Army a pillar of strength in national development :

A salute to never-ending dedication and commitment

by Dhameshi Yatawara

On May 18, 2009 the country was waiting to hear the news of their motherland regaining peace. On that day, Pudukuduyirippu in Mullaitivu became the nerve centre for military operations and for the media.

Today that enthusiasm was not visible among the citizens – but it is a good sign, in a way. Life has returned back to normalcy and in general, citizens are not bothered about ethnicity, colour of the skin or the language people speak. What matters to the majority of the people of this country even in the North and the East, is solving problems they face in their day-to-day lives.

This positive change was not established overnight. It was the result of never giving up the effort to rise against ruthless terrorism. It is over the blood, toil and tears of the Sri Lanka Army soldiers the country gained peace and it cannot be forgotten.

Each and every soldier of the Army has every reason to be proud of their ‘job'. It is they who made it possible for the Army to obtain a significant place in world military annals as the only force that completely annihilated a ruthless terrorist outfit like the LTTE while rescuing over 300,000 civilians.

The Army proved its fighting abilities in ‘Eelam Battle I’ and gradually strengthened its fighting power to face the increasing threat from the LTTE. The humane touch was not something new for the Army – even during ‘Operation Liberation’ to capture Vadamarachchi in 1987, soldiers liberated civilians trapped in the LTTE grip and looked after them until they were sent to safer places.

During the last humanitarian operation or 'Eelam Battle IV' things became more difficult for the soldiers.

The LTTE implemented a new ruthless strategy – using civilians as a human shield. Rescuing civilians became the hardest part of the battle.

Real battle

As a result, a large number of soldiers were killed in action or were injured – of which a considerable number with severe injuries making them totally disabled for the rest of their lives.

Today, five centres operating under the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Army look after heroes who have become totally dependent on others due to disabilities caused by injuries during the humanitarian operation.

The Mihindu Seth Medura set up by the MoD, the Army's three 'Abhimansala’ Wellness Resorts and the Ranaviru Sevana at Ragama cater to the most needy among all the heroes, a significant number of officers and soldiers who need constant care are still at home living with difficulties.

They experience the real battle in life though we think that the battle against terrorism has ended. To all 297 totally disabled heroes, scattered across the country, lack of proper and continuous therapeutic care and more importantly, domestic facilities for them at their homes, poses a major setback to their continued well-being.

The Attidiya 'Mihindu Seth Medura’, now fully functional with 50 heroes as well as the Anuradhapura ‘Abimansala’, Kamburupitiya 'Abimansala - 2’ and the new Pangolla ‘Abimansala – 3’, has brought relief to them.

Abhimansala wellness resorts are equipped with villas, cottages, hydrotherapy and physiotherapy facilities, shrine room, medical ward, swimming pool, gymnasium, medical laboratory, main hall, ‘Nenasala’ IT training unit, dental unit, emergency medical unit, dining hall, kitchen, indigenous medicine unit and residential quarters for staff, which facilities are not available in the residential areas of those dependent heroes.

These are manned round the clock by specially trained medical and professional nursing teams.

Even when the doctors categorise them as bed-ridden for the rest of their lives, these young men still hope for a chance to serve the motherland once more to the best of their ability. Others – those who have physically got back on their feet – reported back for full-time duty despite the fact that they still face constant discomforts due to their disabilities.

Today the valiant soldiers of the Army are the driving force behind the gigantic development drive launched by the government in the entire country ensuring a better life for the community.

Development programs

From small scale ‘shramadanas’ at village level to mega development projects at national level, Army officers and soldiers shoulder full responsibility. They are a blessing to the resettling communities of the North and the East. The became the best administrators to implement Government development programs during the initial rebuilding processes in the North and East.

Before Government administration was set up in those areas, the Army helped in rebuilding terrorism-ravaged areas quickly and completely. From temporary shelters until the people built permanent houses, soldiers gave a helping hand.

Army medical teams deployed in these areas were the life savers of these people until Government hospitals were put up.

The soldiers are experts in the art of repairing and rebuilding as they are the sons of the average villager. They are good at handy work and mending a roof or rebuilding a wall is not a big deal for them. They clean school buildings, repair community halls and kovils. The area is dotted with Hindu temples and churches of different dimensions.

Soldiers have not yet put down their duties to take a rest. They still continue to serve the nation on its road to development. In this new phase, the Army is opening new vistas for Northern youth. Being able to make a remarkable contribution based on their islandwide positioning of troops the Army was ready to support the Government's reconciliation process.

In these efforts the first batch Tamil recruits were taken from Kilinochchi district and all of them were girls. Girls were taken in to the Army for the sole reason that they can be the best communicators with the civil community and while doing their routine duties in the Army they were sent to these backward communities to teach women and girls a livelihood skill.

New recruits

A significant number of households mainly in the Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu districts are headed by women, as the men of the family have either died during terrorist attacks or unfortunately left these women as they had no courage to run a family facing hardships.

These newly recruited Tamil girls were the correct set of people to be sent to strengthen the lives of those courageous women and girls. The second round of recruitment started in Mullaitivu. While the first batch continues with their duties in different parts of the Northern province, the second batch is almost completing their three-month basic training in Mullaitivu.

By the beginning of May, the Army started recruiting Tamil boys to the service. The initial round for this started early this month in the Maritimepattu Divisional Secretariat in Mullaitivu. Youth in the area will be recruited to the Army's tradesmen branch in the fields of engineering, plumbing, welding, motor mechanics, masonry and electrical work. The first phase will continue until 30th June, and cover all Divisional Secretary areas in Mullaitivu. This will be the first time Northern men are recruited to the army since the end of terrorism. The recruitment process will begin in Oddusudan, Pudumattalan, Mullaitivu and other areas as well.

Following the victory in May 2009, the Army is at the turning point of a new era – a better one for sure. Before long these men and women living a rough and tough professional life will become an icon, a symbol of peace, harmony and true reconciliation. Their never ending dedication to make the Motherland a better place for the future generation deserves salutation forever.