has made a contribution to the anti-smoking campaign by offering non-smokers lower life premiums for the first time in this country. It is hoped that the Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation and the National Insurance Corporation will follow suit. It is reported that the government has taken a decision to ban sponsorship of sporting events by tobacco companies. This will be a momentous decision and a recognition at the government level of the waste resulting from haste to experience "A Taste Apart" from smoking. |
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