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Galle Fort “foreignized”?
The exchange between Ravi Perera and Rajpal Abeynayake (Sunday Times July 6) raises an important issue that conservation in Sri Lanka has not had to face hitherto. This is the phenomenon of "gentrification" as it is called in the vocabulary of heritage preservation.

The essential point Rajpal Abeynayake has been making is that the social and cultural character of the Fort is being changed by the purchase of houses inside the Fort by foreign residents, at prices very much above the market levels for that area a few years ago.

The economic logic of this is that few Sri Lankans would be willing, or able, to pay prices of Rs. 20 to 50 million for houses in the Galle Fort. On the other hand, for a well-to-do, middle-class European to pay between 15,000 and 30,0000 sterling pounds for a house inside a fortified World Heritage city, in a quite extraordinary historic and architectural environment, free of traffic and population overcrowding, in a relatively peaceful, well organized and democratic society, surrounded by a congenial tropical climate, beautiful landscape and an ancient culture - is an incredible bargain!!!

The long-term result of this will be to force Sri Lankans out of the Fort and to replace the old, indigenous Fort community with well-heeled foreigners and perhaps a sprinkling of rich and leisured Sri Lankans, who may feel privileged or comfortable to be in that company. Rajpal Abeynayake seems to have gone further in characterizing the dominant homosexual and paedophilic trends among the present foreign community in the Fort. Even if this were not statistically or otherwise verifiable, his concerns show that the principal factor in the "foreignization" of the Fort is the cultural one. This is a dimension that is completely ignored in Ravi Perera's economistic and legalistic arguments, displaying insensitivity on his part to the complexities of the problem.

A welcoming people
Sri Lankans, by and large, have short memories about colonialism, showing perhaps the depth of the colonial penetration of Sri Lankan consciousness. Also, despite our high murder and suicide rates, we are something of a happy-go-lucky and benign people, who warmly welcome foreigners into our midst. Clearly Ravi Perera could be a perfect exemplar of this attitude. Rajpal Abeynayake is more critical and more conscious of the realities of the neocolonial world we live in, now rearing its head more visibly than in earlier years. In his column he has, time and gain, bravely and rightly warned us of the dangers of that "innocence", which people like Ravi Perera often defend passionately, usually without being conscious of the implications of what they are defending.

Conservationists worlwide have often cautioned planning and preservation authorities in their own countries, about the dangers of "gentrification". By this is meant the replacement of the inherited social texture and intangible cultural character of an existing community, living in and around a heritage site, by rich, up market newcomers, who buy out the site for their own exclusive pleasure. Attention is drawn to the existence or lack of preservation and regulatory measures to prevent such a conservation disaster. In matters such as the "foreignization" of Galle Fort and many of the scenic locations and period houses of the South and especially the south coast, we are paying the price of both our innocence and our poverty.

Preventive measures
The rejection of the argument that the rich, whether foreign or indigenous, are the short cut to solving the material and financial problems of repair and maintenance, is an essential element of the critique.

What preventive measures can we take in these circumstances? Clearly the first measure is to put the issues on the table and to develop our own and international awareness of the issues. Rajpal Abeynayake is perhaps the first person to do so. The second step is for Sri Lankans themselves to develop a feeling for living in and preserving period houses and period and historic environments. (In the case of antique furniture this local awareness and appreciation has grown at many different social levels in the last few years, although the export and cannibalization of antiques still takes place on a large scale).

The third step is for government intervention both in the form of protective legislation and the subsiding of conservation, as well as direct intervention in the preservation of public monuments and official buildings.

The Galle Fort has a large number of government owned properties, which it can improve and develop and make available in various ways to the Sri Lankan public. This will complement what private initiatives Fort residents themselves will take when encouraged by new facilitation measures and the subsidization of private conservation and restoration projects. A moratorium can be placed on the sale of designated and subsidized houses belonging to longstanding Sri Lankan private owners and residents. Soft loans can be offered to family members of Fort residents to purchase properties.

The Fort has several museums, which can be improved. The museums and ramparts can be made a popular cultural resource, taking care not to destroy the peaceful atmosphere of the Fort. There is a Galle Foundation that has been established which can do a great deal to bring all this about. Rajpal Abeynayake has been right to draw our attention to the Galle Fort issue.
Ananda Dharmapala

Repaying the debt to our alma mater
The following qoute by Seshanka Samarajiwa in his article of 13/07/03 tells the whole story as to why he is bewildered when Old Boys of two schools get the adrenaline flowing in their veins when a school match is on. Seshanka confesses that he ''grew up in bare soil, far removed from the area of spirit and loyalty."

Because of that absence of roots he has no concept, like children of International schools. They are birds of passage where schooling is concerned. Tissa Abeysekera's pithy definition will hold true: "pathetic souls, the flotsam and jetsam of society".

The school we attended remains our alma mater - benign mother. We give back in any small measure for what we received. Royalists go through with a perfunctory facilities fee of Rs 5/- and Nahil Wijesuriya has said that for what they have received they should ask for a refund.

Old Boys are not involved in school sports to recapture threads of their youth. Each one of us knows with Byron that "the days of my youth, the days of my glory" are behind us and A.P. Herbert's first lines may be our daily prayer:
"The days of my youth I well remember
When all was jolly, zest and fun
When all my limbs were supple and tender
-Did I say all? Well, all but one."

The Royal College song has a vibrant line, "where we learned of books and men and how to play the game". The Trinity College song has these stirrring lines "Yet here shall beat the heart of us. The school we handed on".

The Old Boys' Associations, spread far and wide over the globe, give sustenance to the school. The library at the Anuradhapura Central is the product of its Old Boys who roamed from house to house, collecting books. The Trinity archives, the brainchild of Lakshman Kadirgamar, is a model for other schools.

The Royal College sports complex is the love child of the Old Royalists and so is the Thomian Sports complex that of the Old Thomians. Seshanka Samarajiwa will be amazed to learn that the premium tickets for the Bradby, a schoolboy's game, either in Kandy or Colombo fetch Rs. 500/- when the Big Clubs charge only Rs. 100/-. And yet it is a sell-out because it is the Big Apple in the local rugby scene.

Old Boys don't mind the price one bit because they know they are ploughing back to College much needed funds and they watch the match with pangs of joy and despair alternating with the run of play.
Sharm de Alwis

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