Sunday Times 2
How to be at home without a home
Confined to my ‘hansiputuwa’ on the Nth day of the lockdown we were left pondering on the advice tendered by the WHO, our own medics, police and bureaucrats: How can a man confine himself to his home, if he does not have a home to be in? Call it a conundrum, paradox or oxymoron, we still do not see a solution.
Stay-at-home guidelines have little or no meaning to this homeless Sri Lankan
But the problem is real and global. The more fortunate on earth know very well that there are millions of homeless people on every continent that do not have a roof over their heads. That’s what the UN Habitat Conference and the many organisations around it are all about. So, why are they calling for the impossible?
When the Covid-19 virus struck, catching leaders of nations big and small with their pants down and people whom they were supposed to protect falling sick or were falling dead by the hundreds, they issued a blanket order: ‘Lock down all the people of the world in their homes’— knowing very well that the millions of their fellow beings do not have a thing called a home. It was like the ‘Pottae Shot’ in Sri Lankan cricketing terminology. A fast bowler sending thunderbolts to a batsman who is clueless on what to do. The batsman’s reflex action is to close his eyes and swing the bat hoping the ball hits the bat or the bat hits the ball. At times it works.How it works, we are witnessing right now. The batsman is swinging the bat, at times hitting the ball and at times missing it.
Those at the bottom rungs of the middle class, obeying curfew orders, gate-crashed into homes of relatives and friends. But the poor? Probably into shacks and shanties of their friends and relatives with the official inhabitants overflowing into pavements. And of course all leaders always claim that what they have done is right.
Donald Trump has thousands—probably tens of thousands—of homeless in California. Narendra Modi who a few full moons ago was trying to land an unmanned Indian space vehicle on the Dark Side of the Moon — to Make India Great — ‘locked up’ hundreds of thousands of fellow Indians trekking across the Indian sub-continent to their villages having lost their jobs with no money or food.
The Police of Indian states that don’t want the trekking desperate people to cross their borders lest they spread the disease are treating them as sub-humans. An Indian TV channel showed recently a tired group of migrant workers crouched on the pavement being sprayed with disinfectants used to sterilise buses and buildings—Sodium hypochlorite that is said to be harmful to the eyes, skin and lungs .
This exhibition of unrestrained sadistic police traits, common to all police forces, are being unleashed on unfortunate violators of the curfew around the world. Indian TV in the past weeks showed policemen with their long batons (lathies) lashing out at civilians, including women, without questions being asked. Some other curfew violators are shown forced to do squats, holding their ears with crossed arms chanting: ‘We are enemies of the state; we can’t stay at home’.
Was this police sadism shown on TV for the sake of entertainment or as a deterrent?
It certainly does no credit to the ‘ biggest democracy in the world’ where the dignity of humans are being thrashed by thugs in Khaki given the licence to maintain curfew orders.
Some of Sri Lankan TV channels too showed these same disgusting scenes. Probably it was to complement the calls made by the Police top brass to stay indoors or face consequences of being arrested. Why are so many found on the streets violating the curfew? Are all of them trying to get to their clubs which are closed, heading for ‘peduru’ parties, booze parties, Face Book parties, beach parties, on some urgent life-saving errand or just for kicks? Colombo and its suburbs are known for its clubs and partying of varied sorts but the numbers arrested are mostly in the provinces. Why? The great majority left homeless during floods are also in remote provincial areas.
Sri Lanka has its quota of the homeless as seen when the monsoons arrive. They appear on the Kelaniya bridge and other city shelters while, in the provinces, some people are always homeless with the elephants whose traditional homelands had been occupied by humans wrecking human habitations. Of course, some attempts have been made on rural housing, particularly by the Premadasas—father and son—but it is only a dent in the problem. Development in recent times is measures in terms of high-rise buildings around Galle Face and plusher areas of Colombo. The Pohottuwa or Lotus Tower (still functional or not?) is considered to be symbolic of recent economic development but of what use is it to chena cultivators perched all night on trees watching for marauding elephants?
Fears are also being expressed about governments making use of the corona pandemic to increase their own powers such as by bringing in legislation that could question critical voices. In Hungary last week new legislative measures including terms of imprisonment were passed by parliament for spreading misinformation and allowing ‘Nationalist’ Prime Minister Victor Orban to rule by decree under a state of emergency which is said to have no clear time limits.
In Sri Lanka laws have already been in place (made by previous governments during the War on Terror) which would enable the arrest of those alleged to have spread false information during periods of emergency. This point of punishment for spread of false information is drilled in daily by a police spokesman.
The lockdown in Lanka is now over three weeks and there has been no attempt at censorship except that the print media have been non functional during this period. This country has had no newspapers since mid-March. Only mainstream media are TV and radio and a few online newspapers. Radio and TV are understandably supportive of the measures taken by the government to curb Covid-19. Most of these channels do not have the critical edge or have lost it and some channels and the government were a Mutual Admiration Society long before the Covid virus. So, there is no need to muzzle sheep. During the 30-year terrorist war, the newspapers continued to be published, every day even during the Indian intervention in 1987. It is time that the watchdogs of the nation start barking again.
The corona epidemic has been been kept under control no doubt due to the strict measures enforced but the sufferance of the people under the curfew is undeniable. Better co-ordination between the Presidential Task Force with pharmacies, supermarkets and other consumer outlets, including those patronised by the poor, could make life easier for all.
Meanwhile, people ask about who runs the country. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appears to be camera shy and is seen on TV only when he presides over an important conference. Brother Mahinda who revels under TV lights too has been noticeable in his absence on TV. And brother Basil, the head of the Presidential Task Force too is rarely seen.
Is the Rajapaksa triumvirate being modest enough not to take credit for the work done so far or they do not want to take responsibility for the tragedy which befell the country? Meanwhile, some medics who are genuine authorities on the subject are doing the hard work while some trade union medics are also making noises. Our sincere thanks go out to those on the frontline—doctors, nurses supporting staff, technicians, mortuary workers and even cemetery workers.
Meanwhile, our thoughts stray far away to two sayings heard a long time ago:
‘Stone walls do not a prison make
Nor iron bars a cage’
And, ‘Home Sweet Home,
There is nothing so sweet as Home Sweet Home’.
We are wondering what made our Home Sweet Home, a prison and a cage with invisible iron bars. It’s the damned coronavirus.
(Gamini Weerakoon is a former editor of The Sunday Island, The Island and Consulting Editor of the Sunday Leader.)