Comments on bits of past news; never forget 9/11 and welcome multiculturism

The Sunday Island of September 12, thank goodness its print copy, showered grist on my waiting-to-word-process wrist. Hence first a couple of comments on titbits gathered from that paper; notwithstanding of great import.

Nuggets of news

‘President to attend 76th session of UN General Assembly’. Good that it is announced, as we dislike being made aware first along the vine of gossip, of visits of VVIPs overseas, which when not made publicly known, smack of underhand secrecy: Whatever for? The page one news item quoted above goes further: “The President has decided to undertake the visit with a least number of delegates in line with his principle…First Lady Ioma Rajapaksa will join the visit at her own expense.” Bravo! Great! Good example to set but hardly followed!

We heard the PM too went a-sojourning, breaking journey here and there. And then we saw pictures of him delivering a keynote address and later at lunch flanked by wife Shiranthi, GL opposite, a few others and second son. His destination? His task? His keynote address could easily have been zoomed as the meeting itself, an interreligious one, was virtual. Contingent? Said to be around 17. Methinks a visit to His Holiness, the Pope was envisaged but there is many a slip between the cup and the lip. No kissing the holy hand for Roman Catholic Mrs MR.

We well remember tales relayed of the huge contingent that accompanied Prez Mahinda Rajapaksa in chartered flights to the Big Apple and cars hired to take most in the group to their various pleasures or business spots. This car-hire alone enriched a Sri Lankan over there. The scattering sojourners would meet at cocktail parties and when the Prez of SL addressed the UN General Assembly. And we poor grounded persons paid for these junkets via taxes extracted.

How we wish the now Prez who sticks to his principles and lives, travels and advocates a simple life of non-extravagance, would extend that sensibility to his Cabinet, for instance. First, slash and send home most of them. Keep around 15, more than enough for a small country like ours, instead of creating separate ministries by divisions such as Batik and clay works, which offered state ministership to another loyalist, when they could come under the Ministry of Industry and Commerce. That is a way of saving money for Sri Lanka.

Another way to reduce forex spending

Sanjeewa Jayaweera who knows what he is talking about, his father Stanley Jayaweera having been an outstanding Sri Lankan ambassador, offers very sound advice when he states, “Sri Lanka should close down most of our overseas missions as a step towards reducing public expenditure.” Cass wonders why this has not been thought of and advocated by opposition groups. The vociferous SJB should drop their stupid lament about banning the import of underwear and talk of a sensible step as advocated by Sanjeewa J: Reduce the number of overseas embassies often created to accommodate supporters and relatives or for personal benefit. An embassy or High Commission was opened during the presidency of Mahinda R in the Seychelles. There is a Bank of Ceylon Branch in that island, Cass believes, with a handful of resident Sri Lankans. How many Sri Lankans are over there? Cass quotes dear departed Sunil of ‘Gypsies’ fame when she mourns: ‘I don’t know why’. But Sunil may have known, with many others, hence his laments in song.

Karu, the statesman, speaks

‘Karu urges President to seize opportunity to rebuild the country together with the Opposition.’ A fairly long write up of what Karu Jayasuriya said, backed by The National Movement for Social Justice, chairman of which he is, succeeding Ven Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera, appeared in the said newspaper. If half the issues Karu sensibly raises are considered and implemented, more than half of Sri Lanka’s woes could be eliminated.

Paid for striking

The teachers’ strike which only helped immensely to spread COVID-19 while they, with nobodies joining in the spree, went protesting all over the island at a most ill-opportune moment on an issue two decades old. They were given full salaries during their long strike of work, work which was greatly reduced for some engaged in online teaching. Curse them Cass swears, all over again, and more their Stalinist leader.

Never forget

Nearly 3,000 people were killed on that day; wars were launched, and the carefree, fearless mood of the US changed with fear creeping in accompanied by a new mood: Islamophobia. This happened on September 11, 2001, on a sparkling morning when men of Al Qaeda hijacked four American commercial flights and two of them ploughed into the upper floors of the twin towers of the Trade Centre in Manhattan. One dove fairly innocuously into the Pentagon and the fourth, domestic flight 93, crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, the hijackers tackled by crew and passengers.

Solemn, dignified ceremonies were held in all three sites of disaster for the anniversary, with Prez Biden and First Lady attending. In Manhattan, pairs of those who lost loved ones read out names and one in each pair expressed personal loss.

I watched the five-part Netflix documentary ‘Turning Point: 9/11 and the war on terror’ directed by Brian Knappenberger; stunned, saddened, and filled with admiration. TV critic Inkoo Kang rates this the best, “most honest and exhaustive retrospective”, of many produced for the 20th anniversary of the event.

Disasters, mostly of terrorism, must not be forgotten. Not only are they historical, but their impact can hardly ever be erased. It is the same with our Easter suicide bombing of churches. 9/11 in America has been avenged, wrongly or justifiably, mostly the latter, in the case of the killing of Osama bin Laden, the brilliant mind turned completely aberrated by a rabid corruption of Islam. Who could think up a plot to ram aeroplanes full of innocent passengers into iconic American buildings?

Bright sparks of joy and celebrations

Cursing, quibbling, prophesying Cassandra of the bitter tongue has been, of late, introducing snippets of glad tidings to her Friday conversation. Here’s one: A boost to multiculturalism which has added colour to the sports field and very much to the tennis court. Two teenaged dahlings played it out at the US Open Women’s Final. (Note: Cass did not use the usual term: ‘battled it out’. No, since the two obviously charming girls played fine tennis, smiling most of the time and exhibiting later they were friends). British Emma Raducanu, from Bromley, Kent, won the cup while Leylah Fernandez carried away the silver tray, both sweetly smiling all the way. They looked real girlish and unsophisticated for western late teenagers. Maybe it’s the mix of blood, and half of it eastern, that makes them so.

Emma Raducanu (born November 13, 2002) moved with parents Ian Raducanu of Bucharest, Romania, and Renee of Chinese descent from Canada to Britain when she was two years old. She skies and races and engages in other sports and seems intelligent too, earning two distinction passes in math and economics at her AL exam. She speaks Mandarin. World ranked at 338, she came up to the quarter-finals at Wimbledon.

Leylah Annie Fernandez, 19, too is of mixed parentage and lives in Quebec. Her father is Ecuadorian and a soccer player and her mother Filipino Canadian. She too is absolutely charming.

Brilliant spot

We are so proud of Dr. Malik Peiris who very recently won the 2021 Future Science Prize dubbed ‘China’s Nobel Prize’, with another Hong Kong-based scientist. The prize carries a cash award worth USD 1 million but more importantly, it was awarded for ground-breaking research on SARS-CoV-2.