When the sleigh bells ring

My dear Santa, These must be bad days for you, with stories about the ice floes in the Arctic melting. How long can you be safe in your home in Greenland with this global warming taking place? Will the reindeer move to safer areas or will they get wiped out if the Arctic get warmer; and how is Rudolph taking to all these dangers?

How will you know the way to our homes if the glow on Rudolph's nose is dimmed by warming? I worry for the time when we kids will soon have to send you gifts of freezers to help keep it right cold for you, to plan those lovely surprises for us at Christmas.

My uncle tells me the first thing you must do on your sleigh ride through the skies this Christmas is to drop in at wherever President Bush spends his Christmas, to give him a copy of what is called the Kyoto agreement on weather, and slip some kiddies toys into his stocking with a little note that there will be more on the way if he signs this Kyoto thing. I don't know much about Kyoto and all that, but after how his party lost the elections recently, Georgie must be needing toys and other little playthings to cheer him up.

And then there's Blair. My uncle says he is a B - lair. I won't use the B-word when writing to you, because you only bring gifts to good kids. I don't know why my uncle keeps calling him Georgie's pet poodle; he doesn't look at all like a poodle. But gifting him a little poodle to play with might help to put him in better spirits, with his having to give up his job in the New Year. Poor Blair has also been questioned by the police there for something about honours for funds, sounds very naughty. How dare a policeman do that? Believe me Santa, I am told such a thing can never happen in our good country. I mean the questioning of the Pee Emm by the police, not the honours for funds.

When your sleigh loaded with gifts comes to our country you will be dazzled by all the lights and decorations, especially in Colombo. Please don't turn your sleigh away from us thinking we are a rich country. All that is very misleading; there are only a few who are rich here. The kids will be waiting for you to bring them cheer with gifts. If you look beyond all those lights, and Rudolph is not frightened by all the fire-crackers at midnight, you will see the homes of those who are not rich and have no time and money for decorations. That is where you can bring real cheer to the hearts of little kids like me.

Please Santa, although there won't be any bright lights to direct you there, don't fail to go over to the East of our country. My uncle says the guns should be silent for Christmas, so you, Rudolph and your sleigh will be safe. The East is where there you are most in need this Christmas. There are thousands of our people, especially little children like me, thrown out of their homes, living in refugee camps - oops I'm sorry, they are called IDP camps, I don't know why. Those kids and their sad parents too will be glad to have some cheer this Christmas, helping to take their minds away from the guns booming around them.

While in the East, I'm sure you will be able to slip into Vakarai, to bring some hope and even a little joy to all the people forcibly held there by those deadly Tigers, who are on the prowl all the time, preventing them from escaping to freedom. There are many kids there, Santa, who will be delighted by all the love and cheer you bring to them. I'm sure you will spend a little extra time with them once you get there.

If you can get through all the barriers and reach his bunker in the Vanni, please Santa, don't fail to give the Tiger chief Prabhakaran, some toys to take his mind away from guns and killing, and with all the magic you have put something harmless in those cyanide capsules that his members wear round their necks. I'm sure you will not miss the child soldiers in those parts, who will also be waiting for you.

My uncle tells me to ask you not to be angry by what he calls the "commercializing" - hope I got the word right - of Christmas. He says this is all because everyone worships the market. May be he is right. The shops are full of goodies, but I see so many little children staring into shop windows with no hope of even stepping into those fancy places. It's so sad to see how little Jesus has been pushed out of Christmas, especially in all those advertisements on TV.

One last request, Santa, will it be possible for all those Santas that come out of hiding during this season, to get together and do something to stop your name and image being used by business people to sell their goods. It's so ugly, I'm sure it must be stopped.

Bye Santa. I shall wait for your sleigh bells to ring at midnight.

Punchi Pancha.

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