A humane gesture

By Ranga CHANDRARATHNE

"It was not yet mid-day. How beautiful had the day begun? That morning mirth prevented me from thinking beyond the first two lines of Robert Herrick's poem. Hearing about the disaster I began to realise that world's true nature is expressed in its last two lines. Sweet day so calm, so cool, so bright. The bridal of the earth and sky: The dew shall weep thy fall tonight. For thou must die. All the transients are impermanent. Philosophers and poets who could think profoundly understood this phenomenon at all times in all climes. To call it pessimism is to deny reality".

Chamila Lakshani Gunathilaka, a grade 10 student of Debarawewa Central College, Tissamaharama thus expresses her heart rending experience in her short story 'Morning Glory' that won the first place in the islandwide essay competition conducted among school children.

Tsunami Affected Area Rebuilding Project of the Ministry of Justice and Law Reforms funded by the Asian Development Bank have published three anthologies containing several award winning short stories, essays and drawings coinciding with the 4th anniversary of the tsunami.

It was an occasion people rose above not only the ferocious tsunami waves that wiped out entire communities, but also above artificial barriers such as caste, creed, social status and even frontiers of nationalities to celebrate the invincible human spirit. The essays, drawings and short stories in print bear not only testimony to the candid views of the children but also their heartfelt concern for the fellow beings. The amalgam of essays and short stories codify the first hand experience of the survivors as well as of those who had been thoroughly moved by the tragedy. Though not known, apart from providing psychological solace for the tsunami affected people, the project has provided them with much -needed legal aid in reclaiming lost or destroyed legal documents such as birth certificates, death certificates and educational certificates. In addition, the project also helps to stamp out social stigma associated with tsunami affected people. Though it is unbelievable, some of the principals of schools were reported to have refused to admit children affected by tsunami branding them as "Tsunami children". Ministry of Justice and Law Reform had to intervene to settle the issue resulting in the circular issued by the Ministry of Education that tsunami affected children be admitted to the nearest school. It is time for the concerned authorities. to stamp out discrimination against p eople affected by the tsunami. It is pathetic that still some are branded as "Tsunami families, tsunamiyos, tsunami children and tsunami houses". A case in point is a family who miraculously survived following the Peraliya train tragedy. The family though it survived the tragedy had to undergo humiliating at the hands of their fellow neighbours when the heads of the family, who are Ayurvedic physicians, had lost employment due to social stigma. Strangely the patient did not turn up at the physicians following the tragedy due to the social stigma and the mystical belief that family would bring misfortune to the people.