.

Rape and murder
Is it due to weak Police and the law?

by Shakuntala Perera
She was in love with the beach thus the daily strolls on the silvery sands in the company of her new husband. The scenic beauty that surrounded the sea side, the love that was shared between the newly weds blinded them to the "other side" to the beauty that surrounded them. They were not aware of the eyes of the perverts, the murderers who were hungrily watching their every step till the right opportunity arrived.

And that time arrived last week to four sex hungry perverts, who took the life of the 29-year-old Indian beauty Rita John having cruelly deprived her of any dignity accorded to any female.

Gang raped and murdered her lifeless body was dumped in a canal running behind the NARA office at Crowe Island in Mutwal.

In sufficient police protection
Despite the gruesome murder shocking a whole nation, residents around the area find "nothing special about the case."

Such incidents of rape according to one resident Ramya Rajapaksa occur on a weekly basis in the vicinity.

"Everybody is suddenly talking about this case and are shocked about it while girls are brought here and raped practically weekly. There must be many more bodies of girls dumped all over this island. If the police bothered a little more maybe they will find them. We can't even send out a young daughter out in these areas alone because we are not sure if she will ever return.

"There are many cases of girls who are abducted in this manner when they come to this beach with their boy friends and raped in this area. These couples are harassed in this manner daily. They just don't get the same attention because they do not come from the same high profile families as did this lady, that's all. Even the police carried out their duties so efficiently because she was the daughter -in-law of a ex-SSP. This whole area is one rampant with drugs and drug related violence and sex related crime, but no one in authority even look at the plight of the residents of this area.

"We have continually informed the police about the need to have this area cleared and some form of safety and protection offered to the residents, but they fell on deaf ears. No one has done anything about it for all these years. Even now when there is some attention we can't believe that any justice will be done to us. They will just talk about it till the heat of the incident dies out and then things will just get back to normal. Girls will continue to be raped and even murdered by these people and no one will even bat an eyelid.

"We are also taxpayers of this country. Is safety and protection for our children too much to ask of the authorities ?" Ramya charges.

The question is certainly appropriate and requires immediate answers from the relevant authorities. Ramya's charges were supported by the many hundreds of residents of the area where the body of late Rita John was found.

There are presently approximately 500 households in Crow Island, and they all live with the same fear for their lives and that of their children. They added that none of their young children can any longer enjoy a game outside of their houses or on the sandy beaches. These areas are all out of bounds for them. They are instead the paradise of the gangsters whose law rules above that of any authority or that of the state.

The police meanwhile say that they are unable to exercise their authority due to the limited personnel available within the police force given the security situation in the country.

Reimposition of the death penalty
Speaking to "The Sunday Island" the Senior Deputy Inspector of Police (Crime and Intelligence) stated that the rate of crime has reached such heights that it no longer could be controlled with minor punishments.

"Nothing short of the death penalty can arrest this disturbing trend,"he says.

"There is no other way to tackle this growing problem (especially sex-related crime).The death penalty has not been removed from the legal system. It is very much a part of it, but it is not being executed.

"The time has come to re-introduce the death penalty to deal with this dangerous situation. There is a grave need for it now," he adds.

He however does not feel that the laws recently amended are inadequate.

"The laws as they are at present are absolutely sufficient, but we cannot do anything about this increasing crime rate in the country without the death penalty," he says.

He adds that the awareness of the perpetrators of the difficulty of enforcing the law due to the commitments of the police force with the war has contributed towards this increase.

The DIG admits that had the police been able to carry out their traditional duties such as patrolling the beaches, etc. such incidents could be avoided.

"If such patrolling was taking place these persons would not have acted with such impunity. The police suspect that there maybe many other bodies dumped in this area, but we are unable to go further into it. This is why the death penalty is absolutely necessary. These men should be hung without them being allowed to walk out in three months time," added the DIG.

He also said the husband knowing of the situation in the beach should have "exercised extra precaution" especially in view of the lack of police protection in the beach area.

A certain amount of responsibility for the incident should be the husband's. It was his responsibilty to have ensured the protection of the wife to a certain degree," he added.

However opinion on the reimposition of the death penalty among the legal fora and the women's and human rights activists contacted by "The Sunday Island" differ.

President of the International Bar Association, Desmond Fernando is of the opinion that the death penalty reimposed would not provide a solution to the problem.

"A Commission appointed by the late Prime Minister S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike in 1956 found that the death penalty would not act as a deterrent to crime. In fact right around the world it is being found that the death penalty was not acting as a deterrent. Even the International Covenant on the Civil and Political Rights state that all countries should abolish the death penalty.

"If this is not a deterrent then it is a clear indication that the police vigilance is necessary. The excuses given by the police are most frivolous. No reasonable person can accept the death sentence as a solution when it is the efficiency of the police force that is called for. Such excuses can only mislead the public.

"The whole problem here is that the police today are too frightened and timid to carry out their duties such as patrolling, etc. This is due to the reduced training they are receiving today. Instead a separate Commission should be appointed to see why their services have deteriorated so badly."he adds.

He feels however that the laws pertaining to rape as they stand at present are insufficient.

"These laws are insufficient in protecting the complainant of rape. There should be the assurance to the victims that their information will be kept private. More women police officers must be in the stations to encourage the victims to come and talk. This is what is most necessary," he added.

Meanwhile the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Women and Children, Dr. Radhika Coomaras-wamy is also of the view that the reimposition of the death penalty is not the answer.

"Bringing in the death penalty would only harden the situation. I believe life imprisonment is sufficient. What is necessary is police protection for the people. The laws are sufficient but it is the enforcement that matters. We also need to remove the provision where the past history of the woman victims can be brought forward, where their character instead of the action of the perpetrator goes on trial. However the mandatory sentence is good where in the past people guilty of crime were allowed go out within months.

"Another area that needs looking into is to change the way society looks at and treats a victim. The social stigma against the victims need change. Rape it must be understood is like a living death for a woman. It destroys a person psychologically. Such stigma keeps the victims from coming forward and seeking justice."she added.

"Victim unfriendly" legal procedure
The Secretary of the Law and Society Trust, Damaris Wickramase-kera, feels the death penalty would serve no purpose if the police were inefficient in dealing with the criminals.

"The inability of the police to catch them would leave the law helpless. What we need is to make the laws more effective. I feel the life sentence is sufficient but not if the perpetrators are to be released within a couple of years on grounds of good behaviour. In ascertaining "good behaviour" the authorities must make sure that they do not do it simply because it is more expensive for the State to keep all these prisoners in.

"However I feel that the legal procedure is not victim friendly enough to encourage the victims to come out and have justice done. Instead its just a case of two lawyers trying to save their clients. Its not simply the law that needs to be looked into but the way it is administered too. Legal proceedings should refrain from frightening the victims away from the judiciary. Fairness to all victims is also necessary where justice is done not only to "high profile" victims but to all women alike."she added.

Meanwhile the Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Justice, Dhara Wijethilaka contacted by "The Island" stated that she was "unaware of any moves to further tighten the laws pertaining to sex related crimes and feels that the present laws with the recent amendments to the Penal Code is sufficient.

The laws have been enhanced with the recent reforms to provide adequate justice to the victims. Even if there is an increase in crimes it could be attributed to the perpetrators being not affected by the enhanced laws.

"May be the increase in the number of cases reported is due to the increased awareness created by the enhanced laws and not because there is an actual increase in crime as such. But if as stated there is awareness and still a continuance of crime then obviously the enhanced laws are not having the desired effect. We have brought in rigorous imprisonment, compensation for the victims and a fine, how much further can you go? In a normal case a separate civil case has to be brought to seek compensation but here we have made that provision automatic.

Increase in sex related violence
However a recent study carried out by the Women's Media Collective finds rape counted highest among the violence against women. It reports that 149 cases of rape has occurred during the three-month period between April to June.

Three sentences have been imposed within a month where in Anuradhapura the accused was sentenced to 10 years RI and ordered to pay Rs.10,000 as compensation to the child.

In another case again in Anuradhapura the accused was sentenced to 15 years and ordered to pay Rs. 25,000 and in the Uva High Court an accused was sentenced for 12 years and ordered to pay Rs.25,000 as compensation. 37 cases were being inquired into before the Magistrates Court with one indictment before the High Court and 8 reports of rape being investigated.

Police reports meanwhile reveal that approximately 900 cases of rape had been reported in 1997 in contrast to the 42 reported in 1987.

Given such statistics and the growing incidence of the violation of the rights of women it is questionable if a punishment less than the death penalty would suffice in bringing justice to the victims, at least until the relevant authorities are in a position to better protect women and children against the degradation of human dignity.

People and Events
Women feed the world

by Nan
The theme chosen by the FAO to mark the 53rd anniversary of the founding of the Organisation and the second Telefood global telecast in support of the campaign to end hunger around the world is: Women Feed the World

The theme will help highlight the extremely important role women play to keep their family fed, and in a nation's food production. World Food Day and Telefood 1998 are being commemorated over a three day period-October 16 through 18.

Man is breadwinner but...
A brochure distributed by the World Federation of Agriculture, Food, Hotel and Allied Workers (WFAFW), headquartered in Brussels, asks the question whether women really feed the world. We call the man the breadwinner so he it must be that feeds the family and, in extension, the world.

But the claim of women as principal food producers goes further back than buying the food and bringing it home. (Which reminds me that poor Punchi Singho in his tattered banian and bottemless, having probably sold it, returns home with an empty, torn pung malla, unable to afford even a loaf of bread).

The WFAFW, as I said, asks the pertinent question, in the context of women producing more than half of all the food that is grown globally. In sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean, women produce upto 80 percent of basic foodstuff. In Asia they provide 50 to 90 percent of the labour of rice cultivation.

Unpaid Workers
And then comes the justified complaint that this labour goes unacknowledged and unaccounted for. Hence women are in the development process but definitely considered to be non-contributary. The work done by women in the home and outside it, particularly in agriculture and animal husbandry, goes unaccounted for and worse, is taken for granted. Not paid for either.

Women are usually non-owners of the land they till and toil over. It belongs to father, husband or son. Their agricultural activity is in subsistence crops, not cash crops. Our tea pluckers and rubber tappers are paid labourers so it is true for Sri Lanka too-women's housework and labour in the fields going unpaid. This has resulted in the feminization of poverty-unjust and unnecessary. Since the 1970s the number of women below the poverty line has increased by 50 percent, in comparison with 30 percent for their male counterparts.

One wonders how this unpaid, unacknowledged, discriminated against band of workers could produce the additional food needed for a world population expected to grow by 3 billion by 2030.

During the World Food Summit (WFS) held at FAO headquarters in Rome, November 1996, world leaders from 186 countries adopted The Rome Declaration on World Food Security and the WFS Plan of Action. These international agreements specified that the role of women in agriculture and food security must be emphasised in order to create the enabling political, social and economic environment required for the eradication of hunger and poverty. Objectives include giving women equal access to and control of land and increased their role in decision taking and policy making. Also targetted is the reduction of their workload (will it be possible and ever done?) and enhancing their opportunities for paid employment even if it be helping the husband in the field.

And what does that marvellous reference book Human Development Report 1998 have to say on the subject in hand? A 4"x2" figure compares men's work time to women's under the heading Women Work Longer than Men. Against men's work time of 100 hours, women in rural Kenya work 136 hour; Italy 128; urban Columbian women 112; France 111; rural Indonesian 109; USA 105 and urban Kenya 102. That is telling, isn't it?

The Sri Lankan Situ
I wonder what Sri Lankan statistics would be. I suppose we all agree our village women work longer and harder than their men. True he tills the land, climbs the trees, digs the well, tends the cattle and his team of buffaloes; but often doesn't the wife join him in these very same chores? And while he sits and quaffs his toddy or arrack, enjoying digesting the latest political news with his buddies in the tea boutique, or just gazes vacantly into space, wifey still keeps working: drawing water and carrying it to the house, cooking dinner and lulling the baby while settling quarrels of the older children. In the meantime, she may well, be at the receiving end of her mother-in-law's frustrations too!

Many a middle class woman too works longer hours outside and within the home: co-income earner and sole cook, laundry woman, child minder, nurse and teacher among other hats she wears.

There are the exceptions of course. I've heard stay-at-home wives complain that hubby does nothing while she cooks, washes, cleans, entertains and attends to social niceties like buying birthday presents and attending to correspondence. Gently remind her of the fact that he works eight hours a day and brings in the income and she'll outburst: ''Yes, he sits there in cool comfort with a sexy secretary bringing him cups of coffee and answering the phone and replying his letters.'' Decision making and management are but small matters to this type of self-absorbed woman.

In the Old Days
In my mother's time, division of labour was equitable. True she had to balance the budget once Father gave her his monthly pay and income from properties, but he did all the outside work like bringing home the necessities, attending to or getting repairs done, paying bills. She was wife, mother and housewife with no extra burdens heaped on her.

The women in my grandparents' villages, I remember, were active dynamos in comparison to their huge-bellied, chest rubbing husbands. I recollect a dimiya of a woman-who scampered from palm to palm collecting the nuts her sons plucked when Mother went property minding to a village in Peradeniya. She was most definitely the man in their home.

Two hefty sons were reduced to quietly obeying hercules by her sharp tongue and force of personality, though she was dimunitive. We never saw her husband. Was he dead, a paralytic at home or just diminished to nothingness by the sheer force of her personality?

The brochure of the WFAW I referred to earlier, points out that progress in building women's capabilities has been significant but there is a serious delay in creating real opportunities for them. In the Development Report 1998, the lack of equal opportunities for women to participate in economic and political life is shown by the Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM), measuring as it does, women's participation in decision making in professional, economic and political domains.

The five countries with the highest GEM (i.e. equal opportunities in all fields for women and their empowerment) are Sweden, Norway, Denmark, New Zealand, Finland. The lowest GEM ranked are Jordan, Central Africa, Togo, Pakistan, Mauritiana and, Sri Lanka ranks 84 of 102-working out to about 4/5 down the scale. We are above India but stand below Bangladesh (80) and even the Maldives (76).

How come, one may well ask.

The Mandela 'magic' with children

By Kirthi Abeyesekera
The aura of his awesome presence outshines the magnificence of this architectural monument reputed as the world's most majestic of its kind. The magic he weaves as he wends his way through 40,000 school children from across Canada, sends them into raptures.

Nelson Mandela towers above the Canadian dignitaries here to receive this marvellous man hailed as a hero, a living legend, a saint, an icon - The Lion of Africa.

Here comes Nelson Mandela, Nobel Prize winner and anti-Apartheid champion. It is my second fortunate glimpse of this remarkable man who has changed the course of history. I first saw him on his release from prison in 1990 when he visited Canada and spoke from the lawn of the Provincial Legislature in Toronto.

The golf cart driven by a woman chauffeur enters the stadium to an outburst of spontaneous applause. Mandela, his arms outstretched, sits beside the gracious Graca Machel, his new wife. The children roar as he reaches out for their hands. He's wearing a gray and white fleece jacket gifted to him by the Aboriginal people of Canada. His radiant smile illumines the vast arena. He steps out, holds the hand of a child, fondles the cheeks of an infant.

It is 'Mandela and the Children' Day, September 25. The world's most celebrated prisoner, now the President of South Africa, is here to launch the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund NMCF, in Canada - symbolic of the solidarity and friendship between Canada and South Africa.

Founded in 1995, the NMCF feeds over 500 community organisations reaching 500,000 children. So far, $ 24 million has been raised from all sectors of South African society and the international community. Mandela donates a third of his salary to the Fund.

They say the welfare of children is closest to Mandela's heart. The NMCF targets NOAH - the Neglected, Orphaned, Abandoned and the Homeless. Over the last 50 years' Canadians have supported the struggle for a democratic and just South Africa Individuals, churches, schools, trade unions, community organizations and governments have contributed countless hours and millions of dollars to end apartheid and to construct a new South Africa.

'Mandela and the Children' embodies the spirit of commitment to human dignity. Mandela is here to thank Canada and to ask it for its continued support. Canadian Prime Minister, Jean Chretien, here with his wife, Aline, introduces Mandela: "The Statesman of his Continent and the hero of the World."

"This is a home away from home," Mandela responds. "You have made me feel like a young man again, with my batteries re charged," he tells the jubilant children.

The 80-year-old steps off the podium gingerly, then dances with the children. He joins them in song and waves his arms. "Why is it that 200 million children under five are malnourished?" he asks. "Why are millions without electricity and water? And why are children dying of diseases that modern science can cure?" Then, in sombre tones: "All this can be changed if people like you and me can work together. "Yes," the children yell.

Mandela goes on: "There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children. Children are a nation's greatest asset. They are the rock on which our future will be built. They are the leaders of our country for good or evil, which is why the rich potential in each child must be developed into the skills and knowledge that our society needs to enable it to prosper."

He said the Spirit of 'Ubuntu' that profound African sense that we are human only through the humanity of other human beings - has added globally to our common search for a better world.

A 400-member children's choir sings out lustily, "We Are The Young." Mandela wipes his eyes.

The previous day, Canada's Parliament gave Mandela a rousing welcome. He entered the House of Commons to a two-minute standing ovation. His speech was interrupted six times with thunderous applause.

Chretien turned towards Mandela. "This man is a wonderful person. Even after he retires as President, he will still be a moral force in the world. When Mandela speaks, people listen.

"I feel like a champ," an elated Mandela, a one-time boxer said.

Canada's Governor-General, Romeo LeBlanc, conferred the country's highest honour - 'Companion of the Order of Canada' medal - on Mandela, the first foreign leader to receive the honour. LeBlanc said Mandela possesses "wealth of the heart."

"Twenty-seven years in prison could not confine his ideals," the Governor-General observed "Robben Island is now a lighthouse, a beacon of hope."

Before his visit to Canada, Mandela received the 'Congressional Gold Medal' America's highest honour. He is the 100th recipient and the first African. First awarded in 1776 to George Washington, other luminaries to receive the prestigious medal were Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, Bob Hope, John Wayne and Mother Teresa.

Mandela said, "Our morality does not allow us to desert our friends. Then he hugged Bill Clinton closely. The microphones picked up Mandela's whisper in the ear of the beleaguered President: "God Bless You." Mandela's wife, Machel, clutched the hand of Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Bill Clinton responded. "What gift can we give a man in return for ten thousand long days in jail? The only gift is to continue his mission and to live by the power of his profound and wonderful example."

America's Harvard University made him an Honorary Doctor of Laws. There were only two earlier recipients, George Washington and Winston Churchill.

Canadian Television Anchorman, Bill Cameron asked Machel what it was like to live with a saint. The widow of the former leader of Momzambique smiled. "Madiba (an endearing term for elders), is not a saint. Thank God he doesn't think of himself that way."

Machel, a former Minister of Education and a human rights activist herself, said Mandela is "a very humble and a very modest man. He is treated the way he is because he's a symbol. Humankind needs symbols in certain phases of history".

Quipped Cameron, "There'll never be another Nelson Mandela."

At the end of a strenuous three days in Canada, Mandela was worn down by fatigue in Toronto. His personal physician ordered him to rest. He called off a news conference, but made a brief appearance at a Chretien-hosted Toronto dinner to say farewell.

"I leave this wonderful country with a sore heart," he said wearily. The assembly rose to bid him adieu. Then he flew back home, ahead of schedule - there to pursue his "cherished ideal of a democratic and free society in which all people live together in harmony, with equal opportunities."

While still in prison, he said that that was "an ideal which I hope to live for. But, if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."

A personal view
Is preschool education important in Sri Lanka today?

by Kumari Wickramasuriya
Consider Pre-school Education in the light of conditions prevailing in Sri Lanka today. A desperate need for national access to a global language has been widely recognized. A changed socioe-conomic climate now demands high quality childcare and early education for the children of families with two working parents. Additionally, we are trying to find solutions to ethnic conflict, and the Asian economy is in crisis. These facts, coupled with Govern-mental Primary School Reforms currently being implemented indicate that the time is right to impress upon parents, carers and all those involved in the education of young children that there is no better place in which to address issues of independent thought, self discipline, coope-ration and consideration for others, than in the preschool class room.

A quality early learning environment must acknowledge that parents are a child's first and continuing edu-cators. Parents working in partnership with early years educators provide vital information about what their child already knows. This is the foundation on which we must build.

We must recognize that preschool is a child's first experience of learning outside the home. Let us attempt to make this vital period one of excitement and wonder during which the child can learn both what he needs to know and what he wants to know in a nonthrea-tening noncompetitive environment with caring adults at hand to scaffold his learning.

Although we com-partmentalize the curriculum into subject areas children's learn-ing is holistic. They acquire knowledge and understanding of the world, learn about what is contained in it, how one thing relates to another, and how these things in turn relate to themselves. In order to understand, a child needs to experience, experiment with, question and formulate answers, about pro-cesses which are occurring. In terms of real learning first hand experience and under-standing is far more important than striving towards an adults ex-pectations of a polished finished product.

The most effective learning occurs in an interactive classroom. The environment created is one in which child/child, child/adult relationships are nurtured. Children are free to approach more experienced adults for help and clarification without reproach. Conversely adults are aware of the needs of each individual child enabling intervention when appropriate. Adults are always available, ready to assist, and to ask and answer questions.

Developing com-munication skills is of the utmost importance. Children entering school have already established themselves as thinkers. They must then develop the ability not just to talk, but to be able to choose what they will say. This is an essential prerequisite to becoming competent manipulators of symbol systems. Children need encouragement to listen, speak and express their opinions. They need to develop confidence to speak to an audience. An appreciation of books through stories told and read is the ideal introduction to a literate future.

Early years edu-cation is not concerned merely with developing intellectual compe-tencies, but rather with developing every aspect of the child. Emotional and social development, moral and spiritual development are part of an early learning environment. Children are provided with every opportunity to share, work together, take responsibility and become aware of the need of others. Moral values, tolerance, cultural, religious, race and gender issues are addressed.

In addition to acquiring knowledge, and understanding it, the framework for developing a range of skills enabling children to participate fully in a variety of activities is also established. Every effort is made to ensure that children develop healthy attitudes i.e. become independent, self disciplined, make choices and solve problems. The impor-tance of being aware of the needs of others in relation to their own, is also emphasized.

Child centred edu-cation was criticized in the 60s and 70s because of a misconception that children were being allowed to choose and control their own actions, thus dimini-shing the role of the teacher. Teachers for their part feared interfering with the process of "natural development". We now know that teachers have a highly interactive role to play, and that childrens' development may remain static unless they are able to work in their proximal zone of development. " Teach-ing does not wait upon development, but propels it". Smith 1993.

We who are in-volved in the education of young children view education as develop-ment. We are chal-lenged to provide " a broad and balanced curriculum which provides each child with opportunities for cognitive development, moving him/her from the actual to the next potential level of understanding. Vygo-tsky believed this to be the role of the teacher". "The task of the teacher is to encourage children to do without help, what they can do at present with help." [Anning 1991] Childrens' learning can and must be extended by the right intervention at the right time.

We must plan an Early Years Curriculum which

* Focuses on process rather than product.
* Offers a wide range of experience rather than a restrictive one (or imposed one?)
*Emphasizes first hand, real experiences which contextualize learning ( rather than a diet of work books or work sheets?) and
* Emphasizes active learning and play (rather than pencil & paper recording ?) [ Julie Fisher 1996]

Historically the thinking of Rousseau, Dewey, Piaget all acknowledge the centrality of the child. Margeret Donaldson [Children's Minds 1978] Jerome Bruner & Vygotsky have added to our current under-standing of how young children learn. Froeble and later Montessori influenced thinking on Preschool Education in Sri Lanka and must be seen as both educational philosophers and charismatic practi-tioners of quality preschool education.

In Britain, Chris Athey, Tina Bruce & Chris Pascal, Kathy Silva and Hill in the U. S. are currently amongst those tirelessly ex-plaining to a host of early years educators how we can uphold our principles of Early Childhood Education, without contravening government guidelines.

These theoretical implications prompt me to ask "Are we under-valuing the preschool years and preschool teachers - indeed all teachers of children of between 0-8 years? Preschool teaching is a highly complex busi-ness. It requires em-pathy and an innovative approach, general knowledge, exceptional communicative skills, experience of skilled observation and interpretation of children's behaviour, artistic capability to provide an aesthetically appealing, stimulating environment, and above all ' an appreciation and respect for the ways of children' " [Darling 1994].

I would argue, that if we intend to educate children for life we must focus on The Early Years and convince the best teachers that it is where their contribution would be most valuable. This presupposes the availability of quality training programmes, standardization within a variety of preschool settings, monitoring on an island wide basis, and importantly reasonable pay scales. Today domestic help in affluent homes receive higher wages than do Preschool staff.

My view is that quality Early Years Education is particularly relevant to Sri Lanka at present because

a) Sinhala, Tamil and English can be freely used at preschool where friendships are forged. Flexibility of choice of the medium of instruc-tion is available. Children quickly under-stand which language is appropriate in any given situation. This would encourage links bet-ween ethnic com-munities.

b) Children get the opportunity to practice and develop a global language in addition to the Sri Lankan languages - a vital requirement for the new millennium. How better to learn to speak English that through talk, song and rhyme in the early years before children develop inhibitions which restrict experi-mentation?

c) Becoming literate is enjoyable in Preschool. Children begin to 'read' books and 'write' without the pressure of spelling, flash cards and handwriting being imposed on them. They can escape into ima-ginary worlds and empathize with story-book characters in real situations. A real incentive to read and, write becomes estab-lished.

d) Quality preschool education requires children to think, analyse solve problems and make reasoned choices. Self discipline and cooperation are additional requriements - these qualities are essential for every effective member of today's Sri Lankan society.

e) Children who develop attitudes to learning fostered at Preschool have every chance of coping with formal schooling in S. L. as it is today, while still enjoying their childhood. Better understanding and less rote learning will result.

I would hope that positive governmental support will become available for this crucial developmental period of our children's lives, and that it would do what the Plowden Report did in Britain, by recognizing the centrality of the child.

Let us remember that-

" No advance in policy, no acquisition of expensive equipment, have their desired effect, unless they are in harmony with the nature of the child, unless they are fundamentally acceptable to him."

[Central Advisory Council For Education UK 1967]

[The writer is recently returned to S. L. having taken early retirement. She has taught young children in various London Boroughs, and is familiar with the multicultural class-room. She works part time with trainee preschool teachers, and provides in service training for teachers of children aged 3 - 7, through the Ladies College Vocational Training Centre.]

Urine therapy 'effective' for every illiness

by U. Hulugalle
A headline in a recent newspaper stated that that loopholes in the country's laws was robbing the country of millions of dollars. A Mr Premakumara, a leading researcher had said that due to a lack of proper patent procedure and funds to obtain international patents that Sri Lanka was losing its indigenous medicinal plants and traditional ayurvedic knowledge.

Another article stated that a legal framework with provisions for removal of traditional knowledge pertaining to ayurvedic medicine was being formulated by a special committee.

Are all these statements far fetched? Just because we have a plant which Mr Premakumara says is indigenous, but is also grown in India, are we losing millions. If a vederala has a procedure and decoctions is it possible to make millions.

Our scientific researchers missed out on a simple process of heat treating geuda sapphires at a temperature of 1800 degrees centigrade in reducing temperatures and we lost actually billions to the Thais. Making our millions from plants that can be grown in Sri Lanka has been done in the case of tea, rubber, cocoa, vegetables and fruits most of them introduced from other countries but making millions from our traditional medicine and plants is a different ball game.

The method to make these millions cannot be done by just talk in which we Sri Lankans excel. We have to set up laboratories with high tech equipment. It has to be done like in the Bio-tech companies in the U.S. where they did the research and obtained a product, patented it and sold to international pharmaceutical companies. Making millions of dollars is not that easy as Mr Premakumara thinks, as plants like kothala himbutu cannot be patented just as tea cannot be patented.

Jagath Gunawardena a lawyer and a member of the society of environmental education confirms this fact and says that a product from the plant or a process of extraction can be patented if it is a new invention. Kothala himbutu has been in use for a long time and there is no possibility of patenting either a product or a process of extracting salicinol.

Salicinol
Japanese scientists have done a study on kothala himbutu and have extracted salicinol but according to the law cannot patent the process as it has been done over and over again. They have done a paper on the subject, and the copyright , they have registered with the American Chemical Society.

Mr Premakumara can without a problem extract Salicinol and need not pay a royalty. He is also free to do research on kothala himbutu and write a paper and copyright the paper, and any one who quotes him will have to acknowledge him. If he is interested he should inquire into the difference between patents and copyright.

I know a very humane and very sensible Sri Lankan who made a great success career wise and financially in Singapore. He has been a amateur researcher in alternative medicine. Originally coming from a Sinhala village, he was well versed in the village traditional remedies . As a man of the world he has been interested in Indian and Chinese medicine and has been regular at health clinics in India while using Chinese remedies in Singapore. On his regular visits to the U.S. and Canada he has found herbal medicine being used and has tried these medicines. Well into his seventies he found himself bedridden with heart, high blood pressure and diabetes problems. A friend gave a few books on alternative medicine.

Cancer cure
The first book known as 'The Essiac Report' was about a cure for cancer based on a herbal remedy used by a Red Indian tribe in Canada which was discovered and used by a nurse to cure thousands of patients at no charge from all parts of Canada over a period of fifty years. She has also been helped by President John Kennedy's physician from Boston, Dr Charles A. Brusch who stated "The results we obtained with thousands of patients of various races, sexes and ages, with all types of cancer definitely proves Essiac to be a cure for cancer. Studies done in laboratories in the U.S. and Canada also fortify the claim."

Finally before she died she passed it on and now it is marketed in Canada by a company called Flora under the brand name Flor-Essence. The herbs used are, sheep sorrel, burdock root, slippery elm bark and rhubarb root.

The other books were on urine therapy written by an English, Dutch, American and Indian authors.

Within a few months of his practicing Urine Therapy as suggested in the books he read he found he was cured of his heart , diabetes and high blood pressure but he continued with a swollen leg. With the Sinhala village background he waited to be cured of his swollen leg till after a certain date when his bad time was over, according to his horoscope and it happened that way.

He was so pleased with his cure that he photo copied 20 numbers of the four books and distributed among his friends in Sri Lanka. The books were Water of Life (a treatise on urine therapy) by J. W. Armstrong , Shivambu Geeta by Dr. G. K. Thakkar, The Golden Fountain by Coen van der Kroon (Internet-Yahoo-urine therapy), Your Own Perfect Medicine Martha M Christy (file///A|/Your own Perfect Medicine:htm). I have given the internet references as both these books referred to are summarized in the internet.

I wrote about the first book in an earlier article .The second book written by Dr (not of medicine) G.K. Thakkar, who is The Chairman of the Water of Life Foundation of India has an interesting foreword written by a medical doctor a urologist practicing in Mumbai Dr B. V. Khare M. S. MNAM of Dadar, Mumbai tel 4145774.

"I feel greatly honoured to write a foreword to this book of G.K. Thakkar. The importance of urine therapy dates back to five thousand years when Lord Shankar had narrated the benefits to his wife Parvati in 107 sholakas in Damar Tantra where in he termed urine as Shivambu. Shiv means pious, beneficial, holy and Ambu means water. Therefore Shivambu means 'Holy Water'. Reference to U.T. is found in almost all the volumes of Ayurveda.

Moraji Desai
In the period from 1977-79 when the late Moraji Desai was Prime Minister of India, this subject was discussed very widely. In fact he had accorded world recognition, glory and dignity to this seemingly nauseating therapy by boldly declaring before the world that he drank a glass of his own urine on a regular basis. I am an allopath, Urologist, attached to J. J. Group as an honarary surgeon for the last 25 years as an examiner of M.B.B.S and M.S. students of Mumbai University. At the same time I am a follower and propagator of U.T. for the last 20 years during which I have recommended U.T. to more than 3000 patients suffering from different incurable diseases. It is a thrilling story of how I got involved in U.T.".

"In 1975 a young boy suffering from cancer (hodgkins disease) came to me for consultation. Before coming to me he had been treated at the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital where he was operated upon and part of the tumors near his neck was removed. He was very much frightened as the doctors of Tata hospital had opined that he would live for the next 11/2years. When he came to me I was reading Manav Mootra written by Rajibhai Patel. I was very much impressed by it, so I hesitatingly advised him to follow U.T. which he readily agreed to do so. To my utter amazement malignant glands in his neck disappeared in a few months. Today after 21 years he is in excellent health. He got married and has children. This was my first case of Shivambu cure. Because of it I got involved in the U.T. movement."

Awareness
"In spite of being an urologist and a surgeon I have been fully convinced that this free yet effective therapy can prove a boon for our poor country. Otherwise also as per statistics, hardly 19% of our total population get medical facilities. I feel at the bottom of my heart that the members of the medical fraternity should adopt an open minded approach and give this system a fair trial at least on incurable diseases like cancer, kidney failure ,psoriaris, arthritis, AIDS, etc and experience the fabulous potentiality of U.T. In the same spirit I request the Government of India to appoint a high level committee of medical scientists and physicians to verify the claims of Urine Therapists and spread its awareness in the interests of humanity before it is too late."

"I congratulate Dr. Thakkar for so laboriously and painstakingly writing this inspiring and useful book. I am sure his 'Labour of Love' will not only prove beneficial to patients but also will leave its mark on the sands of time".

Dr. Thakkar had amoebic dysentery for twenty years and had eczema on his hand and foot for forty years and was cured with urine therapy and has dedicated himself to spread the use of this therapy by being the founder of 'The Water of Life Foundation' of India'.

The author of 'Golden Fountain' Coen van der Kroon a Dutchman, first heard about urine therapy when he read the 'Time' magazine article that the then Indian Prime Minister drank a glass of his own urine every day. "I found this hard to believe - the thought filled me with disgust. I never would have guessed that some years later I myself would become so deeply involved in the practice of drinking urine."

"I had a painful accident (in India) which ultimately led me to urine therapy."

Mr Kroon researched on this subject and wrote a book as a urine therapist he summarized different aspects of the therapy in his book which a layman can understand.

1. ISN'T URINE A WASTE PRODUCT WHICH THE BODY EXCRETES BECAUSE IT IS POISONOUS?
The most important function of blood is to transport oxygen and nutrients to every cell in the body, and it passes through the liver and kidneys on its way. One of the liver's main functions is detoxification of blood. The liver' removes poisonous substances from the blood and either stores them or secretes them into the gall-bladder. In the latter case, the poisonous substances end up as bile in the intestinal canal. They then leave the body in the form of defecation. After the blood is detoxified by the liver, it flows to the kidneys. This is of course a simplified explanation.

Not true
The kidney's most important function is balancing all elements in the blood. They remove all the superfluous vital substances from the blood and filter out a surplus of water. This water and the vital substances form urine. The idea that urine is a poisonous waste product is not based on fact. Urine consists besides the 95% water and 2 1/2% urea , many minerals , enzymes and hormones which are not harmful to the body. Urine is simply a healthy liquid which is filtered out of the bloodstream.

What at one moment was part of the bloodstream can be found in urine a split second later. Certain substances filtered by the kidneys and passed with urine can be directly absorbed by the body upon renewed intake by way of drinking or massaging. The kidneys filter hundreds of litres of blood per day (approx,1700 litres). The greater part of this pre urine is directly reabsorbed into the blood. The excess substances and the end products of nitrogen and protein metabolism together with water form the one or two litres of excreted urine.

2. DOESN'T URINE TASTE DISGUSTING?
Our aversion to urine is the result of preconceptions and conditioning. We have been taught that urine is dirty . In fact, urine does not taste dirty. In fact many who have been drinking urine for sometime even think it tastes and smells pleasant. The taste of urine depends on what you have eaten and drunk the previous day. If you have eaten a great deal of animal protein, use a lot of spices and drink alcohol or strong herbal tea or if you are sick, urine often tastes stronger than normal. While using urine therapy it is best to reduce your animal protein intake and use less spices.

3. HOW DO FRIENDS REACT WHEN YOU TELL THEM THAT YOU DRINK YOUR URINE?
The taboos surrounding bodily excretions are great. We consider many things to be dirty as soon as they leave our body, and forget that those substances just a few minutes before were an integral part of our body. Every one knows that the best way to laugh is to tell jokes about peeing and shitting. I get the whole range of reactions whenever I talk about my experiences. As for the smell of urine, it is not as strong as one would expect. With a little bit of care , those most closest to you will not notice a thing. The odor of urine is much less repulsive than most people think since most associate urine with public toilets. Actually it often smells pleasant when applied on the skin.

4. WHAT ILLNESSES ARE URINE THERAPY EFFECTIVE?
In theory urine therapy is effective for every illness. Actually a diagnosis is unnecessary prior to applying urine therapy. The therapy is total treatment aimed at strengthening or recovering the balance in the body. Among the illnesses referred to in the books are: disease causing viruses ,bacteria, cancerous tumors, diabetes, gout, rheumatoid arthritis dissolve dangerous blood clots that cause heart attacks, heal ulcers, obesity, asthma, hay fever, allergies, colds, flu, toxemia in pregnancy, pertussis, spasms, migraine, eczema, tuberculosis, rabies, nephritis, albuminuria (protein) and blood cells in the urine, edema , cyanosis, and digestive complaints. It has been proven to heal serious wounds and burns without scarring and is one of the most extraordinary skin moisturizers.

5. HOW DO YOU APPLY URINE THERAPY?

1. Urine therapy consists of two parts:

a. internal application (drinking urine)
b. external application (massaging with urine)
c. Urine helps the body to cleanse and renew itself. The therapy is personal and any healing process, its character and time depends on factors such as the roots of the diseased condition, the intensity which it is applied and your personal commitment.

It is generally recommended not to combine U.T. with allopathic or other chemical medicine. The diet should be low protein and low fat with minimum alcohol, cigarettes and coffee.

2. Drinking

Prophylactic

Recommended as a prophylactic, as a rejuvenating tonic and in minor diseases. Collect in the morning middle stream the small amounts from the first and end be not collected.

It is wise to start drinking a few drops and after a few days increase gradually the daily intake to a level you are comfortable with. This may vary from one to several glasses per day. If you take it other than in the morning it is best to take it 1/2 hour before a meal or one hour after a meal. A higher level of hormonal discharge takes place at night and so the early morning urine is most rich in vital substances. A diet low in protein and salt ensures your urine tastes and smells mild.

3. External applications

For external applications it is recommended to use 4 to 5 days old urine which has fermented which considerably increases its cleansing and purifying effect and produces a substance with strong healing capacities. Both applications of urine help in a healing process when done together.

4. Urine Fast

In the case of serious illness it may be necessary to do a urine fast. Which is just taking urine and water. "Fasting with urine and water is an excellent therapy especially for intractable diseases and tough chronic conditions" says Martha M Christy. She goes on to say "Always work into a fast slowly, begin with oral drops, increase your dosage to 1-3 ozs, and then begin fasting, Eliminate meat intake while fasting. Ingest as much urine as you pass during the day until it becomes perfectly clear. Drink water in addition to urine ingestion. Combine urine fasting with urine skin massages particularly on the face neck and feet. Short periods of fasting 1-3 days can be an extremely effective method of cleansing and healing the body.

The book by Dr. G. K. Thakkar says that

1. External application upon any injury or wounds arising out of cuts or burns gives instant relief and the wounds get dried up and healed soon.

2. U.T.treatment is very effective in counteracting the venom of snakes, scorpions, poison due to mad dog bite or intoxicating influence of opium and other dangerous drugs. It is the most powerful detoxifying agent for drug addicts.

3. By taking urine through the nostrils into the mouth instant relief can be obtained from sinusitis and the common cold. Sore throats are cured by gargling with urine.

4. Numerous diseases of the ear can be cured by putting drops of urine in the ear.

5. Urine therapy has cured people of psoriasis, eczema and leucoderma.

6. Urine cures eye infections like conjunctivitis by putting a few drops in the eyes 3-4 times a day

7. The severest toothache is relieved positively by washing one's mouth with urine 3-4 times a day for a week.

8. U. T helps rheumatoid arthritis

There are other details which I have missed out which may be important for using this therapy successfully. This therapy also may not be convenient to use and may not be necessary now with all the medicine and hospital facilities available but on the other hand, if we can avoid the large bills of nursing homes and the inconvenience of strokes, heart ailments and other inconveniences of aging, urine therapy may be worthwhile trying.

Little bit of 'Ceylon' in Canada

by Kirthi Abeyesekera
There's a little bit of 'Ceylon' in Canada - not quite the same though, as the 'little bit of England' Sir Oliver Goonetilleke saw in Nuwara Eliya. How Canada's 'Ceylon,' with a century's history, got its name is fascinating. The story goes that, way back in 1899, confusion arose about the identity of a portion of land surrounded by Halterville, Virginia and Flesherton in the Province of Ontario.

Walter Latimer, owner of the only store in the area, called his property Walterville, after his name. Two spinster sisters who owned the adjoining land called it Virginia. When the railway was built, the station was named Flesherton. To make confusion worse confounded, mail was arriving with conflicting addresses, creating a problem for letter carrier of the Postal Service.

An investigation was conducted at the store. Noticing some tins marked 'Ceylon Tea,' the officer probing the matter, asked the store owner where that was from. When told it came from Ceylon, the little British colony that produced the world's best tea, he had said, "Let's call it Ceylon." And so it was that 'Ceylon' was included in the Canadian map. The store was also named 'Ceylon General Store.'

I accompanied Daya Hettiarachchi, the 'discoverer' of 'Ceylon' on the two-hour drive north-east of Toronto, curious to know about the place named after what we once called home. Located in Grey county, Ceylon is a little hamlet of 1600 people living in the peaceful solitude of rich, verdant farmland beside the waters of Lake Eugenia.

We drove direct to the store to a warm welcome by Jerry MacKenzie and his wife, Donna, a charming Scottish couple. Originally from the province of Nova Scotia, named after their Homeland, they had moved to Toronto. Two years ago, they saw the store being advertised for sale and bought it up. "You must come again," Donna said as we were leaving. Yes, we responded. "After all, we are all Ceylonese."

The MacKenzies had not given much thought to the name of the village they lived in until a few weeks prior to my visit when Hettiarachchi, the general secretary of the Sri Lanka United National Association, SLUNA, had taken two bus loads of expatriates on a picnic to Ceylon.

A reception had been held at the MacKenzies' store, led by the provincial Member of Parliament, Bill Murdoch. After an exchange of greetings, SLUNA president, Mahinda Gunasekera presented Donna with the Sri Lankan flag. Hettiarachchi, Neville Fernando and Indra Jayasinghe gifted her with some packets of Ceylon Tea, while Lionel Dissanayake, a community activist, conducted a rendering of 'O Canada' and 'Sri Lanka Matha' - giving the lie to Kipling's 'Never the twain shall meet.'

The MacKenzies were overwhelmed at this second visit by us, so soon after the first. They were taken in by the affection we showed for 'Ceylon.' We explained that though our Home is now called Sri Lanka, the name 'Ceylon' brings nostalgic memories to those of us who grew up when the country was known by that name.

'Ceylon' - the name stirs many Sri Lankan expatriates whose hearts are still at home.

From the book 'The Palm of His Hand' by E. C. T. Candappa
The rule of the savage mob

continued from yesterday

"After four hundred and fifty years of colonialism, the flames of ultra-nationalism were burning everywhere. The Sinhalese believe they are Aryans, the master race. Tamils, according to them, are inferiors and are to be kept in their place. The Sinhalese also have historic fears of South India and of the forty million Tamils there.

"The Tamils who had contributed in large measure towards gaining Independence had little hopes of gaining justice. From the time Independence was gained the Sinhalese leaders were thinking of restoring Ceylon to its pristine glory, when the Sinhalese race, Sinhala language and Sinhala Buddhism, would flourish again."

"But I thought Buddhism was of Indian origin," said Bill, puzzled.

"True," conceded Paiva, "but Buddhism took such strong root here and it was assimilated by the people so completely that they began to think that it was a Sinhalese religion."

"Only a Sinhalese religion? Not a Ceylonese religion?" asked Bill still puzzled. "I know of Sinhalese and Tamils who are Christians."

Paiva smiled his gentle smile.

"Can be explained by a bit of a history lecture. May I?"

"Never mind, never mind. Get on with it," said Bill hastily.

"But the really odd bit is: Buddhism is based on non-violence and compassion and serenity and abstention from alcohol. Well, in the fair name of Buddhism they violated all these principles. The Buddhists made a deadly concoction of hatred and murder and rape in their fight to save the Sinhala language and the Buddhist religion. ‘For country and language and religion' was their battle cry. Even Buddhist monks took to the streets themselves and incited people to violence."

"Well, that sort of thing happens in all religions," said Bill with legendary Aussie fairness. "Look at the Christians and the Moslems and their crusades and jehads."

"True, true," conceded Paiva amicably. After all he was a scholar and would not argue with facts.

"So, my friend, in the months that followed, the country saw the deaths of hundreds of innocent people in the most horrible ways, saw the death of decency, the death of democracy and the rise of treachery and thuggery and political expediency without parallel in our country. We had the great and incredible spectacle of an Oxford man breaking his word blatantly and publicly, in full view of the media."

"When was that?"

"That was when he rather dramatically tore up the pact he had made with the Tamils to permit the reasonable use of Tamil."

"Why did he do that?"

"Because the Buddhist monks did not like the idea of giving anything to the Tamils. And the monks squatted outside protesting against the pact."

"So he wanted to save his skin?" said Bill grinning. "That'll be right. A polly all over. Pollies are the same everywhere."

"To continue," said Paiva, with a slight sniffle which might have indicated annoyance at being interrupted, "the Sinhalese were determined to wreck the Convention of the Tamils. So they disrupted rail services to the north. They derailed trains. Tamils on the trains were assaulted mercilessly. The last train before the convention opened was run only because the government wanted to show that it was not buckling down to extremists. At least, this was what they wanted to show the outside world, to the diplomats. But on the side, the government was encouraging violence. Several ministers were fanning the flames at least to show their electorates they were patriots.

"The solitary Tamil who dared to travel on that ill-fated train was left a bleeding mess by the savage mob. Ah, they felt so heroic carrying clubs, iron bars and knives to a defenceless man who, after all, was exercising his democratic right to attend a political convention. But how was he to know that democracy was already dead under a true-blue liberal Prime Minister?"

The sarcasm from the refined gentleman and scholar hung like a wisp of gunfire in the afternoon air.

"In the meanwhile," he continued after a pause, "feelings were running high in the north as well. When they heard of what was happening in the south, the Tamils who had the image of being docile and law- abiding and peaceful, began to speak of violence themselves.

"The younger generation, particularly, was getting heartily sick of the vacillation and insincerity and hypocrisy of the Sinhalese-dominated government.

"Any sign of justice to the Tamils, they felt, was only cosmetic. Deep down they felt they would always remain second class citizens. They and their descendants would have to play a subordinate role to the Sinhalese in university education, employment and government.

"But their modest demand was for a federal State in a federal government. The liberal Mr Bandaranaike would have been happy to give it to them. It would have suited his thinking, of developing a strong local government, of divesting power from the centre to the periphery.

"Not only did he encounter stiff opposition from his own party leaders and rank and file, not to mention the Buddhist monks; even the Opposition mischievously depicted federalism as a division of the country, as giving one third of the country to the Tamils, of selling the birthright of the Sinhalese.

"Now all the leaders knew what federalism meant. They all knew it was a perfectly acceptable form of government. They all knew it worked well where minority problems existed. They all knew that the USA had a federal form of government, that Australia was a federation. But they were all demagogues and they found that ethnic conflicts were a splendid way of gaining, or remaining in power. Of course they all knew such conflicts involved the loss of innocent lives. But then what are voters for if they are not to be used and squeezed dry to serve the ends of rulers?"

Paiva fixed Bill with a steady gaze of his grey-blue eyes which had taken on a steely edge. Bill found he could not hold the gaze for long.

Underneath, Bill thought, for all your fine speech, you're a cop.

Then they both noticed that Raj had moved away and was seated by the edge of the large pond, throwing large pebbles into the water. This disturbed the fish and they surfaced animatedly. Raj was relaxed and determined to enjoy the day. It was getting warmer, even in the shade.

Paiva, in the meanwhile, almost picking up Bill's private thought, said: "Things were bad all over the country. You had to live here then and feel the electricity in the air. The Police Headquarters was humming with reports of rampaging mobs massacreing people. Stories even we hardened cops found hard to take.

"On the eastern part of the island there is a colonisation scheme..."

"The Gal Oya Development Scheme," Bill prompted brightly.

Paiva nodded approval.

"You're well informed," he said. "The Tamils always considered this area part of their traditional homeland. The first Prime Minister, a wise and crafty old man, wanted to make sure that it would not be taken over by the Tamils later, so he sent thousands of Sinhalese peasants to settle there.

"As these tensions spread Sinhalese peasants roused by politicians and Buddhist monks slaughtered Tamil families. Many had nowhere to flee so they hid at night in the sugar-cane plantations. They are known to be infested by snakes yet the fear among the Tamils was such that they risked being bitten by these venomous reptiles."

Bill had turned as white as chunam.

"You mean they felt safer among the snakes than among the Sinhalese?"

Paiva gazed at Bill intently. "I'm sorry you're catching the contagion," he said sadly. "This is not a conflict between Sinhalese and Tamils as such. Left alone by the machinations of politicians and demagogues and rabble-rousers all people of all races live amicably, apart from the quarrels natural to the human race. But when people are whipped up in a mindless frenzy and manipulated to attack another group, racial or religious represented as a dire threat to them, then they behave not in a characteristic manner but in an aberrant manner. What innocent victims fight against is evil, unadulterated evil. This evil projects itself through individuals who lust after power, money or possessions. Such groups can even fight in the name of religion although no religion recommends murder or rape and cruelty in any form."

Bill was nodding with some understanding.

"It does not mean, however, that the miscreants are absolved from all responsibility.

"To get back. Some of the Sinhalese heard that Tamils were hiding among the sugar-cane bushes. People talk. So these heroes set fire to the plantations to smoke them out. Then as the Tamils emerged with children in their arms, they were cut down with scythes.

"I tell you I had not heard of such madness befo1re. It was truly a kind of madness.

"Sinhalese and Tamils had lived together in amity for years.

"The things that politicians do to stay in power."

"That's a terrible story," said Bill. "Are you sure it really happened?"

"Yes, this we know for a fact. But we also know that false rumours were deliberately spread by the Sinhalese to rouse the rabble.

"There was a story circulating widely through Colombo that a Sinhalese teacher serving in the Eastern Province had been killed after her breasts had been cut off.

"In retaliation a Hindu priest in Colombo was burnt alive.

"Investigation revealed that there had been no Sinhalese teacher in the school mentioned and that no such incident had taken place.

"The killing of the Hindu priest sparked retaliation in the Eastern Province. Sinhalese homes were burnt, people killed, property destroyed.

"There was another vicious rumour that a baby of a Sinhalese woman was plucked from her mother and flung into a barrel of boiling tar.

"In Batticaloa, plantation workers were given the use of government vehicles to run riot. They descended on the isolated homes of Tamil colonists and literally played hell. They committed unmentionable atrocities on women and children and then killed the men in their sight. Many went raving mad.

continued tomorrow

About the author

E.C.T. Candappa was one of Sri Lanka's been feature writers in the mid-fifties till the seventies. He was an outstanding journalist at Lake House and distinguished himself as a reporter and feature writer. He is now domiciled in Australia but still very much interested in his country of origin. He visited Sri Lanka last year and interviewed many of the personalities featured in this book.

Clara Matuwani Welfare Fund
Visakhians to honour their teachers

Another Teachers' Day has come and gone and as has been the practice in the last 10 years or so, most schools had organized some sort of ceremony at which pupils paid their respects to their teachers, the ceremonies varying from school to school and area to area viz urban, semi-urban, rural, low-income areas. It is the teachers now on the staff who are thus honoured and felicitated. What of the former teachers, many of whom have given the best years of their lives to build up the school to what it is now?

Very often these retired teachers are unhonoured, unsung and forgotten, some leading lonely lives, others leading hard lives with no other income but their pensions which, for those who retired before 1994 is meagre. Who cares for them? How many remember those teachers and masters who taught them more than the 3 Rs. who, perhaps, taught their mothers and fathers before them?

Last month the Visakha Vidyalaya OGA launched a fund to help not only former teachers but also those who served on the office and hostel staff, including minor employees. The Fund has been named The Clara Motwani Welfare Fund to commemorate a much loved principal and as a tribute to her services to Visakha Vidyalaya from 1933 - 1945.

There is already a Clara Motwani Prize for Mathematics. This Fund will be a more worthy memorial to her, benefiting more than one single prize-winner annually. The new fund was inaugurated with a donation of Rs. 10,000 by Mrs. Goolbai Guna-sekara, Mrs. Motwani's daughter, who spent her infancy amidst Visakhians, in the shady grounds of Visakha Vidyalaya.

Pupils of the late Mrs. Motwani can pay a tribute to their principal by contributing to the fund, and later day Visakhians can contribute to the welfare of their teachers. The OGA hopes that sons and daughters of Mrs. Motwani's pupils who are no longer with us will contribute in memory of their mothers.

The OGA is also having a Get-Together of past teachers and past pupils of Visakha in the afternoon of Saturday November 7, in the school hall. This is the first time that such a get together has been organized.

Past pupils will be able to meet, pay their respects to, and reminisce with their teachers who showed them the way to greater heights than they themselves had reached and they can make their contribution to the Clara Motwani Welfare Fund at this get-together.

Those wishing to send their contribution by post are kindly requested to draw cheques in favour of Visakha Vidyalaya Old Girl's Association and sent it to the Clara Motwani Welfare Fund c/o OGA, Visakha Vidyalaya, Vajira Rd. Colombo 5, with a covering letter giving the full name and present address.

Often receipts and notices are returned as the member is not at the address in the Old Girls' register.

The Co-ordinator of the fund, Ms. Sumana Saparamadu, will appreciate if the contributor would give her maiden name or that of the mother in whose memory the donation is sent, and their years at Visakha.

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