Her eyes

According to a wish she had expressed some time ago, the late Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike's corneas were donated to two eye patients who were awaiting corneal grafting at the Eye Hospital, Colombo. "Despite her age the eyes were in good condition", said the Director of Eye Hospital Dr. Sarath Abeysinghe.

Both corneas were removed and one transplanted on the very day Mrs. Bandaranaike passed away, and the other the next morning, by two consultant eye surgeons of the Eye Hospital. 

"Luckily there were two patients awaiting corneal grafting at the Eye Hospital. Otherwise the eyes would have been sent abroad," said Dr. Abeysinghe. -UG

A tribute from London

Sirima will be missed

By Neville de Silva

A stereotypical Western idea in former times was that Asian or Oriental women were virtual chattels and that their place was in the kitchen unlike their Occidental counterparts who played a prominent role in society and politics.

When Mrs Bandaranaike became Prime Minister in 1960 the mould that perpetuated such thinking was broken.Yet Western media and academics had a way of belittling that achievement. They argued that Mrs Bandaranaike became Prime Minister only because of the assassination of her husband. 

But once she was thrust into the forefront of politics, she learned it fast and actually took to it quite professionally.

If Mrs Bandaranaike's entry into politics, as the world's first woman Prime Minister did not entirely rebut the argument, that Oriental women were still behind their Western counterparts in liberating themselves of their traditional role as housewives, it did focus much more academic and media attention on the status and role of Asian and African women in society.

Much to the amazement of Western people they began to discover that there were many women in our universities and other tertiary institutions such as the Law College and, that in some disciplines, women outnumbered the men.

I remember an occasion in 1971 when Betty Friedan (if my memory has not deserted me for a moment) a guru of America's women's lib came to the University of Hawaii to talk of her favourite subject-women's liberation. She talked of her interesting meeting with Indira Gandhi whom she referred to as the world's first woman Prime Minister much to the joy of the Indian students gathered.

When she did stop to take a breath, I managed to intervene and point out to her that Indira Gandhi was not the world's first woman prime minister. She hesitated for a couple of minutes and then went on as though ignorance was indeed bliss.

If an American women's lib leader did not know Mrs Bandaranaike by reputation, certainly lowly immigration officials in the former German Democratic Republic, commonly called East Germany, did.

Rex de Silva, formerly the Editor of the Sun newspaper and now editing the Borneo Bulletin in Brunei, and I had just crossed Checkpoint Charlie in West Berlin and were trying to enter the eastern sector, as the Americans called it.

This was in 1966 and both of us were attending a journalism institute, which was located a hundred yards away from the notorious Berlin Wall and opposite Checkpoint Charlie.

After handing over our passports to the East German officials, we were waiting for clearance when Rex and I were greeted very warmly by one of them who said "Aah Ceylon.. Frau Bandaranaike.... The (tea)" and immediately cleared us. The point I'm trying to make is that Mrs Bandaranaike was well known in the socialist bloc and the developing world.

If Mr Bandaranaike made foreign policy a key plank during his unfortunately short term as Prime Minister, Sirima Bandaranaike continued that interest and gave serious thought and much time to foreign policy and to build a professional diplomatic service.

Another trait in her was that she was always helpful to journalists, if she could be so, without divulging sensitive information. I've often had occasion to interview her at the airport either when she was leaving or arriving.

I remember one occasion when she was leaving for India from the Ratmalana airport. She was heading for the plane accompanied by Governor General William Gopallawa and Maithripala Senanayake. I walked across the tarmac much to surprise of the security officials and other journalists and interviewed her right there.

Thank heaven there was no overpowering security presence then. Thank heaven for journalism that Mrs Bandaranaike considered this was part of the job and how I got my interview was my business.

Even when I used to come home from Hong Kong for a short holiday, she would never refused to give me an appointment if I telephoned asking for one. 

And even in those physically fragile years, her mind was still acute. Once when I called on her a few months before Hong Kong returned to China, she was very interested to know what could happen, whether Hong Kong would continue to be like what it was then.

Sirima Bandaranaike will be missed.

In her own words…

On her wedding:

"Just like any young girl, I was excited about it. There were elaborate preparations made as my husband was then a politician of stature and the Ratwatte family (she was a Miss Ratwatte) was keeping to all the traditions we were heir to."

On her husband's death:

"Poignant and harsh memories still remain when I recollect that distant day, of the way in which my husband was shot in his own home and the manner of his death. And there were my three children Anura the youngest, only around eleven and my daughters teenagers."

On the difficult times in her political life:

"I guided the country through a coup planned to topple my government when I first took over. In 1962, many a UNP politician's unseen hand and that of many a man in the Forces was ranged against me. But I overcame it all. But what I am most proud of looking back, is that during one of the most trying periods in recent history I guided our country. 

The JVP uprising was the first terrorist insurrection in this country directly attacking the government. It was an outstandingly difficult time. But I kept my cool. 

It is true some youth died in the crossfire but I am proud to say no one was deliberately killed or abducted or burnt with tyres round their bodies or mutilated. I asked the misled youngsters, both men and women to surrender. 

I told them as a mother I felt for them and felt sorry that they should have been so falsely misled with grandiose ideas of power. 

On the Non-Aligned Movement:

I will always remember the start of the Non-aligned Movement by Tito, Nehru, Nasser and myself and the honour of hosting the movement's 5th summit in Sri Lanka in 1976.

On foreign policy:

I am proud that we maintained good relations with our immediate neighbours and that Sri Lanka's stature in global politics was high. In retrospect there is also the solving of the Indo-Sri Lanka problem, vis-a-vis the Sirima-Shashtri pact and finally getting Kachchativu, a bone of contention between the two countries (India and Sri Lanka) for Sri Lanka.
 
 
 
 
 

On the future:

I still feel I have a role to play in guiding and advising the government. 

I am glad that history has been kind in making my husband, myself and now my daughter, leaders of this country. 

I hope there will be peace as we had upto 1977 and that my country will once again be able to live in peace, devoid of violence between ethnic groups and that the territorial integrity and sovereignty of our country will remain intact. 

I pray for peace and prosperity for this country I serve and love so that future generations will call her blessed. 

May the Triple Gem bless all her people irrespective of race, caste or creed. That is my most ardent wish.

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