.

People and Events
A new book on food

by Nan
The latest addition to that marvellous series Oxford Companion to ... is The Oxford Companion to Food compiled by Alan Davidson. It took him twenty years to complete the compilation, but judging by a review I read, it seems to be well worth the time and effort spent. An Oxford Companion cannot be but excellent.

Food leaves yours truly unperturbed, in the sense that eating is more functional than a pleasurable pursuit on which time, planning and money are generously spent. While many a woman pours over cook books and then tries out the recipes in her own kitchen, cook books leave me cold. I envy women who have this very feminine trait, and know men of the family appreciate a wife/mother who is a good cook, or is at least interested in food and spends time and thought on what is prepared and how it is presented on table. But like the horse who could be taken to water but could not be made to drink, I have had cook books gifted me, specially when I got married, which remain good as new. In preparation for that great event, I attended cookery classes conducted by an expert in Kandy and then by my sister, but never managed to pipe a rose of icing or turn over a perfect flan or whip up a delicate merangue. Shamefully I cannot cook an ambula nor make a sizzly baduma.

Please don’t judge me a freak, however. There are many Sri Lankan women who feel disinterested in cooking, don’t really care what they eat, and often feel that time spent in the kitchen could so profitably be spent on some other pursuit like reading, getting better informed or just sitting and staring - a very healthy activity if done in small doses.

My interest in the new addition to the Oxford Companion to ...series is thus not because of the content matter but because of facts gathered about the compiler.

The British Council in Colombo has a single copy of the series, I am told - The Oxford Companion to Children’s Literature. I thought they had the Companion to Music, but no. The entire series has approximately 30 editions on subjects ranging from the Bible to Ships at Sea.

The Brains Behind the Book

Alan Davidson, 75, who signed up to compile the Oxford Companion edition on the subject of food, did not know, apparently, what he was letting himself in for. He initially estimated it would take him five years to complete the Guide. It took him twenty years of diligent research and chasing leads to end up with a tome of 2,650 entries, arranged alphabetically, covering food of the entire world, food based mythology, and of course, history of food. He had thought he could tackle the work alone, but had to coopt several collaborators, his wife Jane included. She wrote the entry on picnics and ended that article with the succinct remark: " To write the ‘The Oxford Companion to Food’ has been no picnic."

His co-compilers present a happy mix of the scholarly and merely interested and knowledgeable on food. One such is Helen Saberi, an expert on Afghan cooking, and Davidson’s heart specialist. Davidson is responsible for 85 percent of the text.

A Many Faceted Individual

Alan Davidson is a distinguished food historian and an Oxford scholar with a double first in classics. He is a former diplomat having served as Ambassador to Laos and other countries such as Tunis. In Laos he produced two books and discovered a giant Mekong catfish whose 106 pound head he sent to the Natural History Museum, London. He seems to have a sense of humour and a penchant for playing tricks. He first sent a single vertebra of the fish to the Natural Museum and got them panting for more. Then he sent them the head.

He is working on other books. With Helen Saberi he intends writing about the humble but almost ubiquitous bread and butter pudding and on trifle and a funeral cook book based on Thai customs. This sounds interesting since the practice is to give copies of favourite recipes collected by the deceased over the years to those who attend the funeral. I wondered what happened in the case of a person like me dying and leaving no recipe legacy. And then I surmised since the custom is prevalent, people would insure a good funeral by noting down recipes to be donated to those who come to pay their last respects.

Davidson’s interests are wider than cookery and its history and geography. He is presumably interested in cinema and the artistes. Hence his contemplated books on film stars starting with Claudette Colbert, the siren of the 1930s. He is co-founder of the annual Oxford food symposium and edits a magazine titled Petit Propos Cullinaires. His fame as a food writer he attributes to his 1972 book titled Mediterranean Seafood, which turned out to be an instant best seller.

Good Diets

Which brings to mind a recent article I read that says that the Mediterranean diet is the healthiest with its components of large quantities of grain, equally large quantities of red wine, fresh vegetables and plenty of fruit, olive oil, fish and small amounts, sometimes negligible, of meat.

Except for the wine and olive oil, aren’t our village menus healthy? I do not mean the poor farmer’s which is imbalanced, fish and even pulses being expensive. But think of your grandparents’ table with the home grown vegetables and green mallungs, the fish mostly, and brown rice. Wine was, I suppose, considered the devil’s brew, but there was sweet toddy with its nourishment, and maybe even the women drank a little of the fermented stuff, though my grandmother would allow neither the children nor the adult women to drink the tapped kitul sap which the man with the protruding stomach brought in each morning for jaggery and treacle making. We sipped surreptitiously by the grace of the head cook-woman. Later we had it at my eldest sister’s home where there were kitul trees a-climbing the hill.

Holidays in Jaffna and Trincomalee were toddy full. I remember one holiday particularly which we spent in a loaned-to-us large bungalow right on the Nilaweli beach. My husband would go toddy and fish-flesh-and-fowl buying each morning. Gallons of the stuff were brought, bubbly palmyrah toddy, I mean, and we would gulp glasses down. My second sister took one for her kidneys, the second for her liver, the third for her whatever, and had to retire to bed for a while.

Coconut oil is now pronounced OK for the Sri Lankan. Look at your plate of noon rice and see how balanced it is with its greens, vegetable protein and healthy starch.

The sad thing is that this plate of rice is fast disappearing and/or getting smaller. The poorer of us have to make do with less quality and quantity, and this should not be since we are cutting down on our staple meal which, by any standard, is really inexpensive. Hence most end up eating a lot of rice and a dash of dried fish or sprats and a blob or two of vegetable. We should be eating curry and rice as the Sahibs termed the local meal, and not rice and curry as we call our meal or the lunch packet we buy, which is most unhealthy being a mound of rice with little curry.

The ruthless and remorseless killer-rapist

by Kirthie Abyesekera
The spectre of Paul Bernardo, serving ‘indefinite’ time in a Canadian prison, for the torture, rape and murder of two teenage girls, rears its hideous head, from time to time, to haunt the nation, and test its Criminal Justice System.

Now, the Ontario Court of Justice is called upon to detemmine whether Stephen Williams, author of ‘Invisible Darkness,’ used tapes made by Bernardo of his sexual orgies with the slain girls, as material for his Bernardo book. Courts had forbidden the tapes for public viewing or other purposes.

The August 31, 1995 conviction of the handsome, then, 31-year-old, baby-faced Bernardo, dapper in an olive-green suit, sent waves of relief through a packed Toronto courtroom,Debbie Mahaffy and Donna French, the mothers of the ravished girls sobbed as they had during the long ordeal. At the end of the trial, the menacled prisoner was led out of courts, jeered all the way, to serve a life sentence with no parole for at least 25 years.

In a sensational trial that produced courtroom drama at its best, judge and jury saw and heard three-and-a-half hours of revolting tapes of Bernardo and his ex-wife, Karla Homolka, sexually assaulting their victims and desecrating their dead bodies. Throughout the four-month trial, people camped overnight in the courtyard for a chance at the 118 public seats taken up mostly by university students.

I covered the case as one of 60 accredited journalists from around the world with reserved media seats. I was in the elite company of international crime reporters from such prestigious media as ‘The Sunday Times of London,’ ‘The Daily Telegraph,’ the ‘British Broadcasting Corporation,’ ‘The Washington Post,’ ‘The Chicago Tribune,’ the Canadian print and electronic media and many more.

Named ‘Canada’s Trial of the Century,’ the grisly disclosures grabbed global headlines. The ‘Time Magazine’ cover story screamed: ‘Murder Most Depraved,’ calling Bernardo "the O.J.Simpson of the north." It said the trial was "a lurid spectacle of sex, violence and - at the centre - an attractive, young, middle-class couple portrayed by prosecutors as sex-crazed monsters who killed for pleasure." One tape was labelled ‘Red Hot Chili L-K.’ It showed the rape and torture of the two school girls.

The sordid story of sadistic sex, starring Bernardo and Homolka, was staged before Ontario Associate Chief Justice, Patrick LeSage and a jury of eight men and four women.

In 1987, Homolka was a 17-year-old, grade 12 student, attending a Toronto Convention, when she met Bernardo, a 23-year-old University of Toronto graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce. Within minutes of their meeting in a hotel bar, he was in her room, having sexual intercourse with her. In the next bed, a friend of Bernardo was with another school girl.

In June, 1991, after a whirlwind courtship of fun, frolics and fights, Bernardo and Homolka rode a horse-driven carriage to their fairy-tale wedding of the year in St. Catherines, a quaint, lakeside town, 90 miles from Toronto. They feasted on a pheasant dinner and honeymooned in Niagara Falls, Canada’s reputed lovers rendezvous. details of their wedding night were in offer.

The same day, the butchered body of Leslie Mahaffy, a 14-year-old schoolgirl was retrieved from a lake. Sliced with a circular saw, the body parts were enclosed in concrete slabs. Mahaffy had been kidnapped at knife point in June, 1991, a few days before the Bernardo-Homolka wedding, held captive and sexually assaulted for 24 hours. She was blindfolded, raped and sodomized. Bernardo then strangled the grade 9 student with a black, electric cord. Clutching a teddy bear Homolka had given her for ‘comfort,’ Mahaffy begged for her life.

The tapes made by the villain himself, were part of over a thousand chilling police exhibits. Homolka, in graphic detail, spoke of her husband, Bernardo’s "lust for virgins to be used as sex-slaves." She told Court how she joined him stalking young girls on the streets in his Nissan 240 SX sports car. He always carried a knife, a rope and pantyhose with which he covered his face. When he found that Homolka was not a virgin (she had a former boyfriend), he sodomized her. He did the same with Mahaffy and Kristen French, another 15-year-old schoolgirl who was abducted from a church parking lot in April, 1992.

Homolka, a slim and shapely blonde, was, at the time of the Bernardo-trial, already serving a concurrent 12-year-sentence, since 1993, in the sex-slayings of Mahaffy and French. Her lenient sentence for ‘manslaughter,’ was the result of a highly-controversial ‘plea-bargain’ with the Crown, which critics dubbed as "a deal with the devil." She had agreed to be a Crown witness testifying to Bernardo’s role in the sex-killings.

The incriminating tapes were found, hidden in the ceiling of the Bernardo home, only after the plea-bargaining had been concluded. She had fled the turbulent matrimonial home in 1993 and was convicted the same year. Neither Homolka, nor Bernardo, were charged in the death of her 15-year-old sister, Tammy who had been drugged and sexually assaulted by Bemardo in the basement of the Homolka family home on Christmas eve, 1990. Homolka’s testimony of what Bernardo made her do to her sister was revolting. The girl had choked to death on her own vomit. Homolka said Bernardo wanted her virgin sister as ‘a Christmas gift.’

Public rage rose when it was known that before the Mahaffy and French killings, Bernardo was suspected as the ’Scarborough (a Toronto suburb) Rapist.’ Yet, DNA evidence collected by the police in 1990 was not tested until January, 1993. By that time, Tammy Homolka, Mahaffy and French had become further victims of Bernardo the predator credited with raping at least 14 other women, earning him the designation, ‘Dangerous Offender.’

Homolka testified that Bernardo once got her to wear a dog collar and go on her knees, while he sexually assaulted her from behind. He forced her to so all Kinds of kinky things and made tapes of his virgin-victims at their toilet.

Homolka described herself as an ‘unwilling participant’ - a captive of Bernardo who forced her to call him ‘Master’ and ‘My King.’ She slept on the floor while Bernardo had sex with young girls on the master-bed. She said French was bound and handcuffed, while Bernardo assaulted her. He forced Homolka to all kinds of things. When the girl refused to submit to Bernardo’s bestial demands, he threatened her with death. A defiant French murmured, "Some things are worth dying for." Bernardo then strangled her with a black electric cord. Her body was shoved into a closet. Then, Bernardo took a shower, Homolka blow-dried her hair and they drove to Homolka’s parents’ home for an Easter dinner.

Flamboyant defence attorney, John Rosen, told the jury they must disbelieve Homolka and acquit Bernardo of the murder charges. Staid Crown Prosecutor, Ray Houlahan argued that the tapes alone were enough for a conviction. Ever since Bernardo’s conviction, his tapes have been a bone of contention. The parents of Mahaffy and French have vehemently protested against any further degradation of their daughters by releasing the tapes’ contents. Trial Judge LeSage had decreed that the publication of the Bernardo tapes would do "tremendous psychological, emotional and mental injury" to the victims’ families.

The Court hearing against author Williams who allegedly, used the tapes for his book, comes up on December 8. The question whether journalistic privilege gives licence to defy the justice system, will loom large in the legal debate.

In the meantime, Homolka, serving her sentence in the Prison for Women, Kingston, Ontario, isolated from other inmates, is taking a correspondence course in sociology from the Queen’s University.

Bernardo, also in Kingston (Prison City), languishes in segregation for fear fellow felons would castrate him - a punishment the societal eye sees as just retribution for a ruthless and remorseless killer-rapist.

Ayurveda’s answer to modern life

By Cecil V. Wikramanayake
Many years ago, before Independence in fact, Ayurveda, which was referred to as ‘native medicine’ by our rulers, the British, had been relegated to the limbo of forgotten things. Today, Ayurveda has come into its own and is even more popular than Allopathy and Homoeopathy.

In fact, it has gone the full circle, for even in Britain today, Ayurveda has found a home at "Oak Hall", where a specialist by the name of Ian Hayward has adapted Ayurveda to suit European tastes.

Ayurveda has gone even further West, for at the Ohio State University College, an Indian Medical Director there, Dr. Hari Sharma, has researched the Oak Hall variety of Ayurveda and found that its combination of Ghee, Sesame (Gingely) Oil, and heat treatments loosens limpid peroxides (free radicals that cause cell damage), which are then eliminated from the body over a period of weeks.

One of the aspects of Ayurveda, which is part of the five thousand year old Indian medical system, is Panchakarma, which was once considered a royal treatment and the province of princes and kings.

Panchakarma is a potent revitalisation and rejuvenation program, designed to remove the ill-effects of stress and pollution and to restore both body and mind to serenity, vitality and above all, balance.

The ancient Indian physicians were of the view that with regular Panchakarma, there was nothing to stop people living to at least 120 years.

Today, you do not have to be of royal family to benefit from Panchakarma. Of all the natural therapies, this is one that has found its time. In an increasingly stressful world, where virtually everything that we eat, drink and breathe seems to be ‘toxic’, a swift, effective and pleasant way to detoxing is naturally bound to be a winner.

It is rather surprising that Panchakarma is not better known to the world. The original system was too intense for the Western physical bodies and sensibilities. The deep cleansing program took several weeks and involved dramatic ‘cures’ such as purgative vomiting and frequent enemas.

This was, naturally too much for the West, who found it difficult to take the Indian system and implant it there and expect it to work. But now at Oak Hall, Dr. Hayward has begun the treatment through Panchakarma in stages.

The first or initial step is a three to five day course in which the patient experiences the ayurvedic diet and several of the incredible massage techniques. It is only several months later that patients are allowed to undergo a full seven-day cleanse which includes herbal enemas and the drinking of ghee and castor oil.

There are also the massage techniques, like the abhyanga which stimulates the release of toxins from the cells. Two pairs of hands knead and stroke the body with warm, spiced oil.

Then there is the shirodhara, where you lie back and relax as a slow, steady stream of oil flows on to your forehead. Within minutes, you feel yourself floating off into a state of profound relaxation. This is considered the ultimate pampering experience.

The theory of shirodhara is that if you want the body to release toxins, you have to work with it, rather than against it. This involves you feeling happy, and settled, nurtured, comforted and cossetted.

The other treatments of Panchakarma are Abhyanga - a herbal oil massage that loosens impurities; Swedana — a heat treatment using herbal steam, which promotes the movement of impurities into the intestinal tract, from which they are easily eliminated.

Then there is Pizzichilli, also known as the ‘royal treatment’, which is a massage carried out through a constant flow of hot, herbal oil. It is deeply cleansing and relaxing.

Other treatments of Panchakarma are Garshan, a brisk, thorough massage using raw silk gloves, that stimulates the metabolism, circulation and lymphatic flow to aid the removal of toxins.

Vishesh is a massage for deep-seated muscle aches and pains and for removing stubborn toxins.

Pindaswedana is a nourishing and strengthening heat treatment, where bags containing a mixture of hot rice and herbs are used to massage the whole body. After this is done, the bags are emptied and the mixture applied like a body pack.

The last of the treatments of Panchakarma is the Urdvatana, a vigorous full-body massage using a herbal paste. It is highly stimulating and exfoliating.

Dr. Hayward and his team are careful not to make medical claims for their treatment, despite the fact that a steady stream of burnt-out business people arrive at Oak Hall with mobile phones clutched to their ears. A week later, they depart, mobiles firmly off.

Dr. Hayward describes such people as pitta-vartha types — people with loads of drive, creativity and enthusiasm, who don’t necessarily have the stamina they need. Their energy comes in bursts and they quickly get to the point where they burn out.

Panchakarma helps them to change, quite simply, and they also reach a deep level of relaxation. Those who visit Oak Hall are coached in the best ways of eating, exercising and living to suit their own body-mind types, so that when they leave Oak Hall, they don’t just ‘feel great’ for a day and then go back to their old ways.

They learn that Panchakarma is not just a quick fix, but a jumping board to a new, healthier way of life.

A nation’s responsibility to the future generations: A forgotten dimension

by D. G. B. de Silva
(Former Sri Lankan Ambassador to France and Delegate to UNESCO)

Remember the immortal lines that Ananda Rajakaruna, the celebrated Sinhala poet wrote for the children in the first half of this century? As I recall, the first few lines - as follows:

"Monavada mutte mokada karanne
Mokatada numba oya bima haranne;"

"Obatath lamayo nopene nothere,
Amba etayak situvannata harami;"

"Dukase situva amba atayak numba
Eka ambayak vath kanta lebevida;"

"Mama lamayo min ambayak nothakami,
Yuthukama pamanak itu kara lannemi;"

"Apen pasuva ena ayatat min pala
Lebenta salasuma apage yutukama;"

"E Yutukama honda-heti dena gattemi.
Ayubovan, mutte-mama yannemi;".

The essence of the poet’s message is clear. In sum, it speaks of the deep interest the elderly man was taking on the progeny - the generations born and to be born, for whose benefit he was planting the mango seedling. It translates in the form of a children’s poem, a deep-rooted ideal found in our cultural tradition, which is also inculcated in the young mind at the same time.

This message infused in our mind in our childhood in the village is still fresh in our memory and has not failed to guide our thinking. City dwellers and others who did not have the benefit of imbibing the essence of this simple Sinhala poem and the cultural ideals contained in it may not be so sensitive specially in the present race for material gains and comforts.

In my article on Eppawala (Sunday Island, October 3, 1999) where I raised the issue of the responsibility of the government towards the future generations in connection with the proposed mechanized apatite mining project at Fppawala, which would exhaust the resource in 30 years time, i.e within more or less one generation, I asked the question whether it was justified that the future generation’s right to a share of these resources of the land should be ignored.

After writing that article I came across the ‘Declaration on the Responsibilities of the Present Generations Towards Future Generations’ adopted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published in the Daily News (October 2, 1999, p.24) in a special section - "Commentary Plus" — to mark the annrversary of the International Children’s Day.

The editorial which accompanied on the same page exhorted us to give "serious thought" to the arguments articulated by Robert Muller from a long standing insider’s point of view in the U.N., about the "missing dimensions" of the U.N. - particularly, relevant to us in Asia and the East" but the newspaper made no reference to the responsibilities towards future generations. However, that the newspaper published the UNESCO Declaration on the Responsibilities Towards Future Generations side by side with its editorial comments points to the special import attached by the Daily News to the Declaration.

These are laudable recommendations from the newspaper to the leaders and people of this country, specially the government in power, which has a responsibility to ensure that the ideals of these universal Declarations are respected and implemented by it. In this context, we read in today’s issue of the Daily News, (October 5, 1999) front page headlines: "PA Govt’s new draft constitution has landmark provision to protect children", a statement attributed to Women’s Affairs Minister, Hema Ratnayake. How much of these ideals would be incorporated? Is there a place for responsibilities towards the future generations? If not why?

This, then constitutes the point of departure for the thoughts we wish to share with readers through our article today. We turn precisely to the UNESCO Declaration on the Responsibilities of the Present Generations. Towards Future Generations". We do not know the date of this Declaration. I had myself missed it since we have been out of touch with UNESCO for over a decade, except for occasional meetings with its Director General. my good friend, Frederico Mayor, in several World capitals, or meetings with other UNESCO officials whom I met on their overseas visits.

The UNESCO Declaration is not constrained by any timeframe. It is both universal and timeless in import and application, like Jaya-ganga, the magnificent canal that our King Dhatusena built in the 6th century - a reminder to man’s responsibility to the present and future generations. (My Article on Jaya-ganga, Sunday Island, September, 26 1999).

What amazed me is that the question I raised in my last article on the proposed Eppawala apatite mining project (Sunday Island, October 3, 1999) on the responsibility of Sri Lankan government towards the born and the unborn new generations to ensure that they could enjoy the scarce natural resources of this country, has already found universal expression through UNESCO and my idea which summed up the cultural ideals of our country has already been taken care of in the UNESCO Declaration.

What this Declaration emphasises is that the concern for the future welfare of generations to come i9 not an ideal confined to a single religious or cultural tradition but one common to all such traditions in the Universe - Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islamic and others, and to which all segments in the international society could subscribe; and have done so as seen from the ideals of the Declaration and the enthusiasm under which it had been adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO.

In examining the relevance of this Declaration to our own situation in Sri Lanka, I confine the comments to a few relevant major issues recommended in the Declaration for implementation by the States, U.N. systems, other intergovernmental organizations, individuals, public and private bodies, all of whom are expected to play a role to promote the ideals of the Declaration, through education, training and information, and to encourage, "by all appropriate means their full recognition and effective application". It is in the role of an individual that I see my own responsibility towards the realisation of ideals enunciated in this Declaration as expected in it from individuals.

The Declaration on the Responsibilities of the Presenl Generations Towards Future Generations contains 12 Articles, including the one on implementation which we have referred to above. Article 1 lays emphasis in general terms, on the present generations’ responsibility to ensure that the "needs and interests of future generations are fully safeguarded. Article 2 is one of application of the principles in relation to human rights and fundamental freedoms, which states that "the future generations as wel1 as present generations shall enjoy ‘fu11 freedom’ of choice as to their political, economic and social systems and are able to preserve their cultural and religious diversity". Article 3 is one designed to ensure the "perpetuity of humankind". It states that towards this objective "the nature and form of human life must not be underminedin any way whatsoever".

Article 4 and 5 are the ones which have the closest bearing on the situation in Sri Lanka in relation to the proposed mechanized apatite mining project at Eppawala and the processing factories at Trincomalee.

Article 4 emphasises that "The present generations have the responsibility to bequeath to future generations an Earth which will not one day be irreversibly damaged by human activity, and that, "Each generation inheriting the Earth temporarily shall tale care to use natural resources reasonably and ensure that life is not prejudiced by harmful modifications of the ecosystems and that scientific and technical progress in oll fields does not harm life on Earth "

There are several principles, contained in this Article, namely (1) that Earth is inherited by us in the present generation only temporarily, a perfectly Buddhistic view as much as of other religious systems; (2! that reasonable use be made of natural resources bv the present generations; (3) that life is not prejudiced by the present generations through harmful mocifications to the eco-system; (4) that technical and scientific progress does not harm life on Earth.

The proposal for mechanized apatite mining at Eppawala has compromised the UNESCO Declaration in all these four respects.

Firstly, the apatite resource which is one of the few mineral resources the country possesses, will be exhausted in thirty years time, which is roughly the duration of a single generation, whereas its rational exploitation using indigenous technology could provide for the needs of the land for over a century.

Secondly, the principle of bequeathing to future generations an earth which will not be irreversibly damaged, also stands compromised. An extensive deep canyon will replace the ww thriving rice fields in the Eppawala area and erase its eco-cultural heritage from memory besides the environmental damage. The effects are irreversible.

Thirdly, the exclusion in the Declaration of harmful modification of the eco-system also stands compromised as a result of the large scale mechanised mining project.

Fourthly, the apatite mining and the extrusion of chemicals is one where scientific and technical progress at the disposal of man will be used to the maximum at the expense of all other considerations, which would cause harmful effects to the eco-system and cause unimaginable pollution.

Article 5 has more specific clauses which are compromised by me proposed mechanized mining project. These are -

1. The future generations ‘right to benefit from the Earth’s richness of eco-systems, which it is the present generations’ duty to strive for, through "sustainable development", and preserve living conditions, particularly the quality and integrity of the environment.

2. The present generations’ responsibility to ensure that future generations are not exposed to pollution which may endanger their health or the existence. From commentaries on the proposed mining project and the indirect admission by the Global Internalional company which proposes to resort to water spraying to mitigate the effects of dust pollution, the gravity of this problem is fully exposed.

This clause in the Declaration is one that remains compromised most.

3. The next clause which enjoins that the national resources should be preserved for future generations is also, equally compromised. The project would exhaust the apatite resource in a matter of 30 years, i.e., during the lifetime of a single generation. The last clause in Article 5 is of a basic character. It requires the present generations to "take into account possible consequences for future generations of major projects before these are carried out’. The crux of the matter is whether these important injunctions would be observed in respect of the proposed mechanized mining project.

The ‘feasibility report" that is offered as a sop to the critics of the project cannot remove the harm that would be caused irreparably and irreversibly by the mining project in its present dimension. Especially, the right of the future generations to a share of benefits that the Earth offers. which is not an unjustified expectation but one that could be

realised through rational exploitation of the resource by the application of local technology. The term "feasibility report" has now acquired the character of one of the "ugliest" words in use in today’s transactions which could be used to hide many sins.

Now, who represents this "present generation" one speaks of? Is it not the government of the day and political leadership who have voluntarily assumed responsibility to lead the destinies of the contemporary generations, ostensibly, through altruistic motives, making immense personal sacrifices as claimed? As such, it is the responsibility of governments and the leadership to implement the ideals of the UNESCO Declaration, which is addressed to the States in the order of priority. Why is that there is not a word about the responsibilities under this Declaration in the government’s agenda?

In the face of government’s repeated announcement of commitment to go ahead with the mechanized mining project, could one then say that the govemment of Sri Lanka is promoting the ideals and the cause of the Declaration? It may be claimed that a country’s economic priorities should take precedence over its international commitments. Should this be the case, it could also be argued that the government could pursue a hard line on the eradication of the terrorist problem ignoring constraints imposed by human right issues. However, thc government’s declared commitment to the principles of human rights stands in dire contrast to its response to or rather lack of it, to the Declaralion on tile Responsibilities towards Future Generations. How could one explain this difference in attitude when the framers of the UNESCO Declaration have expressed themselves that the pursuit of the ideals of the Declaration was within the framework of human rights and fundamental freedoms? Can such a distinction be made in a government’s response to different International Declarations working parallelly towards identical objectives-"a World Worthy of Man"? This is a clear case of a contradiction which calls the government’s bona fides into queslion.

One may not be faulted if one comes to the conclusion that the human rights issue takes precedence not because of any conviction over the ideals and commitment to it, but because of the possible fallout on the country’s economic programme which is heavily dependent on donor support. It is also a matter for query why the donor countries keep harping on human rights issues only, ignoring ideals in other international Declarations like the one under discussion? Is it because focussing of attention on these other Declarations, particularly the one on responsibilities towards future generations, would affect the prospects of exploitation by their country companies? This may not be an unjustified conclusion considering the pressure reportedly exerted on the govemment by an interested foreign govemment to go ahead with the Eppawala project which seems to be at the bottom of the whole affair.

We do not wish to discuss these contradictory attitudes here; but one is justified in asking the govemment why its response to international declarations should be confined to the human rights issue only and not to the laudable ideals contained in the UNESCO Declaration on the Responsibilities towards future generations, which is also part of our cultural ethos.

UNESCO’s own responsibility in the implementation of the Declaration is couched in the following terms.

"Bearing in mind UNESCO’s ethical mission the organization is requested to disseminate the present Declaration as widely as possible, and to undertake all necessary steps in UNESCO’s fields of competence to raise public awareness concerning the ideals enshrined in this Declarations".

The Dedaration is addressed among others, to States in the order of priority.

The situation in Sri Lanka where the ideals of the Declaration on the Responsibilities towards Future Generations are to be grossly violated in respect of the proposed mechanized mining project at Eppawala, calls for a review by UNESCO, as a matter of urgency, during its current General Conference session itself, the progress made in the implementation of the Declaration by States all others. Such a review should aim at making the UNESCO’s mandate more effective and to remind the States (governments) and others of their paramount responsibility to ensure the ideals of this Declaration through a stronger appeal to man’s conscience, a conscience which Pope John Paul VI, during his first visit to UNESCO in June 1980, declared as one which could "march the rising tension between good and evil to which men are being subjected to at the close of the twentieth century".

Symphony orchestra in concert

Mozart’s grandest symphony, No. 41, ‘Jupiter’ in C Major and the brilliant Violin Concerto in D Major by Tchaikovsky will be the main works at the forthcoming subscription concert by the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka on Friday, the 29th October ’99 at the Ladies’ College Hall, Colombo 03 commencing at 7.30 p.m. Two well known soloists will be featured at this concert. The Russian trained violinist, Ananda Dabare will play the Tchaikovsky concerto whilst leading soprano, Menaka de Fonseka Sahabandu will present a selection of arias from the operatic and sacred music repertoire. The orchestra will be conducted by Dr. Ajit Abeysekers, an Associate Conductor of the SOSL and this concert is being sponsored by the Eveready Battery Company.

The concert opens with the ‘Jupiter’ symphony. This work whilst ending Mozart’s symphonic output with great finality, nevertheless seems ready to burst its bonds in a quest for new adventures, suggesting that the composer was at the time on the cutting edge of the Romantic Movement. The finale, famed for its fugal texture, commences with Mozar’s favorite four-note figure and developing in turn each subjective strand, culminates in an incredible display of five-part counter-point yet unsurpassed in symphonic literature.

Menaka de Fonseka Sahabandu, an accomplished pianist besides being a recognised soprano, has appeared on several occasions as soloist with the Symphony Orchestra and has also given many performances elsewhere in Colombo. Her varied programme for the concert consists of the ‘Domine Deus’ from Vivaldi’s Gloria, ‘Let the Bright Seraphim’ from Handel’s Samson, ‘Quel Guardo il Cavaliere’ from Donizetti’s Don Pasquale and the Jewel Song from Gounod’s Faust.

There has been a renewed interest in Vivaldi’s Gloria following the revival of Baroque music, and this work has come to gain greater appreciation of its musical personality in more recent years. Of Handel’s Oratorial arias ‘Let the Bright Seraphim’ is distinguished on account of the brilliant interplay between the Soprano and Trumpet Obbligato where virtuoso demands are made on both principal artists. In ‘Quel Guardo il Cavaleire’, Donizetti skillfully weaves contrasting styles to make a wide display of the soprano’s art, whilst Gounod’s celebrated Jewel Song is an outburst of sparkling musical exuberance. Curiously, today the latter work probably owes the fame of its existence, more to Herge’s Bianca Castafiore than to the divas of the operatic stage.

Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto met with disapproval from its very inception. Its dedicatee rejected the violin writing as being impracticable and even at its premiere two years later, the work was critically condemned. Today however, Tchaikovsky’s concerto is considered one of the greatest writings in the genre, along with those by Beethoven and Brahms in the same key. The appealing melodic lines of this work exude a sense of creative delight, revealing that for the time being at least. Tchaikovsky was able to detach himself from the emotional problems that dogged the greater part of his life.

Very little can be said that is not already public domain, on Ananda Dabare’s rise to being one of the foremost violinists and teachers of the instrument in Sri Lanka. His years of scholarship at the conservatoires of Moscow and Odessa have undoubtedly drawn him closer to the works of the Russian school and his intimacy with the idiom, together with his complete command of the instrument, augurs well for a performance of distinction.--C.H.L. Aponso

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Foreign paedophiles — is deporation a valid option?

by Arun Tampoe
The number of foreigners arrested for alleged child sex abuse during the past four years has focused public interest on the Campaign to prevent child Abuse in this country. Such is the attraction of the ‘foreign’ element that even after two years of his arrest and deportation, the mention of the name Victor Baumann strikes a chord in even the most indifferent minds.

The issue of "Child Rights" and protection of those rights was raised not by Governmental Agencies but by a few NGOs, with the support of the media. It was necessary to prod and cajole State Agencies because they alone have the resources the authority to implement the laws relating to child protection . Theirs is the paramount duty to deliver the services that children are entitled to under the law. However, until some event occurs to grab media interest and publicity they escape media and thereby public scrutiny.

Cases involving foreigners tend to create a sort of chauvinistic paranoia among the public, depending on how the media reports the events. What the media has failed to do is to inform and instruct its readership on aspects of law and practice that could assist the public to make sense of the often confusing and contradictory behavior of law enforcing agencies.

When foreigners are accused of child related offences the first option that presents itself to the Authorities is deportation. This is justified on the fallacious ground that such suspects will be dealt with according to the home country’s law upon arrival. The question is whether this line is dictated by policy , pragmatism or sheer indifference.

Examination of such a line of thinking reveals several aspects . Firstly it is argued that the available evidence (i.e. that which has surfaced without much probing by the Police or other Agencies) is scanty . Secondly, it is argued that detailed investigation will entail a lot of expense. Thirdly that it is almost impossible to extract the evidence out of reluctant or bribable witnesses.

The suggestion has also been made that some financial inducement must be offered to persons ‘in the know’ to disclose what they would otherwise conceal. Many a case, it is argued, has floundered on the rocks of selfishness and greed; when what was called for was a public-spirited response. It is considered that the poorer sections of society do not have the assurance that State protection will be forthcoming against reprisals by the offender.

In the Baumann case for instance, it was widely rumoured that the family of the child victims was liable to be "dealt with" should they testify against the accused. The hostility of the domestic employees of Baumann was even recorded on film when the BBC tried to gain admission to his house.

This problem of how to get the evidence was highlighted by a case that was brought to the Police more than two years ago. It involved the misconduct of a German citizen masquerading as a philanthropist/medical man. Though under active suspicion by NGOs it was not until recently that one of his ‘associates’ in the enterprise that was being run, came forward with testimony about the real position.

Upto date the suspect has not been adequately investigated. The reasons adduced are either that the State Agencies are still weighing the evidence or that the suspect is too useful a person in another field to be put behind bars for his alleged crimes. His much publicised humanitarian contributions to the disabled seem to give him immunity from arrest even though the evidence is available to bring a charge of sexual exploitation of children against him. In the tug of war between law and politics in this case, Politics seems to be the decider.

Having regard to the cost of conducting investigations and preparing a prosecution, a depleted Police service looks hopefully at the cheaper alternative of deportation. One recent case comes to mind. The man was in Remand for alleged child sexual abuse. While in remand, he was transferred to the Immigration Detention Centre (which is not a Prison unit). He had already served a sentence for child abuse and was becoming a nuisance.

Rather than try him again, it was proposed that he should be deported. While the papers were being bounced around the corridors of the bureaucracy, he slipped out of the Centre and made good his escape. This was one year ago. No one has been made accountable for his escape. The inference is that the authorities are quite comfortable about the diversion of cases from the Courts of our country into what is fondly imagined to be a trial in the Courts of offender’s home country. The assumption is that the Governments of foreign countries exercise vigilance over and inevitably prosecute any citizens who violate the laws of another country.

The writer holds a different view, but even if this were so, what can be said of the case of Luc Coomans who jumped bail and fled back to Belgium over two years ago ? Upto date there is no prosecution of this man in Belgium! He was last seen in Bangkok. In like manner the escape of Kaspar Wirz in 1995 while on Bail though resulting in his conviction in absentia, has thus far not resulted in his being made to serve his sentence in Switzerland. As for Pfaffhauser, his indictment in the High Court of Matara has become a dead letter.

Deportation seems in many cases no less than a denial of justice and adverse to the cause of ‘protection’ for vulnerable children. Prosecutions (at least in theory) are said to be done not only to penalize those who violate the country’s criminal laws but also as a deterrent to others who may be inclined to try their luck. If nationals of this country are as ‘equal’ before the criminal law as foreigners, then they should also ( as in Colonial times) have the ‘option’ of being prosecuted here or permitted to waltz away to a safe haven of their choice! The writer recalls with some amusement the uniformed gentleman who often asked somewhat patronizingly whether I had heard of the concept of "persona non grata" in relation to the issue of deportation !!

Activists and Child protection agencies must ask why there seems to be such a divergence of attitudes and priorities between the Agencies of the state and NGOs (not all of them). Why do their priorities not coincide? After all, it is claimed, the NGOs are only trying to fi11 the vacuum that the inaction of the State has created ? Why the apparent lack of urgency in processing and implementing strategies and tactics to thwart the counter measures that offenders (both current and prospective) are taking to exploit children sexually?

It seems to me that the causes of this sort of apathy lie rather in a reluctance to change their accustomed role than to spring from calculated cruelty or callous disregard for the abused Child . Most such functionaries are parents themselves and express horror at the inhumanity of others. The irrationality of their response may be due to some extrinsic factor such as perceived inequality in social status between the victim and the aggressor. What rights can a beggar have in this status-driven society ? It has also been pleaded on behalf of vexed and harassed State agencies (e.g Police) that they are distracted by onerous duties that are not properly within their compass . For that matter, though the present incumbent denies any such impairment, the Social Services and the Prisons Service seem to be handicapped by the inadequacy of facilities such as buildings and equipment.

It is not surprising therefore, that the State should veer towards a policy of evasion or downright denial. If the State is not to send confusing signals to Civil Society in general and Activities in particular, it must come clean and avoid window dressing the problem. The mere setting up of a coordinating body founded on lofty ideals will not make the problem less acute. The mealy mouthed rhetoric one hears from platforms and in forums around metropolitan Colombo that "something has to be done about child abuse" is all well and good but the credibility of the speakers is wearing a bit thin. Deportation is then, a convenient way of getting rid of a suspect but it gives no comfort to the victim. It also serves no curative purpose as the man would have gone away at his own expense in any case ! It provides no deterrent to potential wrongdoers. Experience has proved that even where extra territorial remedies are available our authorities are not geared to mobilize the mechanism for using them.

Furthermore, some countries will not extradite their nationals. Others will do so only where a treaty is in force. I am told that Sweden is an exception. Consequently the decision to deport can only be justified where the evidence is not available however hard the Authorities may try. In many recent cases, this is not the fact. The evidence was staring them in the face. The victims were available to testify, but the State was reluctant and the cases collapsed.

Counting on Kumon to Make Maths Easy

It’s a typically busy afternoon at the Kumon Centre. Six youngsters sit around a table writing industriously, eyes unswerving from the worksheets before them. In a far corner, a new entrant tries out her mental arithmetic using counters on a number board, timer in hand while a senior student sits by herself at another table grappling with fractions. There’s little noise, just an occasional shifting of limbs, a subdued cough here, much furious erasing there, now and then a quick look at the clock to see if one is within the required time limit.

Kumon Instructor Mozelle Ediriweera is at her desk explaining to a parent the results of her child’s placement test. "How did you find the paper? Mrs. Ediriweera asks the nine-year-old boy standing near his mother. His score was 24 out of a possible 100 on a test which had a mix of basic arithmetic and fractions compatible with the work he was doing in school. A shy smile and he replies: "It was easy but there wasn’t enough time."

The youngster had homed in on the dilemma faced by many students, that of completing a maths paper with all or most of the sums correct within a stipulated time. That is the core of the Kumon (pronounced coo morn) system of learning mathematics, a unique method of teaching the basic arithmetic calculations of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division leading to advanced mathematics. The goal is to master the fundamentals of arithmetic calculations so that they become an effortless exercise thus helping the Kumon pupil achieve complete, or a high degree of, accuracy within a given time.

What is unusual about the program is that while it is highly structured with a formal syllabus and standardised marking methods, each child is put on a working schedule customised to suit his capabilities. Thus, you might find a five-year-old Kumon veteran having completed addition and subtraction and setting his sights on multiplication while a nine-year-old beginner may be progressing a little more slowly with simple addition.

Says Mrs. Ediriweera: "This is not a maths tuition class. We don’t coach children with an exam in view. In fact, very often the children start at a much lower level than they are at in school because they really haven’t grasped the basics. Once they discover how easily their mental skills can be developed and used with good effect, then they zoom on ahead and you find that they are ahead of their class work."

With maths no longer looming large like an ogre on the horizon, the child is able not only to confidently handle the subject in school but is also motivated to devote time and attention to the other subjects in the curriculum. "When children say they hate maths or English, it really means that they hate the fact that they cannot do those subjects well. Kumon allows every child to reach his or her potential through self-study at a level and pace appropriate for him or her," says Mrs. Ediriweera.

It was a Japanese maths teacher Toru Kumon who designed the Kumon program in 1954 when his wife expressed her growing concern over their eight-year-old son Takeshi’s poor maths grades. Mr. Kumon decided his son needed an individualised coaching system quite apart from the school curriculum if he was to improve in the subject.

Using over 3,800 handwritten worksheets with dozens of calculations on both sides of the paper and a daily 30-minute regimen, Mr. Kumon tutored his son who raced on to master algebraic equations and solve integral and differential calculus by the sixth grade. While Takeshi was still in elementary school he was able to tackle college entrance examination papers, a feat which proved to his father that he would never have problems with the subject again . He is now the chairman of the Kumon Institute of Education in Japan.

Next, Mr. Kumon, at his wife’s suggestion, roped in the children of the neighbourhood who showed equally rapid progress and he trained their enthusiastic parents as the first instructors. The Kumon Institute of Education was established in Osaka in 1958 with 300 students. The numbers swelled to 10,000 by the end of the ‘sixties while today there are more than half a million students in 44,000 study centres in over 40 countries including Singapore, Hong Kong, the USA, Britain, South Africa, France, Latin America, Canada, Australia, Malaysia and now, Sri Lanka. It is reputed to be the largest mathematics and language learning system in the world.

The Kumon centre in Sri Lanka is a franchise operation of the Overseas Learning Centre run by Mrs. Ediriweera. She became enthused by this method of teaching maths when she found her daughter improve by leaps and bounds once the young girl had got started on Kumon. She has her sister in Australia to thank for having lit the spark, for it was she who convinced Mrs. Ediriweera to put her daughter on the program.

With her montessori training behind her, she embarked on a training course in Singapore, the regional head office, and began spreading the Kumon message here last year. Besides the maths program, she also administers the Kumon English program which emphasises reading comprehension ability.

With very stringent training requirements for the instructors, Mrs. Ediriweera has to go to Singapore for regular updating of teaching skills, training seminars and lectures where she meets with the program’s personnel from the Kumon Institute of Education in Japan and other insructors from all over the world. The instructors themselves are required to do all the worksheets that the students are given.

At present, about 15 students can be accommodated per session at the Kumon centre. They are instructed by Mrs. Ediriweera and helping her is Mrs. I. Kandasamy who brings with her the invaluable experience of having worked for several years at a Kumon centre in England. The weekday (except Wednesday) afternoon’s first session (each about an hour long) is reserved for children with learning disabilities and mental impairment who need a greater degree of individual supervision. These children have seen remarkable improvement not only in their maths and English skills, but in their general overall development.

Three Indian students have also enrolled in the correspondence course which she also oversees. This facility is available to outstation students and pupils in the Maldives .

The Kumon method has two facets to it: one, the instruction the child gets at the class which includes doing the appropriate worksheets ("the cornerstone of the program," as Mrs. Ediriweera likes to put it) and working on mental arithmetic skills and the second, the daily ten minutes spent on doing worksheets at home. In the English program, children work with audio aids and the worksheets. It is this repetitive process that makes for the gradual sharpening of the faculties, the inching forward in manageably small but steady steps.

"Once the child has understood the concept of what he is supposed to do, he gets on with the work on his own. Everything in maths boils down to the four basic calculations, so it is just a matter of perfecting that before getting onto higher maths. Because it is gradual and every step is well learnt before going on to the next, there is no need for someone to be constantly hovering over the child," says Mrs. Ediriweera.

For parents who may be apprehensive about how soon their child will be able to keep up with classwork she explains: "The Kumon method is an accummulation of small successes. Generally, parents are able to notice a change in study habits within three to six months after joining. Within a year, the child should be able to come up to the level of his or her school work and then progress beyond it."

In fact, this mastery over a potentially difficult subject has a ripple effect with students showing better concentration powers, developing good study habits, time management and gaining self- confidence. The program can be started as early as at the pre-school stage (around two and a half years) and be maintained up to university levels. Recently Mrs. Ediriweera even had a 64-year-old retiree inquiring if he could sign up because he felt it would help him maintain his mental agility. He wondered if the course was for children only and she was happy to tell him that the Kumon program is designed to help anyone, no matter his or her age and ability.

She can give numerous examples of children starting on the program with their school maths teacher’s remarks about "careless mistakes" ringing in their ears. Before long, they are turning in near perfect answer scripts, much to her satisfaction and theirs. She was particularly gratified when one of her charges moving from one school to another had to sit for an entrance test. His parents were somewhat anxious as to how he would tackle it as he had a slight learning disability. He emerged from his test proclaiming that he had done it "just like a Kumon paper." Needless to say, he gained the coveted admission.

"The Overseas Learning Centre is at 67 1/4, Narahenpita Road, Nawala and is open from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m on weekdays and from 9.30 to 12 noon on Wednesdays for consultations. (Phone: 869708)

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