Your Sunday Times highlights for this week

Read this week's Sunday Times for your interesting articles

Among tomorrow's articles are:

- New body to manage disaster recovery funds and rebuilding 

- Govt. ends no-pay leave to work elsewhere for state eployees 

- National Achives appeals for freezers to protect flood-hit records 

- Displaced peple asked to stay put until landslide threats are assesed

- Kandy courts, others damaged by flooding 

- A beep in time... Was the sisaster avoidable 

- Bell 212 helicopter lost lift control; crash not due to civilian obstruction 

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

The 5th Column's full text is as follows; 

My dear Mother Lanka,

I am writing to you at a time when you are in agony, reeling from the effects of the worst natural disaster you ever suffered. The 2004 Tsunami may have killed 35,000 people and the ’78 cyclone nearly a thousand but they didn’t leave a countrywide trail of destruction that was this widespread.

The initial shock of devastation and death across all twenty-five districts of the country has now sunk in, in some instances quite literally. Since then, we have witnessed a variety of reactions to Cyclone Ditwah. That is what I wanted to write about. Sadly, it reveals so much about who we are as a nation.

Firstly, a group of people are in a big hurry to blame this on someone or some institution. It is true that if there were lapses, they must be identified and rectified. Those responsible can be named, shamed and punished. However, the aim of those who make these accusations is to gain political advantage.

They suggest that this was all the fault of the powers that be. Listening to them one feels as if, had adequate precautions been taken, Cyclone Ditwah would have turned direction and gone elsewhere. Those playing this blame game are not bothered about helping victims- except in front of cameras.

That said, this is also a good time for those in authority to turn the searchlight inwards and look into what was not done and what could have been done better. The reality is that this was once in a lifetime event and would have taken a heavy toll anyway, but with preparation that may have been reduced.  

Mother Lanka, whatever disasters hit you, you are not short of pundits who will tell us what exactly needs to be done. Some such suggestions deserve attention but others, especially when they come from politically motivated sources, need to be taken with a pinch of salt- and an abundance of caution.

Young Sajith, for example, wants us to tear up the agreement with the IMF, renegotiate tariffs with Uncle Sam’s Trump and present a new budget altogether. Easier said than done, isn’t it? At first, I thought he was joking. He wasn’t. We must thank our lucky stars that he isn’t the boss right now!

Then, Namal wants us to learn from his Gota baappa about how to handle a crisis. Have the floods made the poor boy wet behind the ears, I wonder. We saw how Gota maama handled a crisis. He got into a helicopter and flew away. We are still dealing with the economic crisis he helped to create.

Even Uncle Ranil is more politician, less statesman. Forgetting he is no longer in charge, he is calling for all party meetings and threatening court action for not declaring Emergency regulations earlier. He should know- he has been sanctioned by the highest court for imposing them during the ‘aragalaya’!

We saw Dayasiri trying to re-distribute dry rations that had already been distributed by a media network, only to be hooted away by flood victims. There is no shortage of politicians on both sides distributing ‘buth packet’ and smiling for the cameras, so they can play the ‘taking the credit’ game.    

It is not only those in the opposition who are trying to fish in troubled waters, so to speak. Not even Cyclone Ditwah can keep Handun down. First, he is all smiles as he takes a boat ride, then he rides in an army tank. Afterall all, it is not every day that he gets to travel in a vehicle that is not a double cab!

However, it is the ‘other’ Sunil who takes the cake. He says he can’t bear to see Anura sahodaraya being so insulted on social media, he wants the Police to prosecute those who do so, under Emergency Regulations. Maybe the cops should first charge him for calling his driver a ‘donkey’ in public!

It is left to Anura sahodaraya to explain to Parliament what his comrades are doing and also assure us that Emergency Regulations will not be misused at the instigation of some clowns. Once again, we get the impression that he is still running a one man show, not because he wants to but because he has to.  

Amidst all this political posturing there are thousands of unsung heroes, doing their bit for you. They have donated as much as they can from their hard-earned money, run community kitchens to feed those in need and assisted in many other ways to help those whose lives have been shattered.

They have done so not for the cameras, not to get cheap publicity that will help them at the next election and not to score debating points over political opponents. They do so because they believe in you, Mother Lanka, and they want you to rise from the debris of Ditwah, stronger and more resilient.  

So, Mother Lanka, Cyclone Ditwah, having left a trail of destruction that is unimaginable for its sheer extent and impact, has exposed the good, the bad and the ugly amongst us. Most of the rescue is over. The relief continues. Let us rebuild, remembering not to repeat the mistakes we saw during Ditwah.

Yours truly,

Punchi Putha

PS- We need to see more of the type of co-operation that we saw between Harsha and Chathuranga in Kotte, forgetting their political differences. It is a small gesture, but it sends a powerful message. Still, one can be happy with small consolations: no one has opened a ‘Helping Thambuththegama’ account!