So that they are not ignored

Defence Ministry to launch Virusara card with social welfare package for war heroes and their families:

by Dhaneshi Yatawara

The Ranaviru Seva Authority(RSA) will on January 25 launch the Virusara card to assist war heroes and their families. This will provide beneficiaries better access to many products and services at discount prices from State and private sector entities, including scholarships, tangible discounts on products and services, priority on services and other facilities.

Secretary to the State Ministry of Defence A.P.G. Kithsiri and acting chairman of the Ranaviru Seva Authority, Upulangani Malagamuwa addresses the press conference at the launch of the Virusara card.

Currently, 45 corporate sector entities have pledged to support the project. The partner firms include a number of leading conglomerates and popular brands in both State and private sector industries offering services in retail trade, travel and transport, education, insurance and finance, medical and telecommunication facilities. To solve the transport problem the war heroes and their families face, at least to some extent, the National Transport Commission has agreed to issue special passes for bus and railway transport.

Despite numerous welfare measures by the government and by well-wishers, disabled soldiers face numerous challenges in their day-to-day lives. Travelling for their daily needs, to the hospital, banks from the village is invariably a hassle especially for those living with their families.

The Ranaviru Seva Authority (RSA) has for over fifteen years extended its services to war heroes, their families and young widows of soldiers killed in action. “We cannot forget the fact that it was because of the sacrifice of our war heroes that we have a peaceful and safe environment today. Our future generation should know this as well,” Upulangani Malagamuwa acting chairman of the RSA said.

“We need to show their wives, children and parents the development path. They should be on par with the rest of the nation, when it is moving towards a developed state. Hence we are spending heavily for their benefit,” she said.

As some children were not fortunate to see their soldier fathers alive when they were born, their mothers have a huge responsibility to build a world for them, Malagamuwa said. There is a special allocation in the Budget to help wives of war heroes who were now single parents.

Quick recognition

The Ministry of Defence has introduced the Virusara card, to alleviate their woes, Secretary to the Ministry Karunasena Hettiarachchi said last week. The State Minister of Defence handles the operation. The card will be distributed through the RSA.

According to the Secretary to the State Minister of Defence, A.P.G. Kithsiri, there were several requests from war heroes regarding shortcomings in the welfare measures provided to them. To streamline the support, the government decided to issue the ‘Virusaru’ card, he said.

The Card enables quick recognition and identification of war heroes and their families numbering over 300,000.

State Minister of Defence Ruwan Wijewardene said the plight of school-going children and spouses of these war heroes and those with permanent disabilities, some of whom are in wellness, rehabilitation centres or hospices for the rest of their lives, should not go unnoticed as it is a moral obligation and a prime responsibility of the government.

The war in Sri Lanka, for nearly three decades, had triggered widespread psychological trauma among soldiers, where some were constantly in the operational areas for over 10 years. The psychological wounds of soldiers, were underestimated and it took many years for the Sri Lankan authorities to recognise the impact of combat trauma, especially the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). This is an emotional, psychological and behavioral stress reaction among soldiers and officers due to war.

According to a research by Dr. Ruwan Jayatunge, based on rough estimates, 8-12 percent of Sri Lankan combatants were suffering from combat related PTSD.

Combat related PSTD

“Many victims experience intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, nightmares, intense rage, apathy, cynicism, alienation, depression, mistrust and reduced life interest,” he said stressing that these psychological scars affect their daily lives making them dysfunctional and vulnerable. Dr. Jayatunge, one of the pioneers in studying PTSD psycho-social effects, has been working with Sri Lankan war veterans at all levels.

According to him, PTSD is a serious mental health problem among Sri Lankan soldiers. Following a case study, Dr. Jayatunge, said a private soldier, who was redeployed in the North after treatment for an injury due to a blast

at the Thalladi camp in Mannar, was showing signs of PTSD. The soldier’s intolerance to revisit the place, irritable nature and uncontrollable anger were prominent. Several times he had been punished by platoon leaders for disciplinary infraction.

The impact of fear, physiological arousal, horror, survival guilt and hopelessness in combat cannot be underestimated, he said.

In his research on traumatic brain injury, Dr. Jayatunge, said in Sri Lanka from 1983 to 2009, over 200,000 military personal were deployed in operational areas and a considerable number sustained mild to severe head injuries following enemy attack.

In his research conducted for seven months from August 2002, Dr. Jayatunge found 29 military personnel with traumatic brain injuries from the sample group of 824 Sri Lankan Army servicemen undergoing treatment at the Psychiatric ward of the Colombo Military Hospital. The categorisation was based on the diagnosis of the Consultant Psychiatrist of the Sri Lanka Army. A significant number of combatants had post traumatic reaction soon after traumatic combat. The majority went undetected and untreated, according to Dr. Jayatunge. The RSA will open a special centre to provide psychological treatment for affected war heroes, said acting Chairperson Upulangani Malagamuwa. “We have requested specialists and many have come forward. We need more psychiatrists and psychologists,” she said.

For rehabilitation of the injured and disabled soldiers and officers, the Ranaviru Seva Abhimansala 1,2,3 and Mihindu Seth Medura were set up.

The Sri Lanka Army Directorate of Rehabilitation said there were over 20,000 officers and soldiers at different levels were facing disabilities and some were in service, while some had left the Army on medical grounds. The Mihindu Seth Medura in Attidiya is dedicated to paraplegic soldiers and officers.

Special treatment

Director of Rehabilitation of the Army Brigadier S. K. Thirunavukarsu said some disabled soldiers in the Abhimasala welfare centres in Anuradhapura, Pangolla and Kurunegala, had deployed soldiers to take care of their peers. The Sri Lanka Army Seva Vanitha Unit and Regimental Seva Vanitha Units were taking care of some aspects of the welfare of these war heroes by providing houses and scholarships to their children.

Apart from routine, the Army in collaboration with the Department of Vocational Training were providing vocational training to disabled soldiers who wished to retire on medical grounds. Military personnel retiring under normal circumstances could choose a vocational training option of six months to one year.

“Most of them are recruited to companies during their internship, which is part of the training program,” added Brig. Thirunavukarasu. The major problem faced by officers and soldiers deployed in the frontlines during the war was the lack of opportunity in further education and qualify. When questioned as to whether there was any special system introduced to support these officers and soldiers,i Military spokesman Birg. Jayanath Jayaweera said it was decided by the selection board. “Any officer or soldier could apply to follow suitable courses, but the selection will be on the availability of vacancies in these courses,” he said.

Be it counselling, psychological treatment or the urgent need of logistic support, these men and their families still struggle to get on with life. Therefore, paying attention to these men, widows and their families is of utmost importance, before a social tragedy occurs, he said.