• A humanitarian appeal

• Jak Tree: Condemned to extinction

• Identity confusion

• To: Sri Lanka...

• Da Vinci Code
  
  
  A humanitarian appeal

Cancer is rampant all over the island. Many people from Point Pedro to Dondra Head, often in dire straits, have to come all the way to the Cancer Hospital. Those who come with the patients are often compelled to spend a day or two in the vicinity of the Hospital in order to complete the treatment regime.

There are hardly any places in or around Maharagama, where a poor person can find suitable accommodation. Venerable Rahula Thera has out of immense mercy and compassion allotted a large part of his small temple, situated close to the Hospital, as a resting place to these desperate people. He has gone even further to provide them with adequate meals and at times even the necessary drugs.

There is absolutely no discrimination either on ethnical or on religious grounds. All are equally welcome.

But it is now becoming increasingly difficult for the Venerable Thera to cope up with the increasing influx of people to the Hospital. The temple area is also confined and has no space for expansion. This has posed an immense problem to the benevolent Thera.

The Y.M.B.A., Maharagama has been in constant contact with the Ven Thera and is fully aware of this tragic human problem. Strenuous efforts had been made by the Y.M.B.A. to obtain a suitable premise to hold its head quarters and to extend it social service activities but with no success.

The Government in appreciation of the various selfless social services rendered by the Y.M.B.A, consisting mainly of many pensioners, has finally allotted a small block of land to the Y.M.B.A. in the proximity of the Cancer Hospital. The plans for a new building have been approved and the estimated cost worked out. The construction cost it appears is quite prohibitive.

We are making this public appeal to all people not only in Sri Lanka but those who are abroad as well, to assist us in this noble venture of setting up this social services centre. We are aware that often colossal sums are being frittered away on various public and private functions for a few privileged people.

Our appeal goes to these organisations to at least be aware that there are also a vast majority of people who are in pathetic straits and need at least some human concern. Would it be to much expect these organisations to curtail some of these expenditure and to generously divert some of it for a worthy human cause to alleviate at least a modicum of human suffering?

Financial assistance can be directed in many ways (I) a lump sum contribution (II) a standing order at a Bank (III) a monthly instalment, etc. These should be sent to the Treasurer, Y.M.B.A. Maharagama, Randula Building High Level Road, Maharagama. We are also willing to accept even assistance in the from of building materials etc. Necessary information can be obtained from the Treasurer.

by Asoka Devendra, President, Y.M.B.A Maharagama.

Jak Tree: Condemned to extinction

Jak became a protected tree by law, the reasoning being that it was a producer of food.

This was an important factor in the 1970s under the Sirima Bandaranaike Government when the people of this country starved as never before or since, and ate from garbage bins and even barks from trees!

That situation is no more. Jak is rotting under the trees. After any "pola" you see discarded Jak fruit abandoned by vendors on the road side. Jak is a versatile timber, durable, time tested, used in this country for centuries for furniture and house building.

It has excellent strength, beauty and durability and lasts for centuries resisting insects and moisture. But who plants Jak now? No one! It is considered a useless burden on any land and is threatened with extinction due to blind and foolish counter-productive policies which need immediate revision.

An excellent and highly valued timber has disappeared from the market and our hard earned foreign exchange is squandered on import of inferior timbers from abroad.

Properly handled Jak planting will outdo all other re-afforestation projects as it could be a continuous earner after the first few years, an advantage none of the other forest plantations have.

by Lincoln Wijeyesinghe, Dehiwala.

Identity confusion

By circular number 04/CAS/10/07/033 of Ministry of Public Order and Security an arbitrary and insensible decision has been arrived at by the Ministry of Public Order and Security ignoring the rights and privileges individual security companies posses in terms of dress style of uniforms and colours each company had been using for the last several decades (by some companies).

Firstly, it must be stated that though the Ministry and the former Competent Authority agreed to have representatives from the Industrial Security Foundation (I.S.F.) Incorporated body, on the advisory committee it never materialised. It is our view that persons who have no idea about Private Security or Industrial Security appear to be misleading the Government.

Secondly, this is a Democratic country where democracy is practised in reality and we are confident his Excellency the President who was our Chief Guest in 1995, as Minister of Labour still respects person's demoractic rights before implementing laws pertaining to a dress code etc...

Before changing the uniforms it is essential to find out what threat it has posed to the Armed Services and the Police by the Security companies. Has there been any incident in the past? We agree in "toto" that none of the security companies should wear uniforms similar to the Armed Services and Police. Has any terrorist or criminal been found in uniforms belonging to security companies?

Therefore, it is best to instruct all security organisations plus companies which have their own security not to wear uniforms similar to police and armed services and penalise them by giving a deadline rather than getting all security companies to wear one colour.

by Nihal de Alwis

To: Sri Lanka...

From: USA

Our mass media has reported that the George Bush Administration is very concerned about our island nation! The spokesperson articulating this 'concern' has stated that the USA thinks the answer to our age-old national problem is a political/negotiated settlement and not a military one. I find it hard to connect to this U.S. sentiment as far as Sri Lanka is concerned, with what the USA is doing in Lebanon, courtesy Israel.

In the Newsweek of July 24, 2006, is the question asked, "Are Israel and the United States ready for this proxy war?" The same Weekly stated "Our children will not be the only ones to die". Hizbullah has warned Israel, "You don't know who you are fighting with". How can Bush backed by his 'Religious Right', ably supported by his U.S. football fan Rice, advise Sri Lanka to do something totally alien to his U.S. hegemony plan in Lebanon?

Also, Kofi Annan in his concern for Sri Lanka in the midst of the Mavilaru situation, does not condemn the LTTE. Annan and Co. want the Hizbullah to disarm but not the LTTE. Of course, Annan has the precedent of Norway not asking the LTTE to disarm in godfathering the MoU and the CFA of February 2002.

I know that in conflict resolution it is like walking on the razor's edge and being stoned from both sides. However, cannot we, like Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi asking the British to quit India, ask Bush also to quit? Or should we ask Bush to fight more wars so that all those who earn blood money by making, selling and buying arms, increase their bank balances?

by Sydney Knight, Rajagiriya.

Da Vinci Code

The 'Da Vinci Code' will be an annoying irritant in the minds of many Christian generations to come. But I feel that it does not require the elaborate explanations and arguments that were put forward to counter it. In this world, as history teaches us, fanatics of various hues and shades are born and for some of them, satisfaction lies in slandering what is good, pure and true even with the help of concocted theories.

If anybody has read the book "Kanni Mariage Hati" he would have seen how the Queen of Heaven, Mary Most Pure was ruthlessly slandered and derided by a fanatic. If subsequent happenings were followed up, that reader would have seen how the author and the publisher of that scurrilous book ended up.

The former died of a maggot infested body with intense suffering and its publisher a brother of the author was killed along with thirty four others at a party when a huge portion of the Atha Gala (Elephant Rock) in Kurunegala crashed down on his house on a stormy day, submerging into the earth the house and the whole party with it.

A rescue operation engineers had declared, was not possible due to serious hazards to the environment and thus they all were buried there for ever. With this story I am not attempting to intimidate Mr. Dan Brown the author of the 'Da Vinci Code' which vilifies to a much baser degree the Son of God Jesus Christ Our Lord himself.

However, let him realize that the Omnipotent God moves in wondrous ways His works to perform and when He decides to stretch His Divine hand of Powerful Protection, one never knows nor could foretell what the dire consequences will be as we see in the above related happening.

However, all activities and fictitious assumptions of fanatics and dreamers come within the broad ambit of the famous axiom.

by J. C. W. Silva, Moratuwa.