Letters to the Editor

Where the Sinhalese came to the rescue
The Sinhalese are the largest ethnic group in the Ampara district. From the census figures of 2001, there are 231,771 Sinhalese living in this district, which is approximately 40% of the population. They occupy 79.4% of the land in this district.

Dehiattakandiya, Padiyatalawa, Maha Oya, Uhana, Ampara and Damana divisional secretariat areas are all in the interior parts of the district. Only the divisional secretariat area of Lahugala has the coastline as one of its boundaries.

While 226,472 Sinhalese live in the divisional secretariat areas mentioned above, only 5,299 Sinhalese live in the other divisional secretariat areas of the Ampara district that faced the tsunami disaster.

About 60% of the population in the Ampara district is Tamil and Muslim and they occupy 20.6% of the land extent. This extent of land is divided into nine divisional secretariat areas, Pottuvil, Tirrukkovil, Aladiwembu, Akkaraipattu, Addalachchenai, Nintavur, Karaitivu, Kalmunai and Sammanthurai. Therefore these divisional secretariat areas are densely populated. All these divisional secretariat areas hug the coastal belt, the only exception being Sammanthurai.

Though the coastline in the Ampara district is about a hundred kilometres, only the village of Ulla with about 250 families in the Pottuvil divisional secretariat area and the village of Panama with about 1500 families in the Lahugala divisional secretariat area, are close to the coastline.

The tsunami tidal wave destroyed the whole of the Ulla village but the damage to Panama village, which is further inland from the coastline, was minimal with only five houses being destroyed.

However, the district that recorded the most number of deaths from the tsunami tidal wave was Ampara. The divisional secretariat areas where the Tamil and Muslim populations live in the Ampara district have many densely populated townships, built not very far from the coastline. The tsunami tidal wave inundated most of these densely populated towns and caused tremendous loss of life and property.

The Tamil and Muslim populations were left destitute, and it was the Sinhalese living in the interior areas of the Ampara district, who spontaneously rushed to rescue the Tamils and Muslims, long before government relief and assistance were organized. They evacuated most of the Tamils and Muslims from the affected areas, established 17 camps for the internally displaced people and provided food and lodging to the best of their ability. It was very much later that the government was able to get their act together.

Buddhist monks were seen giving the necessary leadership and it was in their temples that most of these camps for the internally displaced Tamil and Muslim people were initially established. Gonagala was a village that was attacked by LTTE terrorists, who came from the adjoining Tamil villages. The acting chief incumbent of the Gonagala temple Indasumana Thera led a group of Sinhalese people to provide relief and assistance to the very same Tamil villages from where the attack on the Gonagala village was staged by the LTTE.

Many were such acts performed by unsung Sinhala Buddhist heroes that went unnoticed and which the media failed to spotlight, as they were done sans any motive of gaining praise, profit or fame.

During my last visit to Ampara on January 4, 5 and 6, most of the internally displaced people who were accommodated in 17 camps in and around the Ampara town were preparing to leave for camps established in their respective divisional secretariat areas by the government. I met a few of them and they were full of praise for the Sinhala people, who came to their assistance in their hour of need. Several Tamil youths approached me with some leaflets in Sinhala and distributed them to those who were with me.

Shanker Gunasekeram, one-time EPDP Member of Parliament and present chairman of the Cashew Corporation on behalf of the Tamil-speaking people of Digamadulla had prepared the leaflet. If this leaflet were translated to English it would read thus:

"As a result of the tsunami tidal wave of December 26, the Tamil and Muslim people of Digamadulla who were living in the coastal areas were subjected to a greater disaster than in any other district in Sri Lanka. From the time this disaster struck until now the service rendered by the Sinhala people to the Tamil speaking communities, the Tamil and Muslim people, was colossal.

"As a result of the war that has continued for two whole decades the Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim people who lived in all parts of the district were fighting each other with racial animosity. At a time like this, the Sinhala people helped the Tamil and Muslim people in distress without any malice and without thinking of the two decades of war they had fought. How the Sinhala people set aside the past and how they came forward to help the Tamil-speaking people with unity and brotherhood, it must be mentioned, will never be forgotten by the Tamil-speaking people in the future.

"The Tamil-speaking people in distress went to the Sinhala people looking for help and assistance. How we were welcomed with love and affection and from that moment until now the hospitality and assistance we received, will never be forgotten and the brotherly bond created as a result has been strengthened that it must be mentioned that no force will be able to break this bond in the future.

"We offer our brotherly praise and sincere thanks, from the bottom of our hearts, to the Sinhala people in Digamadulla for the help and assistance they gave us from the time of the disaster up to now." Is this not adequate proof to show the world the magnanimity of the Sinhala people?

Let the natural grass grow
I am a resident of Hill Street in Dehiwela and usually take my daily walk alongside the Attidiya Lake. Recently I have been appalled by the construction work that is going on in the area. It appears that the authorities are unconcerned or do not care.

The natural vegetation of reeds and grasses is being replaced by artificial lawns. The green grass will soon turn into brown hay when the drought sets in! Why cannot man accept that Mother Nature knows best? Man can never replace what God has created.

Everyday we see examples of man's ruination of this planet. Let the natural grass and reeds grow. They are more beautiful and far more suitable to the marshlands. No maintenance is needed: no watering, fertilizing, cutting and pruning, truly environment-friendly at no cost to the government.

The area around Parliament is a good example of where nature, allowed a free hand, is much more scenic and pleasing than what the authorities are trying to achieve in Attidiya. We have too many artificial things in the world. Let us get back to the simple things of life instead of trying out fake imitations of mother nature.

Sickening flood of tsunami greetings
The last few weeks I have been inundated by another tsunami - of colourful cards bearing the good wishes of senior officials of government ministries, departments and corporations.

I have no objection at all to receiving such cards from friends. But what sickens me is that all those I refer to bear the official logo of the sender's department and have been posted at the taxpayer's expense. I find this practice thoroughly offensive and absolutely immoral.

I only pray that this letter will penetrate the proverbial thick hide of such senders and we will be spared another such tsunami at Vesak.

Could coconut trees provide the answer?
On scrutinising the land area devastated by the massive deluge of water resulting from the under sea earthquake on December 26, I observed that most of the coconut, pandanus and other palm trees which have been directly exposed to the force of the raging waters from the sea have managed to survive with minimal damage compared to the surrounding structures in fickle sandy soil. This has been witnessed throughout the affected coastline of Asia.

Is it due to the root system of the coconut tree? Or the shape of its trunk? The root system of the coconut tree is definitely shorter than the combined height of the trunk and the foliage. Is it an escape phenomenon of flow dynamics due to the shape of its trunk which has "slipped" the force of water around its trunk to and fro?

Since I am not an expert in the field, I would like the eminent engineers and architects to consider this phenomenon and make suitable alterations to the new constructions to withstand possible future onslaughts of this nature by the sea, which hopefully may or may not occur again.

Also there should be alarm sirens (which have a different pitch than hospital ambulances), in places of constant 24 hour vigil like police stations, army camps and responsible hotel security coast guards etc. who are in constant touch with a Central Station of monitoring, so that people at risk can be alerted in time. Otherwise the advances in modern technology will be confined only to sophisticated machines.

Politicians too should forego their limos in this hour of need
The tsunami tragedy struck our paradise island so hard, that we are still in shock. Even the poor are contributing in whatever way possible. It is the duty of all to contribute generously towards this cause. We are duty bound to help all those who have lost everything, including their kith and kin. Imagine those left only with the clothes they were wearing. All those in power should make every sacrifice possible and help rebuild our nation.

President Chandrika Kumaratunga in her address to the Presidential Secretariat staff on January 3, rightly requested public servants to serve the people in a sincere and efficient manner. She also stated that "we have to make a bigger contribution on behalf of the country at this moment. We must forget ourselves and think about the general public, including the thousands affected by the December 26 tragedy. Put country before self".

Yes true to her word, we all have to make bigger sacrifices to help all those affected. Our politicians should think seriously of handing over their luxury vehicles (jeeps and cars) to be sold and use the funds to rebuild the tsunami struck areas. After all taxpayers have paid for these vehicles. Surely our politicians could travel in less expensive light vehicles. Take an example from our big brother India. Even the highest in the country travels in an "Ambassador" car made in India.

We cannot be a nation of beggars, forever. We have to stand on our own feet. We are a poor nation who cannot afford limos costing easily over a million each for our politicians who have been voted by us to serve the nation, and not to serve themselves.

Coordinating meetings from within air conditioned halls is not what is needed. We need funds to help those in need. If all the limos are sold we will have millions to help the poor tsunami victims, who are homeless. This is the need of the hour, so please act fast.

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