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Morning Spice by Ginger
A new type of beggarOnce again the beggar problem appears to have surfaced in various parts of the town, the difference is that there is a new type of beggar. They seem to be upper class beggars. They are well groomed and look down their noses at anything less than a tenner. The other day a strange character rang the bell and the moment Ginger opened the door he started rolling up his trouser legs like T. S. Elliot. Ginger jumped back with a little apprehension at this unprovoked display of leg. What next he thought. The man was immaculately dressed and looked far from a beggar.
He then spun what appeared to be a bit of a fast one. He said his legs had got injured in a bomb blast and could not do a job but was selling packets of joss sticks for a living. There were scars on his legs but they were severed or any thing like that. The first question Ginger asked him was whether it wasn't easier to do a job rather than walk from house to house selling joss sticks. Ginger offered him five rupees which he turned down with contempt. A packet of what he was selling may have been much more than five rupees but who knows what there was inside it. Where were you going to find him. If he was genuine I wish him luck if not it could be just one of those ploys that the con men are using today.
To prevent heart attacks
A recent survey has revealed that it is not only careful dieting and constant exercise that are the best safeguards against a heart attack. Now a Finnish doctor after a fairly complete study on the subject has developed a theory that donating blood is another way of preventing a heart attack.His observation was based on the fact that giving blood lowers the level of iron in the blood. Too much iron at times develops a type of cholesterol that can lead to a heart attack. After almost three thousand males were studied for a nine year period it was revealed that only one person who donated blood regularly got a heart attack whereas over 10% of those who did not give blood got heart attacks.
Founder of Hundai group
They have broken the ice at long last though in a small way. Kim Jong II and Chung Ju Yung the founder of the Hundai group have struck a deal between the two Koreas that may pave the way for more trading arrangements and the gradual erosion of some of the barriers that stand between the north and the south.The founder of the Hundai Company has made arrangements to send over two thousand tourist weekly in luxury cruise ships which will give the north almost a billion dollars in the next five years. This was the first deal since 1945 when Korea was divided and further commercial and cultural tie-ups are expected in the future.
The abject plight to which the pensioners in this country have been reduced has aggravated in recent years due to the gross neglect of the government. Phenomenal salary hikes have been granted to those in service from 1988 onwards without any commensurate increase to pensions. Besides in 1990 according to Treasury Circular 4/90 public servants were given the option to retire on a pension of 90% of last drawn salary. Finally in 1997 they got a salary increase of 100% in two annual stages but pensions were increased by only 10% on the same basis. Public servants were given such salary increases purely because of the mounting cost of living. Why this invidious distinction to pensioners only. Doesn't the cost of living affect them, and some are old and feeble and mostly in need of medical attention. Most of the poisoners have equal social and family obligations to fulfil like those in service, infect more than the latter, what with grown up children and grandchildren and their functions. Yet those who retired before 1988 are drawing just pittances as salaries then were very low and pensions were calculated on lesser percentages too.
As from 1997 teachers of all categories but more particularly the so-called trained teachers were given phenomenal salary increases. Just to point out an extreme injustice accruing to pensioners. A vernacular trained teacher who was recruited with a lowly G.C.E. (O/L) academic attainment and mostly with mere passes in subjects like Art, Music, Religion, Needlework etc., without the more worthy English, Maths, Science etc., and not suitable for any other respectable job, but trained to teach in two years (a very dubious attainment) has from the beginning of 1997 suddenly found his/her monthly salary increased from Rs. 3,000/= to Rs. 9,000/= if having a service of twenty years, the same salary a graduate teacher with 15 years' service gets. It would be puerile here to point out the vast disparity between trained teachers and graduates in background as well as academic attainment. Most of these trained teachers have come from village schools bereft of high traditions extra-curricular activities etc., unlike a teacher who had received education in an elite school and brought up in higher traditions and wider horizons especially after going through the then one and only University of Ceylon, residential and situated at Peradeniya, illuminated with broader concepts of social, cultural and educational advancement and with a high attainment in both English and Sinhala. A teacher of the latter category may have retired before 1988 on a low pension of a little over Rs. 1,000/= after even 30 years' dedicated service.
But the vernacular trained teacher in service gayly draws a salary of Rs. 9,000/= after a mere 20 years service. To put it in another way, even while a Director of Education or a Superintendent of Police who retired before 1988 is drawing a meagre pension of around Rs. 4,000/= these vernacular teachers can draw pensions of over Rs. 9,000/=. What midsummer madness this! The above examples highlight the blatant injustice suffered by pensioners who retired before 1988.
No government worthy of its name can allow this absurd situation to continue. The only way to bring some sanity here is to calculate pensions w.e.f. 1993 commensurate with increased salary scales as is done in progressive countries. The Wanasinghe Commission recommended this principle a few years back but it fell on the deaf ears of an apathetic government. The new pensions as calculated from 1993 should be doubled as from 1998, in as much as salaries were increased by 100% from that year.
Pensioners who retired before 1997 are writhing in discontent at the gross injustice suffered by them. It is only in the manner suggested above that some redress can be given to pensioners thereby ending their agitation for ever. Until that is done the anomalies relating to pensions connoting grave discrimination against pensioners, especially those who retired before 1988 after being on comparatively very much lower salary scales than those existent now (some categories like Interqualified teachers never saw the serious anomalies applying to their salary scales rectified despite the recommendations of the Dayaratne Commission in 1985). Therefore having to retire on a lowly pension of around Rs. 1000/= will aggrative further and further until the poor pensioners' plight will be beyond redemption. Already the injustice is glaring to warrant shouting from the hill tops.
It may be said that everything in this country is done with a sense of playing to the gallery and with altruistic political motives and an eye to vote-catching. Then let the politicians who seek the votes of the pensioners beware. After all there are 3.5 lakhs of pensioners which means that with their spouses, adult children and their close kith and kin who all alike are very sensitive to the abject plight of pensioners, the number of voters espousing their cause exceeds 12 lakhs which is over half the number of the President's majority at the last Presidential election. While the pensioners are eking out a miserable existence due to daily mounting living costs with meagre incomes, politicians already with high emoluments even have the brazenness to talk of salary increases for themselves. The meaningless grant of pensions to politicians on an absurd basis of 5 years' service has already sent up the pension Bill sky-rocketing. Lo and behold! poor pensioners, who is going to lift you up from this morass. Who is the politician who has espoused your cause?
We hope that the present government will at least now grant the redress pensioners and their unions have long pleaded through the print media. Pensioners all to a man and woman are thoroughly disgusted at the apathy shown them and are kicking their heels awaiting the hustings to register their feelings.
B.S.G.Peiris
Kadawatha
Four years of the PA in power
What ails the PA?What has been happening in this country has been nothing short of a tragedy... Power which should really be a means to an end, the end of performing a valuable service to the people, soon tends to become an end in itself, when the original purpose is lost sight of, and all that remains is the desire for the securing, the entrenchment and the extension of power in the hands of those who wield it. I greatly regret to say that in my opinion, this is what is happening in this country today.
These remarks would constitute a perfect indictment of the record of the PA government since it was elected to office 4 years ago. Ironically, these words were originally .spoken by the late S. W. R. D. Banadaranaike, whom the present government considers its mentor, when he left the D. S. Senanayake cabinet in July 1951, end crossed over to the Opposition. Much more than when he first uttered them, S. W. R. D's chastisement of the then UNP, would be, mutatis mutandis, applicable to his daughter's government of today, than to the UNP regime of that day.
For, as S. W. R. D. said, when moving a motion of no-confidence in the Dudley Senanayake government on 1st September 1953, the late Prime Minister's daughter's government too of 1994 has been 'more concerned with the retention, continuance, and exercise of power than with any real devotion to public service as such; public service based upon a definite political philosophy to be followed up in all aspects'.
The outcome has been as a correspondent, Arjuna Nanayakkara of Maharagama, had written to 'The Island newspaper of 26th October 'never in the history of post-independent Sri Lanka has an elected government so soon and so blatantly broken all its promises and violated the trust and confidence the people placed in it'.
From the day it formed the government in 1994, the record of the PA administration has been, beginning with the pledge to abolish the Executive Presidency, a litany of broken promises.
The numerous pledges made by the PA leaders during election time have been, as subsequent events have shown, merely a collective effort to hoodwink the people and take them for a ride.
The masses have now awakened to the fact that there has been no fundamental change in the line of thinking and acting from the days of the UNP. In substance, both are the same.
The fact of the matter is that, as I have always maintained from the time I was a school boy and began to take an interest in politics, the UNP is a way of life and not just a mere political party. The principal characteristics of those who I find are UNPers are that they are vacuous, superficial, given to vulgar opulence, devoid of integrity, Machiavellian, ruthless, deceitful, and above all, lacking in self-respect.
No Choice Left
There is nothing to choose between the big guns of the PA and those in the opposite camp whom the President berates day in and day out, as being the ones who are responsible for the plight in which this little country is today. So much so that the man-in-street has coined a pithy and pungent phrase - to pinpoint the similarity between the two principal political parties. I could not agree more.Periodical elections have become for both of them, as I have written before, an event 'like the Royal-Thomian cricket match or the contest for the Ashes between England and Australia. The only difference being that in this contest the prize the winner gets is the opportunity to loot the country. The corruption and other scandals both before and after 1994 which the newspapers have exposed are but two sides of the same coin.
What has gone wrong? To my mind, there is an enormous chasm between S. W. R. D. and those in the PA who claim his mantle. The founder of the SLFP was a man of great depth and sensitivity who, despite being heir to the frailties which are a part of the, human condition, had contempt for hose who sought power for its own sake. He saw power as an instrument for improving the condition of his less fortunate fellow beings. He certainly was not a nobody striving by whatever means, fair or foul, to become a somebody. The small men and women who claim that S. W. R. D. is their mentor are plain nobodies who imagine they can become somebodies only by the acquisition of power and that too, by any means. That is the besetting sin of the PA folks.
The PA is singularly lacking in people of depth. Their approach to any problem is disgustingly superficial. When confronted with any issue, all they ask themselves is 'if we adopt this line, will that help us to remain in power?'. Detachment is not part of their mental make-up hence their inability to look at the country's problems with calmness and serenity.
Stanley Jayaweera of Avadhi Lanka
Since the beginning of the Eelam cry by separatists Tamils in the '70's hard-liners as well as moderates on both sides of the divide have expressed their views on the issue. After the Black July of 1983 this gathered momentum and today one can read almost daily lengthy, learned articles quoting historical documents, events, facts and figures, letters to opinion columns and magazines, and listen to radio and TV discussions and interviews and long winded speeches at meetings dealing ad nauseum with the same topic, flogging the dead horse so to say.
Certain writers have no doubt clung to errorneous views and opinions in certain historical records or given wrong interpretations to events in an attempt to prove their claims.
All these articles, letters, newspaper reports etc., if collected together, would I am sure make a huge volume. But has this arduous exercise taken us one bit closer to each other and thereby to peace that everybody is yearning for? On the contrary we have been pricking each other's wounds and drifting apart day by day, rather than healing them and coming closer to each other.
While we are thus engaged in a no-win verbal battle trying to convince each other or rather trying to make the other accept one's view point thousands of youth on both sides die in the war, one side in a vain attempt to gain an elusive Eelam and the other defending the unitary state of the nation. The more pathetic situation is that thousands get maimed for life and become a burden on their parents, kith and kin and the society at large.
For Prabakaran, who is hell bent on winning his Eelam and crowning himself as undisputed king it does not matter how many Tamil youth are sacrificed in order to attain his dream. But the Sinhalese who have no such dreams and the other communities in the south have to take a more serious view of the situation because these youth are our hope for future development of the country.
Eelam seekers refuse to admit that their Tamil homeland theory, Tamil nation etc., are all a myth and therefore no amount of writing to papers disputing their views will ever serve a purpose. It is however admitted that the elimination of terrorism and terrorist groups is essential for a a lasting peace.
The need of the hour then is for all those organized bodies talking of peace and a solution to the problem to forget without crying over spilt milk. All right thinking people have all along expected that the two main parties, the UNP and the SLFP, or the PA if one prefers, would get together in the interest of the nation, but they are drifting apart as never before.
It is very strange that the Mahasangha, the guardian deities (Mura Devatavo) of the nation keep mum without making an attempt to bring the two parties together to find a solution at least to this burning problem.
Everybody has to realise that there is no place for one upmanship in national issues. If the leaders who are elected to work for the country refuse to see reason the supporters must compel them to see reason and act in the interest of the nation.
S Abewickrama
Nugegoda
Whenever there is an outbreak of Cholera in a town or city the administrators move into action. Educative posters of 'do's ' and 'don'ts' are prominently displayed everywhere. The medical staff are geared into action getting the necessary vaccines ready. The local authorities send their Health Inspectors to go around inspecting eating houses and if necessary to close them down.
All these exercises are required and making the general public aware of cleanliness is essential if we are to control the spread of cholera.
Whilst everyone's attention is drawn to these normal routine work, no one seems to spot another main culprit who is responsible for the spread of cholera. They are none other than the local authorities of the town. They are responsible to keep the town clean , by removal of garbage, by keeping the drainage system working, avoiding water getting stagnated. But in every town and city there is a breakdown of all these and as a result flies breed in rotting garbage and mosquitoes breed in stagnated water.
Therefore to minimize the spread of cholera, first the local authorities should give an example of cleanliness. Stringent punishments should be meted out. Television could be used to teach people what to do to prevent the spread of cholera. Rural folk should be taught to use toilets properly and not to use open areas.
It is indeed sad to note that most Sri Lankans give very little thought about cleanliness. Therefore the importance of cleanliness must be gradually taught until this habit becomes a natural thing in their day to day life.
All these exercises should be maintained throughout the year and not only when there is an outbreak of cholera. The very poor and those living in slums should be specially targeted.
Bertram Joseph
Negombo
Minister Thondaman declares that he decides whether the UNP or SLFP governs the country (Island page 1 of 8/12/98). Due to the greed for power by the two main National Political parties, Minister Thondaman fearlessly and without hesitation declares that he is the king maker.
Even though everyone knew the set up, this is the first time he has openly declared his power. This is an insult and a challenge to the main political parties who appear to have sacrificed their patriotism and self respect in the greedy search for power.
It is high time that these two parties reached consensus in the interests of the country and free themselves from the shackles of Minister Thondaman.
It is true that JRJ government made it near impossible for any party to gain a clear majority by introducing the proportional Representation (PR) System. But it is no reason to be held to ransom by this boasting minister.
Dr. A D V Premarathna,j.p.
Chilaw
It is sad to see how our politicians and some others have got excited about the recent speech by the leader of the LTTE.
In his speech, ninety five percent was to criticise the Sinhalese, their government and the peace efforts, the other five percent was about their desire for peace through talks.
How could one demand the government to go for peace talks under such circumstances when the LTTE was not sincere even when they came for talks at earlier instances.
The government is finding fault with UNP because Hameed said he was friendly with the LTTE. There was also a talk around the country which said that when Vijaya Kumaratunga visited Jaffna he tried a LTTE to gun a cut-out said to be that of a soldier.
All our leaders are the same. At least if they can now stop talking about each other's past mistakes and decide to get together to tackle this existing 'Terrorist Problem' without trying to solve non-existing problems, we can have some hopes.
The LTTE and their supporters must be having a good laugh when they see the enthusiasm in the south regarding Prabhakaran's so-called offer.
Deshapriya Rajapaksha,
Colombo 6.
For many Christians and Catholics Christmas means having a jolly good time. They spend lavishly, because Christmas comes only once a year. New shoes, new clothes, rich food, all kinds of drinks, singing and dancing, crackers, decorations, the Christmas tree, and balloons are all part of Christmas.
They do not for a moment realize the significance of Jesus Christ being born in a stable. That was the greatest sign of humility Jesus Christ showed us.
So why are we so crazy about pomp and pageantry during Christmas? Why are we so blind to the fact that there is a senseless, cruel, raging war in the North and the East? Just think of those who are dying, the maimed, the widows, the refugees, the orphans and those who have lost their loved ones.
Let us not forget the poor, the lame, the sick and those other unfortunate people, during this Christmas season. Let us as Christians and Catholics, spare a thought, and share and care for these unfortunate people. Let us not fail to say a kind word, or smile to brighten up their lives.
That is the spirit of Christmas. That is exactly what Jesus Christ wanted us to do. That is the meaning of Christmas. So let us have a change of heart and act accordiny.
J. T. Mirando.
Negombo
Ombudsman
No name board for housing schemeI am a resident of ANVER JOONOOS HOUSING SCHEME in Kadeweediya, Matara. There are two entrances to this Scheme: one from Fatima Mawatha and the other from St, Yehiya Mawatha. But there are no name boards indicating this Housing Scheme at these entrances. Consequently letters addressed to the residents are delivered to the corresponding house numbers in Fathima Mawatha, causing much confusion. Letters often go astray.
The Rent Assessment Register in the Matara U.C. and the Electoral Register bear the registered name of this Housing Scheme as 'ANVER JOONOOS HOUSING SCHEME'
I kindly request the Chairman of the Matara Urban Council to get two name boards erected at the two entrances to this Scheme and end the great inconvenience caused to the residents of this Housing Scheme by postal misadventure.
Shafeek Abubakr
Matara
