6th June 1999

There is total indifference

On May 9, I had the privilege of attending the AGM of the Central Province Catholic Educational Solidarity Foundation held at St. Anthony's Cathedral Hall, Kandy.

This meeting was attended by delegates from all the parishes of Kandy Diocese which covers the Central Province.

The main topic at this meeting, was the dilemma facing the Catholic parents of the Central Province who were unable to admit their children to Government schools where the Catholic religion is taught.

The general consensus was for the restoration of the premier Catholic schools which were taken over by the state sometime back, as these institutes were unable to cater to the needs of all the Catholic children in the Central Province. This situation is the culmination of the prevailing system which has drastically reduced the original Catholic percentage, which prevailed at the time of the schools take-over in the year 1960.

This biased system in state - managed schools of Catholic origin is an act of discrimination towards Catholics. However, the State-managed schools of other major religious denominations, foster the interests of those religions in those schools. Furthermore, Buddhist children are entitled to the privilege of the majority in ratio even to attend schools of Catholic origin, where Buddhism is also taught. Muslims too, in addition to the many Muslim schools in the Central Province are entitled to admit their children to Government schools of Catholic origin, where Islam is taught. But the minority Catholic children who are not fortunate enough to gain admission to a Government school where Catholic religion is taught, are deprived of their fundamental rights to be educated with a knowledge of the Catholic faith.

It is a pathetic and heart-rending experience to listen to some Catholic parents lamenting and sobbing that their children are denied admission to a school where the Catholic religion is taught. In a leading Government school at Katugastota, the Catholic children are forced to study Buddhism.

The indifference of the Catholic lawmakers in Parliament towards the plight of the Catholic children in the Central Province, is tantamount to betrayal of their own faith.

In Parliament, there is a Ministry for Buddhist Affairs, a Minister for Muslim Affairs and also a Minister for Hindu Affairs. But unfortunately the interests of the Catholics are not represented in our Parliament.

We hope some Catholic legal luminaries with a Christian conscience, or for the sake of their Alma Mater, volunteer to render their valuable services for the spiritual welfare of the least of their little brethren in the Central Province! Sad to say, the Catholics in the Central Province would end up as an endangered species.

Peter Dep Weerasinghe
Secretary - Parish Pastoral Council,
Sacred Heart Church,
Kandy

Bring in young blood

Sri Lankan cricket captain Arjuna Ranatunga has given the reasons for the failure of our top order batsmen. According to him, the fault lies with the "damp wickets and the white ball".

Now, this really is news to us. From the day, this competition started, only a white ball has been used. We have not seen any other colour.

Then, with regard to the wickets, almost all of them have been damp, throughout the series, and this information comes from the T.V. commentators.

If the reason for the failure of our top batsmen was this, how come the players from other teams have succeeded? We have seen the Australians, Pakistanis, West Indians, New Zealanders, and Indians making good scores, on the same wickets. Sachin Tendulkar Saurav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid, made centuries there. Other players too have gone beyond twenty or thirty runs. It is only our 'top order' that failed.

So, obviously the fault is not with the damp wickets and the white ball.

The fault, Mr. Ranatunga, is, as we see it, not with the wicket and the ball. It is with the form of our top order. It is true, that four years ago, these gentlemen were in good form - and they were four years younger! Today, they seem to have become too old, for this game.

Arjuna Ranatunga and Aravinda de Silva are in their middle thirties.

Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth said sometime back, that "old age is a fact of life". Our top order, should get the meaning of this clearly. They were brilliant, when they were young. They were strong and agile and they performed exceptionally well. Now, though, things have changed. We have seen how 'young blood,' in the form of Mahela Jayawardena and Upul Chandana, perform. It is a pleasure to see them facing the bowlers fearlessly, and fielding superbly. The future of our cricket depends on such young people.

As I see it, we need a big change in our team. The gentlemen of the top order - and this includes the captain - should graciously bow out. They have had their day and their glory. We, as a nation, are thankful to them, for their achievements. Now, let the young people come and take their rightful place. They may make mistakes - but because they are young, they will have enough time, to learn.

L. J. Rajapakse
Mawatagama

They showed a fighting spirit

Anyone who watched the World Cup match between Sri Lanka and South Africa played on 19.05.99 must admit that the South Africans are the real Champions of Cricket. There is no one to match them.

From a hopeless position they rose to a respectable victory. Hanse Cronje and his men showed their power and the spirit to fight.

Sanath Jayasuriya's dismissal where he was bowled with middle and leg stumps on the ground, and the last over assault by Lance Klusener hitting Chaminda Vaas for 22 runs were two incidents that cannot be forgotten easily.

Some other team may win the World Cup '99, however no team can be matched with the South Africans. They are the real World Champions even though they do not have the title at present.

L. Amarasekera
Colombo

Why only maids and not professionals?

With reference to the frequent articles in the media I personally feel this is a good time for at least one Sri Lankan living in the Gulf to make some effort to relate the situation where Lankan maids are concerned.

A system named "Free Visa' is widely popular in the Gulf; giving the option of purchasing a visa at a cost, when the inability to find a sponsor arises. In this case, the purchaser is responsible for her air-fare, lodging, food and safety, unlike in the case of a sponsored maid.

To gain entry to the Gulf, a large sum of money needs to be raised through various methods, either through mortgage of land, or pawning of jewellery, as most maids come from poverty stricken homes. They soon realise they are unable to find sufficient money to make ends meet which results in them resorting to various methods to raise money. This is where the long standing maids do come forward, lending a shoulder to carry on, making arrangements to find employment under any category.

As most maids do come from large families, loneliness is the next problem they are faced with . This results in them forming relationships with the opposite sex. Friday being the official holiday in Middle East, many visit the open-market ('Souk') where many household articles are sold at very cheap prices. This gives them the opportunity of meeting the opposite sex. Sometimes this leads to sexual relationships, most times ending up in a disaster. An unwanted pregnancy being the ultimate result, the master of the house is held responsible. This claim is done with two main purposes; one is to claim a huge amount of money from the master or to find a father to the unborn. A few sponsored maids are also granted Friday a holiday and they too fall into the same category though not all, as they are usually protected by their employers, as Arabs are fully aware of the above situation. Either they do find companions on their own or others who are well aware of the situation in the Gulf to accomodate them. As they have to answer their parents or husbands back home, a story is soon made up stating they were molested by an Arab. Once the mistress of the house is aware of the situation and adding fuel to the existing matter that her spouse is being held responsible for this, how do you expect her to react in such a crucial situation?

There may be maids who lead a decent life but they too are often targeted by trouble makers who wait for an opportunity to snatch the innocent, promising them better employment, accommodation, etc.

The training certificate issued by SLBFE on completion of the training conducted by the Dept. states that the maids have been well trained under the categories stated. The majority of them have not even seen most of the latest household equipment. This is very common among the housemaids who arrive from remote areas. I feel that the method of the training being conducted is not right. As most of these housemaids are expected to handle the equipment on their own they often end up destroying or breaking the article, and hence are beaten or forced to pay for the article.

Another common complaint we hear is that they are over burdened with household chores. As many do arrive from poverty- stricken homes they complain they cannot cope with many of the day-to-day duties. If steps can be taken to educate them, things could take a better turn and this would stop all the Lankan women being treated as maids too. Why do all these troubles arise where only maids are concerned and not for professionals?

Living in the Middle East is very safe compared to our own country. The rate of rape and theft is at a very low level and a young woman is safe on her own on the road even at 2.00am.

Ms A. Jayasundera
Colombo

Return to the Letters to the Editor Contents

Return to the Plus Contents