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The German Help Foundation - giving new life to burn victims
By Danielle Boekel and Harini Dias Bandaranayake
Bottle lamp burns are a common occurrence in many rural areas of Sri Lanka where the convenience of electricity is yet to make its entrance. Many of these victims underestimate the danger a small, seemingly harmless bottle lamp can pose. The cap on these bottle lamps is, more often than not, unsecured so in the event the lamp tips over, it will inevitably leave a trail of flames that can cause intense damage to both man and material.What is the lot of these victims? In the past, these horrifically scarred victims, shunned by society, loathed to venture out and have people visibly grimacing at their appearance. In hospitals when they were admitted for their burn injuries, quite often they lay neglected in a corner of the ward as they groaned in excruciating pain. But, like a beacon of hope in the horizon, the German Help Foundation, a Non-Governmental Organisation committed to alleviate the social stigmas of the physically malformed either through burns, harelips or cleft palates have provided these poor victims with the means to lead a normal life.
Through their untiring efforts from time to time, they bring in teams of doctors, nurses and anesthetists from Interplast Germany, an organisation that sends teams of 'flying doctors' to third world countries to repair the burns and other physical deformities of the victims.
The 12th project of Interplast Germany of free plastic surgery was recently completed successfully at the Badulla General Hospital. The team of surgeons, led by Dr. Matthias Gensior, plastic and hand surgeon, performed 1259 operations in six districts. These operations are performed for the very poor people who are not able to afford any form of medical care.
The German Help Foundation (GHF), in trying to find some form of assistance for the growing number of burn victims contacted Interplast Germany in 1990. The request was put upon a waiting list for nearly three years from then on as there were so many similar requests from all across the world. But, the German Help Foundation to use this period of time to their advantage proceeded to make preparations for the team's arrival by establishing Ministerial contacts and identifying areas in dire need of such operations.
In their research, the GHF found that in the rural areas of Sri Lanka burn victims with more than 20% burnt skins succumb to their injuries due to the inadequacy of medical staff trained to deal with such operations. The lack of sophisticated medical equipment too guarantees lesser chances of survival to burn victims suffering severe burns. A series of operations after the initial operation is performed are also required for burn victims who need to rectify the after effects of such an operation such as inability to close eyes or mouth, inability to lift an arm or stretch an elbow or leg or the painful and hideous scars left behind.
As a result of these findings the GHF was able to direct the operations to areas with the most need for them in Sri Lanka. From March 1993 to December 1998 the Interplast Germany teams have succeeded in completing 336 operations in Matara, 234 in Trincomalee, 212 in Nuwara Eliya, 220 in Hambantota, 81 in Kurunegala and 176 in Badulla. Most of the operations were performed under general anesthesia. While 24 teams of surgeons are sent across the world, 11 of them have already visited Sri Lanka during the past five years. The performance of operations for burn victims and patients with other deformities have been restricted to areas outside Colombo and Kandy as atleast four reputed and experienced plastic surgeons are resident in these two districts as opposed to other areas.
Dr. Ulrich Huehne, the Director, GHF, said that local surgeons were always invited to participate in these operations in the hope of passing on the necessary know how to them so that they too can help to meet the need of such operations in Sri Lanka.
All projects of this nature require a fair amount of finances for the airfare of the team of doctors, food and lodging and travel. Appeals to the Sri Lankan Government for finances were fruitless, instead they were assured that the Ministry of Health under whose purview the project was under, would assist them in every other way except financially. Depending on the lodging expenses at the venue, the total for each team varies between Rs. 250,000 to Rs. 300,000. The GHF then discovered a sound sponsor in the way of the Ceylon Tobacco Company (CTC) who came forward providing finances for this worthy cause. The company, not only sponsored the last team that flew down but have agreed to sponsor the next team of surgeons as well who are due to arrive next month.
Sudarshini, is just one of the many victims that have been given hope for a new life. The 13 year old who was once an energetic, bubbly youngster was scarred for life as the result of a horrible bottle lamp accident. When all hopes of her life ever returning to normalcy were dismal, the team of surgeons from Interplast transformed her not only in physical appearance but emotionally as well, giving her enough confidence to attend school once again. The young girl now leads an almost normal life, of course scarred by the accident, but bearing apt testimony to the wonderful humanitarian work done by the doctors.
The work done by the teams of German surgeons is not only humane but also truly remarkable. Giving each victim a new lease in life, making them feel like human beings again and enabling them to face the outside world with confidence again is indeed a laudable feat, deserving of much praise, appreciation, encouragement and most importantly solid assistance.
By Dr. Tillak Dayaratne
Lalith called the waiter and ordered another round of drinks for himself and his pal, Sena. They were in a dingy bar, noisy as ever and had to talk loud to each other to make themselves heard. Lalith, a young doctor serving in a far out place beyond Mahiyangana just after his internship had come on a few days leave - he had been sent for by his parents who wanted him to 'see' a girl. They were keen on getting him married and had arranged a meeting with the girl and her family - a-well-to-do family, the prospective bride's father being a top executive in a well recognized firm. The girl was beautiful, the family was rich. Their background excellent and the most important thing - the horoscopes matched - so what more, Lalith's parents thought. They hoped that Lalith would agree. The girl's parents were very keen to make their match.Lalith had mentioned all this to Sena, one of his best friends and his chief adviser in all matters. Sena's father was a big businessman himself who was a top motor spare parts dealer and in time the business would pass to Sena who was the only son.
Sena sipped his arrack and soda. 'I say Lalith have you seen this girl, what type of a person is she?' he inquired.
Lalith lit up a cigarette and inhaled deeply, 'No, no they say she's a corker - anyway who is worried? I'm not keen on her. Now you, I want to have a good time - must have a good break after the strenuous time we underwent in the faculty noÉ'
Sena was serious. He said, 'Don't say that Lalith now you are 27 and its a good age to settle down and your parents are also very keen on it so give it some thought.'
'Parents maybe keen but I'm the one who is getting married - and I hear she's very posh - educated in one of those international schools - you know the typeÉ'
Sena knew that Lalith's tastes were simple and he didn't like the so called 'posh' people - most of their friends were very simple and some of them were from very poor families.
'Yeah, Yeah', Sena continued, 'But you give it some thought - Anyway you'll be meeting her in a day or two. - You can see what the girl is like.
'Don't be silly, Sena. Can you judge anyone at the first meeting? And she'll be on her best behaviour - its all put on - have another drink, your glass is empty -' and he ordered another round of drinks.
They spoke of their old school days, their old friends and what they were doing and the time wore on. They ordered a plate of devilled prawns as 'bites' and had more drinks. Lalith was rather 'high' now and Sena too was feeling a little tipsy.
Sena was taking his friend to dinner at a top class hotel and he didn't want Lalith to drink too much, for it would spoil the dinner. He said so to Lalith.
Lalith said 'No, at Padiyathalawa, where I work, you can't get even a decent arrack so let me have a good drink today. Don't worry, I won't get 'cocked' and he ordered another full. Sena was getting worried for Lalith may not get 'cocked' but he invariably became a little aggressive after liquor and he didn't want the evening spoilt. It was now time to leave, he thought.
'O. K. Lalith. Just one for the road and we'll be off. If you wish to you can have more drinks at the hotel but for God sake don't let it spoil your dinner. I want you to have a good bloody meal.' Finally, they finished their drinks and Sena paid the bill even though Lalith wanted to pay it and a generous tip was given to the waiter who served them. They walked to Sena's brand new 'Volvo' and made for the hotel. Lalith was now talking a fair amount and Sena knew he was pretty 'high'. Sena thought he himself had taken one too many but he was in complete control of his senses.
They came to the hotel and were led to the parking lot. There were a whole lot of cars and Sena parked his car in such a way that it would be easy to drive away after their dinner.
At the dining hall there was a fair crowd but Sena had already booked a table for them. He asked Lalith to order whatever he wanted from the menu. After ordering the food Lalith wanted another drink and Sena thought this would be too much for him, but Lalith insisted on one and Sena ordered it with reluctance. He hoped Lalith would be able to eat and enjoy the food they had ordered.
The stewards paid extra attention to them as Sena was a fairly regular customer and very popular with them with his friendly manner and generous tips. The meal was tasty with a delicious dessert and the time came for them to leave. As usual Sena left a big tip as they bid good night. The meal has sobered up Lalith somewhat but he was still 'high' and Sena was keen on getting him home soon - Lalith in this mood was sometimes dangerous. What's more it was rather late now after midnight.
They moved to the parking lot and found that a brand new 'Pajero' was parked bang in front of their car. There was no chauffeur and the parking attendant was nowhere to be seen. 'Who is this fellow who has parked here - doesn't he know he's blocking us' - Lalith said greatly annoyed.
Sena was equally annoyed but kept cool. 'You wait here Lalith, I'll get the owner - he must be inside the hotel' and he moved back to the hotel. He couldn't find any parking attendant outside and so moved into the hotel lobby and informed a hotel man dressed in coat and tie. He gave the number of the Pajero to this man who said he will find the owner as soon as possible. Then he moved back to the parking lot. When he got back Lalith was pacing up and down with a cigarette lit and cursing the Pajero owner.
'Who the hell does he think he is parking like this and blocking us - and where the hell is the parking attendant - this fellow should be taught a bloody good lesson'.
Sena said 'Calm down Lalith, I have informed the hotel and everything will be O. K. soon, don't get worked upÉ but they had to wait at least twenty minutes before any one turned up and Lalith was now boiling with anger, Sena too was quite annoyed and turned to go back to the hotel once again. Just then the hotel gentlemen in coat and tie to whom Sena had spoken to turned up - 'sorry, sorry gentleman, it took me some time to find the owner. He is at an important dinner with some very high ups including some cabinet ministers and had left strict instructions not to be disturbed. His chauffeur is in the hotel minor staff section having his dinner as well but he'll come soon'.
Lalith and Sena were both now very angry. 'If this bloody vehicle is not taken out immediately I'm going to smash it up' said Lalith to the hotel gentleman.
The gent became alarmed and raised his hands 'Wait, wait, gentleman, I'll get the keys as soon as possible and I'll take it out myself - just give me 5 minutes' and he walked away.
Lalith was bending down and was searching the ground for a large stone. Sena was behind him trying to calm his friend. He couldn't control Lalith who picked up a large stone and flung it with all his might at the windscreen of the Pajero - it cracked in all directions in a spidery fashion, making a loud noise - Just then the hotel gentleman appeared with a man clad in shirt and tie 'My God' he shouted now running to the car 'What have you done!' The man in shirt and tie ran behind him.
The man behind was the chauffeur. Lalith said to him - 'you bugger, is this the way to park a car, right in front of us blocking our way' and he held the chauffeur by his shirt. Sena and the hotel man jumped towards them and drew Lalith away as he kept on cursing the driver. The driver was a small, middle aged man and he was extremely frightened as he said. - 'Wait I'll tell Mr. Salgado, see what he will do to you.'
Salgado was the owner.
'You can tell Salgado or any mother's son - I don't care take this bloody big ugly thing out now or I'll smash it further,' Lalith said while Sena was holding his head now.
The hotel man said, 'This matter has to be reported' and he turned away taking the driver with him.
About five minutes later a short pot bellied man dressed immaculately in a full suit with a rose buttoned on to his coat pocket appeared a stern look on his face. He was accompanied by another elderly gentleman and some of the hotel staff. He walked up and surveyed the now smashed windscreen of his brand new 'Pajero'. He then turned towards Lalith and Sena - 'So they are the ruffians who did this' he inquired of the hotel executive. 'I'm Mr. Salgado and this is my jeep you damaged, you cheeky littleÉ'
'You might be Salgado or the king of England but you must know how to park your bloody vehicle, you bastard,' Lalith said.
Mr. Salgado turned red in the face he pointed his finger at Lalith and Sena and then at the hotel staff. 'Report this matter to the police immediately and don't let these two people get away from here,' he said.
'Will you take out your car this minute,' Lalith shouted at Mr. Salgado, 'or I'll break it up some more' - Sena couldn't restrain him. He broke away from Sena, rushed towards Salgado and even as the hotel staff rushed forwards and gave Salgado a thundering slap - The hotel staff then quickly pushed Lalith away and three of them held him as he kept shouting at the pot bellied man - 'You bloody rich bastard, you think you can get away with anything because of your damn money you must be a big shot somewhere but that doesn't matter to us - you can call the bloody police, - We are not scared by you, fat bastard' he kept shouting at Mr. Salgado.
Mr. Salgado in a state of shock, red in the face and trembling stared at the young doctor now held back by the hotel staff and Sena. He turned to his driver and said, 'Take our car forward' then he spoke to the hotel staff and said, 'you must wait here till the police comes - I will deal then. He turned away quickly and walked back to the hotel. After he had left the hotel staff few of them who knew Sena released Lalith and requested both of them to come back to the hotel.
The Pajero with the smashed windscreen was now taken out by the chaueffeur who looked rather frightened. Sena spoke to the hotel staff and even shook hands with some of them while Lalith stood by and glared. They then got into their car and drove away.
'I'm sorry I spoilt our evening Sena', Lalith said 'but it was not my fault'. Sena remained silent.
Two days later Lalith was having a long afternoon nap. He has been out with some of his friends at noon and had quite a few drinks. When he was on leave at home it was his normal routine to have a good time and relax with his friends and enjoy life - for when he got back to his God forsaken station it was two or more months of hard work in that dull area with practically no recreational facilities. 'All work and no play'. He was woken up from his deep sleep by a loud knocking on his room door.
'Mahattaya, Mahattaya, Nona said to wake you up - He got up lazily tied up his sarong and opened the door. It was their old 'Amme' who had been there from his childhood days and he had a lot of respect for her. She still used to address him as 'Baby Mahatteya'.
Now she was saying - 'It's 5.30 now and those people are coming to see you about 6.30. Now have a bath and get ready - I ironed your shirt and trouser - your tie is also ready and layed out. By 'those people' she meant the father, mother and girl whom his parents had arranged for him to meet. The proposal his parents were very keen on - the girl they wanted to match with him. This was the real reason they had wanted him to come on leave this time.
It had entirely escaped his mind - he had not met his parents the whole day - he had had a very late breakfast by himself and then he had gone out with his friends and had a nice time - they had lunch out and then he had come back and slept.
Now he remembered and he cursed. As he had told Sena, marriage was furthest from his mind and he had agreed to meet their family purely for the sake of satisfying his parents. His thoughts were on where he would be going tonight - he'll contact Sena later.
Who was this family anyway? 'very nice people' his mother had said - a rich family and a well educated girl - a pretty girl - well there was no harm in having a look.
He went to the mirror and noticed that he was red in the face. He asked for water and drank almost a whole bottle. He then lit a cigarette ad smoked leisurely. Another knocking on the door. It was his mother - 'Lalith get ready and come down - they'll be here in half an hour'.
He had a bath and was still not quite dry when there was a very loud knocking - It was his mother again - 'Putha' they are already here, hurry up and come down - your clothes have been put out for you by Lucy Hamy - hurry up now.'
Lalith towelled himself, powdered and put on a lot of after shave to cover up the liquor stench from his mouth. He dressed up smartly and began to descend the stair case - he could hear voices downstairs.
He saw them then. He saw a pretty young girl in a pink saree looking down shyly and his eyes shifted to the others. He saw an elderly fattish man and then got the shock of his life. It was Mr. Salgado, the same man he had had a skirmish with at the hotel the other day.
Almost at the same time Mr. Salgado recognised him and his face turned an ash colour - They stared at each other for sometime while the friendly conversation went on between his parents and Mrs. Salgado.
'Mr. Salgado' his father said 'I want you to meet my son Lalith. - Lalith come and meet Mr. Salgado'.
Mr. Salgado offered a limp hand and Lalith did the same each avoiding the other's gaze. There were no greetings between the two. Everybody realised there was something wrong but nobody could guess what and there was uneasiness in the air.
With a puzzled look on his face Lalith's father said 'Mr. Salgado I'm sure you'll have a drink' and he offered a bottle of 'Chivas Regal'. Mr. Salgado was speechless. He developed a twitching of his face and his lips were trembling. He shook his hands at the whisky and sat down gingerly. He was staring at the floor, his hands clasped together.
Mrs. Salgado sat forwards 'Why Merril - is there something wrong', she asked.
'You're not feeling well or something,' Mr. Salgado looked up said 'yes, it's this migraine of mine and I think I'm getting a terrible attack' and he put a hand to his head.
'Aiyyo I kept your tablets at home' the Mrs. was saying 'we'll get the driver to bring them here soon.'
Mr. Salgado shook his head 'No, no, I must get home soon and rest'. He looked at Lalith's father standing near him, holding the bottle of whisky in his hand.
'Mr. Seneviratna, I'm extremely sorry but you'll have to excuse us today - we'll make it another day', Mr. Salgado was saying.
Lalith's father stared open-mouthed at they visitor 'why Mr. Salgado you can rest here. Lalith can look after you, after all he's a Doctor' turning to Lalith he said 'Putha, get Mr. Salgado to a bed, make him lie down and you look after him.'
But Mr. Salgado was already making his way to the door and he summoned Mrs. Salgado and their daughter who both looked very surprised and embarrassed.
'Very sorry about this Mr. Seneviratna were his last words as he and his family walked towards their car. Mr. and Mrs. Seneviratna were speechless - they looked for Lalith but couldn't find him. He was on the phone taking a call to his friend Sena to make arrangements for the night.
The day I stepped on the General's chest!
By Rex L. Wijeyaratne
As a professional engineer of several years standing, I had the pleasure of serving under the late General Ranjan Wijeratne, when he was the Minister of State Plantations and thereafter the Deputy Minister of Defence. During this period we were invited by the Chinese government to visit China, in order to inspect their mini/macro hydro generating plants, for which they are famous. The other reason being that we had embarked on an ambitious project to rehabilitate the many mini hydro plants in our plantations, which had been previously neglected and for which we had negotiated funding from the World Bank and ADB and also received aid from Canada under CIDA.Our delegation comprised of General Wijeratne, our Project Co-ordinator and myself, who would be totally responsible for implementing the schemes on our return.
China is a very vast country, and in the company of a Chinese intepreter, we travelled thousands of kilometres by coach and train to visit their hydro schemes, carried out with meticulous care so that not a drop of water in those great rivers were wasted and provided irrigation and power, before flowing down to the sea. One such visit involved a train journey scheduled to leave Peking at 5 p.m. and reach our destination the next day at 3 p.m. in the afternoon. Like in the old CGR long distance trains in Sri Lanka, we occupied a four berth cabin for this long journey. I occupied the top berth, whilst the General took the lower berth and our other two companions took the opposite berths likewise. The General, though physically tough, was showing signs of extreme tiredness and pulled his shoes off and opted for a quiet nap. Myself and my companion, too felt quite worn out keeping a very tight schedule, but to keep our spirits up, we enlivened the proceedings by sipping the 'Cup that cheers' (duty free of course!) and relaxed as best as we could swopping old yarns. Sometime later the General awoke and observing what was going on, decided to join us, to our delight. Well, the train was now proceeding, let's say 'rather high in spirits' we decided to have dinner and get some sleep. After a while I felt the need to visit the 'loo' and since there was no ladder, I gingerly lowered myself, and found to my consternation, that my foot was squarely on the General's chest! He awoke and said 'Rex what the hell are you up to'? Profusely apologising to him I explained my mission!
The train had now gathered speed and was thundering in its tracks, at break of dawn, when I again got the urge to visit the 'loo'. So this time to avoid coming into contact with any part of the good General's anatomy, I lowered myself with extreme caution from the opposite end of the berth and put my foot down on what I thought was 'terra firma', but it was not to be, it was the General's chest again!! The General by instinct, anticipating my second visit to the 'loo' had put his head on the other end as well. So fully awake, his caustic comments were, in true army style! 'Rex for God's sake what the bloody hell are you up to'? The time was now 5 a.m. and we were in no mood to sleep, and ordering tea from the buffet car, fell into a long conversation.
As Director Engineering & Chief Engineer at the Ministry of State Plantations, I had the pleasure and distinction of serving under General Ranjan Wijeratne for several years until retirement. The good General is no more, having succumbed to injuries received during a cowardly bomb attack, whilst travelling in his car, at the hands of a terrorist assassin.
Music as a ready and good source of joy
By V. Basnayake
Music-haters and -lovers Individuals differ so much among themselves. In regard to music, there are music-haters and music lovers. The latter include individuals are who mostly 'hand' (performers) or mostly 'head' (intellectual) or mostly 'heart' (emotional).Ready enjoyment All music-lovers, however, enjoy music - they find in it a ready source of meaningful experience. Individual pieces become the rage of the day. Premnath Moraes recalled in his series 'Melodies that linger' (Sunday Leader 15/4/98)' shortly before he died, that 'A new number had just come out and was the rage. It was 'Beer Barrel Polka', which after nearly 70 years, still holds its popularity. For quite some time after it came on the scene it was without doubt the top tune of all. Though it had lyrics nobody bothered to learn them and it became an instrumental number without compare and its rendering by a piano accordeon band was most entertaining.' Music-making is one of the outlets even for incarcerated men and women by which they can make the best of a bad situation. Colombo Welikada Prison currently has a 7-member female band called 'Ehindas' (found = picked up from here and there). It is a drum band with large pans, used tooth brushes, soap boxes and plates. Their repertoire ranges from Sinhalese, Hindi to popular English songs.
Among the best Music is also one of the best sources of meaningful experience. It can be intrinsically meaningful. It needs no defence from morality, religion, politics, etc. It need not be symbolic of anything. In music, time is transformed from a mere flow into an intrinsically significant flow. It can have the quality of 'timelessness'. Music is one of the best ways to enter into the heart of people. Church music did so from Portuguese times. There are times when one is astonished by the circumstances under which fine music is heard. Arthur Clarke relates in The reefs of Taprobane (1956) how he was astonished one night at the Matara Rest House by the sounds of the Beethoven Choral Symphony coming from behind the door of some unknown enthusiast. 'I spent some time lurking outside his door while Beethoven's last will and testament filled the night air around me.'
From pleasure to ravishment. Music 'pleases', 'moves', 'charms', 'ravishes'. James de S Wijeyeratne and a friend attended a farewell recital given at the age of 70 years by a great Spanish prima donna of the day, Adelina Patti, at the Albert Hall, London, on 14 October 1914. They were deeply impressed by the recital, and deeply moved when the singer gave an encore with 'Home sweet home'. 'We were deeply moved, for her song brought a remembrance of our distant homes to us with mingled feelings of sadness and of gladness.' Gwen Herat wrote a poem entitled 'Prelude in G minor'; it was 'in memory of 3 S Bach whose profound effect on me cannot match my words Ellen Dissanayake ('Homo aestheticus', l992) considered that terms such as 'indescribable' and 'ineffable' are applied to aesthetic experiences which are merely more strongly emotional than usual. Music 'pleases', 'moves', 'charms'.
Something deeper The personal reaction to music often goes so deep that it seems to affect a stratum of the mind below that of mere 'emotion'. There is no specific word for it. Rev S L C Knight said, in a letter in The Island of 5 June 98: 'Thanks to the German Cultural Institute recently we had an evening of Eastern classical instrumental music. The music was very enchanting. It was worship in the best sense of the word. The offering of our best to the Creator.' Sometimes we tend the become obscurely hyperbolical about the thrill of music. Thus a review of a performance in Colombo in 1998 of a Joint Concert by the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka and the Bombay Chamber Orchestra' stated that 'music is a deep inner experience that expresses nothing but itself. Because Music is an Encounter. And to both listener and performer Music makes its revelation.' treasure those moments when music.
Conclusion The music-lover should take advantage of the fact that music is a ready and good source of joy. He/she should treasure those moments when music is charming and magical, and even more those blissful peak experiences in which music reveals some inexpressible deeper layers of the mind.
