21st June 1998

Top brass please take note!

Policemen, or for that matter policewomen, have never been too popular with me and I presume not so with a free-spirited citizen like me. Nevertheless there are times when I have held back to reflect and felt that we are being too unfair by these our guardians of the law. After all a good many of them do their best though they may not quite realise what the best is.

Very recently driving from Dehiwela to Ratmalana around 8 p.m I had an encounter with a batch of three or four ladies of the law (policewomen) beside the Ratmalana Police Station, on duty at the vehicle checkpoint. They were at their very best!

A 'STOP' placard which was hardly visible was thrust out at me. My wife warned me just in time and I came to a stop with a screech of brakes getting ready with the car hoodlights on to produce my identity card and licence. ''Madam'', one of them said addressing my wife in Sinhala "you are travelling without turning on your car lights. Haven't you realised it?"

We apologised and thanked them profusely and were waved on politely. No threats to charge me, no scoldings or recriminations, they were only being helpful as a matter of duty. We were grateful and indeed thought better of the policewomen in our force. Even if we may not love them we need to pay them a compliment they well deserve for a job well done.

Let us hope this incident will serve as an example to all our policemen and policewomen in the force.

People will certainly regard them with respect and not with fear, or as nuisances. Top brass please take note.

A motorist
Ratmalana.

We shall remember them

Sometime back the officials of the Housing Authority attached to the Soysapura Housing Complex arbitarily decided to dump garbage in an open space surrounded by several blocks of flats despite strong protests of the flat dwellers. Appeals were made on several occasions to all the authorities concerned but all of them seemed to be quite unconcerned and turned a deaf ear to all such appeals.

The blocks of flats directly affected by this dump are B1, B2, B7, B8 and B9, while several other flats are affected to some extent. Quite apart from the unbearable stench this place has also become a breeding ground for mosquitoes, flies and other vermin resulting in several elderly people and children regularly falling ill. Sooner than later the healthy adults too would be affected.

There are several authorities who have contributed to this state of affairs but the sole responsibility would lie fairly and squarely on the shoulders of the Ministry of Housing under whose purview comes the Housing Authority. If something similar happened in any other country stern action would have been taken by the authorities concerned against the violators of their environmental laws. But not so in our fair Paradise Isle. Here the perpetrators themselves are the state agencies.

As for the apathy of the public officials we can do nothing but to grin and bear. In regard to the politicians, we shall remember them! As the sun dawns on the day of the Elections we shall remember them!!

Soysapura Flat Dwellers,
Moratuwa.

Are the benefits worth the charges?

A cool 300 million rupees (or more) every two years! This is what the government earns from the thousands of expatriate workers as "Insurance charges" when they leave for employment, mostly to Middle Eastern countries.

Each expatriate worker is asked to pay Rs. 3,600 the first time and Rs. 2,400 after two years at various 'collection centres', failing which the ever vigilant special officers catch them at the airport somehow and then asked to pay Rs. 3,600. Most of the workers are caught unawares of this payment, since when they are abroad they do not know any new rules and laws being implemented in Sri Lanka.

Some expatriates are able to evade paying this amount at the airport. It is alleged that certain security officers resort to corrupt practices whereby a worker is able to pay a small sum to them direct and avoid paying the bigger amount.

When the government first decided to levy a certain amount from the expatriate workers, which they called 'Insurance charges,' we thought it was going to be a once-and-for-all payment. I do not think even 5 percent of those who made this payment have benefited or will ever benefit.

One of the so-called benefits is, in the event of death, the expenditure incurred for the body to be sent to Sri Lanka will be paid by the government. However, most of the companies operating in Middle East are able to spend for such humanitarian matters which occurs very rarely. It is true the poorly paid housemaids do require this benefit considering the nature of their employment and the salary they receive. But why penalise others who really do not want to participate in this scheme? This additional sum is quite unreasonable, given the fact that the same workers remit millions of dollars to Sri Lanka without which our economy would have collapsed long ago.

It would be interesting to hear from the authorities as to how much they have netted in by these charges and how much was paid out as benefits? I am sure, most of the expenditure incurred would have been the salaries and perks earned by the officers and "vigilantes" employed by the department. There will be ample support for this levy only if facts and figures indicate that workers are incurring reasonable benefits from this scheme.

T.B. Kamiss,
Oman.

Hats off to 'team man' Murali

As the last New Zealand wicket fell to signal Sri Lanka's historic innings win in the Second Test at the Galle International Stadium, the customary scramble for stumps as souvenirs produced an act of magnanimous sportsmanship, widely witnessed by Television viewers.

Niroshan Bandaratilleke, one of Sri Lanka's heroes in the Test, who had grabbed a match haul of nine wickets, was left 'stumpless'. Muttiah Muralitharan, who had managed to grab a stump, seeing young Niroshan's plight, immediately gifted it to him.

Memories are made of all too rare acts like this. Hats off to 'team man' Murali!

Rohan Amarasekera,
Kolonnawa.

Tears of Mary

Apropos the above feature article in The Sunday Times of 7th instant, the phenomenon reported by you, is not unique, though it may be the first time that such a thing happened locally. The widely read book 'Maria Rosa Mystice' reports that a similar apparition took place at Montichiari in Italy on 3rd August 1911. Our Lady wearing a violet dress and a white veil around her head, had appeared to one Pierina Gilli while she was in a hospital where she was employed as a nurse. "She was very sad, her eyes were filled with tears which fell to the floor.'' So reported the seer.

During the last two decades, the appearance of Mary with tears have been reported on several occasions round the globe. The famous statue of Our Lady of Fatima, which was taken to America on pilgrimage, shed tears on as many as 20 occasions from 1970 to 72.

What is the message that the Mother of Jesus seems to be wanting to give us, in such weeping incidents, is a query that is difficult to answer. But the appearances in Montichiari, referred to above, had repeatedly requested the seer to pray for the priests of the Catholic Church. Mary is reported to have shown three swords to Pierina Gilli, and when questioned had replied that the first sword was her sorrow for loss of vocations as priests, the second for priests who are living in sin, the third for priests, monks and nuns who commit the treason of Judas.

It is said in the life of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, that half her life was for prayers for the edification of priests. Well, she is not the only saint who prayed for the religious men. St. Catherine of Siena, St.Clement Mary Holbaurer are two saintly characters that were preoccupied with prayers and sacrifices for the sins of priests.

Thomas A. Kempis, author of the 'Imitation of Christ', has this to say to priests. 'Unto priests, it is said, be holy as I your God, am Holy.'' This is an injuction to all priests of God, and for all time at that. So, the message is clear. Let our local priests take note.

L. R.Mahaarachchi
Moratuwa.

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