Norwegian resistance
by Aditha Dissanayake
Don't get me wrong. Jon Ivar Melebye, when I meet him last Friday,
takes me into his confidence. Totally. He says he sought me out because
he has a message to convey to every corner of the world. Pen poised,
heart beating, I am all ears. He utters two words. "Sri Lanka". Sri
Lanka? I repeat his words. He makes the letter O with the fingers of his
right hand. "The greatest country in the world".
Isn't he being a bit unpatriotic? No. He is talking about holiday
destinations. "Before I came to Sri Lanka I have been 'holidaying' in
Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, then I came to Sri Lanka four years
ago and since then it has been only Sri Lanka for me".
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Jon Ivar Melebye |
Has he not been listening to recent news bulletins? "I have" admits
Jon. " But the situation here in Sri Lanka is no different to situations
in most countries of the world". He says he could get killed in London,
he could get killed crossing the road in Norway. Here is someone who
believes if something is going to happen it will happen no matter where
in the world you are.
To prove his point Jon says he brought his nine-year-old daughter
with him last year. "Would I bring her to a place which I consider
dangerous?" He asks me. He would have loved to bring her this year too,
but having recently purchased a house in Norway says he could not afford
to buy a ticket for her.
As for him, his wife and his parents had chipped in with their
savings and arranged this holiday because it has reached a point that if
he didn't go to Sri Lanka once a year, he gets depressed and finds it
difficult to get on with his work (he is a physiotherapist in a hospital
in a small town in Norway where the population is only three thousand).
"My wife is a nurse and I hope to bring her here next year, perhaps to
stay for about three months."
Right now, Jon is staying with a family in Unawatuna where he starts
his day when the grand ma brings him a huge cup of tea every morning. Is
there any better way than this to start the day? He has never met such
friendly people anywhere else in the world.
An incident which happened last year proves his point. When he had
found his visa card was broken and could not withdraw money to pay for
the taxi to take him and his daughter to the Katunayake airport, the
tuk-tuk driver had taken him there free of charge.
Jon believes here is a country brimming with Samaritans.
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