Features

Imran, a baby born without arms and Ayu, a teen with Down’s Syndrome

Published

3 years ago

2023/08/27

Thilina Walpola

Exploring Geneva with my colleagues

(Excerpted from Memories that linger: My journey is the world of disability by Padmani Mendis

My responsibility (in Malaysia) was to facilitate two training courses. One was five weeks long and was for social welfare assistants and other officers from the district who will initiate CBR here in this part of Kuala Terengganu. The second of the courses was for two weeks and was for social welfare officers from other selected states as well. Participants of this second course will be responsible for planning and developing CBR projects in their own states. We discussed how monitoring and evaluation could be carried out as a continuous process during project development and the material in the Manual for measuring these.

All through my three-month assignment I had as my national counterpart a Social Welfare Officer from the Training Division of the Ministry of Social Welfare. She was an experienced trainer and we shared our teaching tasks. When I left, I was confident that she will be quite capable of carrying out the training function that we had carried out during our time together. The Secretary of the Ministry in Kuala Lumpur and that of the State took personal responsibility to ensure the CBR programme will benefit their disabled people.

In Batu Rakit, the work that was started during the training course blended with field work. In both courses it was possible to spend much time in field learning and teaching. We met community leaders in Batu Rakit for mobilisation. We also made visits to the homes of people who were in need of interventions. Many children were not going to school. Some immediate improvement was evident soon after starting CBR. Two children started going to kindergarten. Others who had been isolated before were participating with the family, going visiting together and so on. Many showed functional improvement.

The seed had been sown. How would it grow?

Two disabled individuals and another family stand out in my mind from those that we visited. One was a baby boy called Imran, six months of age. Imran had been born without both arms. He was not sitting up by himself as yet and spent most of his time lying on his mat and cooing. His mother appeared not to know quite what to do. We talked with her and introduced to her the possibility of teaching Imran to use his feet as his hands.

She welcomed the idea. His mother propped him up with pillows and gave him the toys that lay around him to hold. Imran soon caught the idea. It is of course natural that babies should do so. It is just that the mother either had not thought of the possibility, or did not want him to use his feet for some reason.

When we returned a few days later we found his sisters playing with Imran with great fun and making lots of noise; they were throwing back and forth a colourful cloth ball. Other playthings lay around on the floor. The Social Welfare Assistants taught Imran’s mother how to use the package on play activities from the Manual to take his development further. They taught her to assess at which stage of development Imran was at in areas such as communication, movement and so on. Then they showed her how to select corresponding play activities from the Manual to take him to the next level of development.

We visited Imran once more before I left. He was now sitting up on his own. And he was discovering with joy what a lot he could do with his feet. Later he would stand, walk and run about with neighbourhood playmates like any child would. He would go to school and out on trips with his family. Grow up to be an independent young man. He may now be in the fourth decade of his life. Where are you now Imran? How are you doing?

The second individual was Ayu, a young girl of fifteen years. She had Down’s Syndrome with some intellectual impairment and difficulty in learning. Here the mother cared for Ayu completely not letting Ayu do anything by herself, including washing, bathing and all other self-care activities. Ayu never went out of the house. We talked with both mother and daughter who were alone at home at that time. Ayu talked with us and responded to us shyly. We asked her whether she would like to be able to feed herself so her mother could do something else at that time. She nodded her head happily. The Social Welfare Assistants talked for some time with mother and daughter. They talked about going out to meet neighbours.

After explaining to them about it, the Social Welfare Assistants left relevant material from the WHO Manual for the mother and daughter. They asked them to look at it and see if they could do some of the things that were suggested. When we went back in five days the mother was preparing the family meal. Ayu was sitting with her in the kitchen cleaning vegetables. The mother said that Ayu was helping her now with simple tasks. The mother took Ayu out to the village – Ayu had gone with her to a meeting of the women’s group the previous day. Ayu had been very happy and the women had talked a lot with her.

The third I recall is of visits to a family. A home we visited quite early on in the programme. When we entered, we found the family ready to receive us. The mother, father and with them, three young children. The two older children lay on mats while a younger child was sitting up. All three were boys. All three had a progressive muscular condition. All three had gone to school but as each reached the age of ten to eleven they had dropped out because they could no longer move independently. Now the older two had to be fed, washed and clothed. The youngest needed assistance. We talked with the family for a while. The biggest problem I saw here was that the family was completely isolated with no help and no social support.

Afterwards, I discussed with the Social Welfare Assistants what they would do to improve the situation of the boys and the family. I visited this family again before I left. The mother, along with the three boys, greeted us with a smile. She said her husband had been found work with a farmer. She herself no longer felt alone because her neighbours and even the community leaders visited her. She had made two special friends in whom she could confide. One would sometimes stay with the boys so she could go out to visit family and friends.

Former school friends of the boys visited. They shared with her boys some of what they had learned at school. She felt what was important is that her boys now had friends with whom they could play and interact.

The Social Welfare Assistants were hoping to soon deliver three wheelchairs to the home so that the boys could be taken out into the kampong. So here, in the presence of severe disability, the therapy or the medical rehabilitation required by the boys was not available. But the social impact of CBR was remarkably evident.

Many are the stories of how a visit from a trained Community Worker could make such a difference to the quality of life of individuals and families living in somewhat different circumstances. How will Ayu’s life change with the visits from the Social Welfare Assistant and with interest taken by the women in the village? The Social Welfare Assistant planned to join a meeting of the women and then take Ayu to other activities in the village. Will this make a difference to other disabled people in the village as well as to Ayu? What will be the quality of life of the three boys? Time will tell.

Malay Houses

Although the rest house in which I lodged was made of brick and mortar, other houses in the Kampongs were stilt houses. Kampongs are what villages are called in Malaysia. Stilt houses are the traditional Malay architecture. Wooden houses built on thick strong pillars. There is a central pillar surrounded by may be by six to twelve pillars spaced around the periphery and some closer to the central pillar, depending on the size of the house. The roofs were also made of timber. They were high allowing for good ventilation in a humid climate. The walls of the houses in Batu Rakit were made of wood because that was plentiful. I was told that in some areas walls were made of bamboo. The space under the house was used for storage.

Houses were generally spaced out in large compounds. In their compounds owners had planted trees which they could use in twenty to thirty years to refurbish their houses. Or to extend a house when a child was getting married and needed a home. Extended families lived together, cooking together as one household. I was glad I had lived in Batu Rakit and experienced their traditional lifestyle when I visited their homes.

One entered the house on a wooden ladder. At night they took the ladder up to prevent small animals like rats and bandicoots from climbing into the house. I would not have experienced this traditional Malay architecture and lifestyle had I been confined to Kuala Lumpur as I was on subsequent visits to Malaysia.

Gunnel Nelson

Gunnel Nelson, my much-loved friend and travel companion on my CBR Journey passed away in July 1984. She met with a fatal car accident in Zambia while on an assignment for UNICEF. The assignment concerned improving the lives of disabled children. A cause that Gunnel was devoted to since she started working as an Occupational Therapist, and later as the Principal of the School of Occupational Therapy in Goteborg, Sweden.

With her sudden passing away CBR suffered an unexpected loss – the loss of a human being who would have hastened considerably improvement in the quality of life of disabled people in developing countries. She was firm in her beliefs and convictions with a rare ability to take action to realise them. Like her fellow-Swede Einar, she empathised with the poor and vulnerable and worked tirelessly to bring them social justice. Like Einar and me she was convinced that CBR would initiate changes required to bring disabled people that social justice.

Gunnel and I first met in Geneva in May 1979 when we came together at WHO to work with Einar on developing a strategy for implementing WHO’s new disability policy. Our work in CBR was targeted at enabling disabled people come out of their isolation and exclusion and be included and be participating members within their families and their communities.

Gunnel and I had similar but separate roles in this work. She travelled to certain countries and I to others. But in those all-too-brief five years that we worked together, we met regularly in Geneva and at meetings held in other parts of the world; meetings which brought people together to discuss the way forward for disabled people through CBR. Although the concept and implementation of the CBR system was pioneered in Geneva as a seed, nurturing the growth of it was a global effort involving too many countries to be counted at the time of her passing away.

Gunnel’s work flowed from Geneva like mine, with assisting countries to set up field trials of CBR. She visited first Nigeria in January 1980 for three months. A research project was set up jointly by the WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Orthopaedics in Lagos and the National Youth Service Corps. She followed this up with a visit in December of the same year.

Her next task was to set up a research project in Kerala, India in collaboration with the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation of the Medical College in Trivandrum. Her counterpart was Prof. P.B.M. Menon. Before starting on the project with Prof. Menon she visited the WHO South-East Regional Office in New Delhi for discussions. She also met other Rehabilitation Specialists first in New Delhi and then in Kerala to inform them and their institutions and seek their support for the project; and similarly, with the Ministry of Health in Kerala and other professorial staff at the Medical College in Trivandrum.

From Kerala, in November 1980 she proceeded to the Philippines to evaluate the progress made in the ongoing field trial of CBR and of the WHO Manual in the Rizal District of Metropolitan Manila. The project used Primary Health Care as an entry point with PHC workers who had been trained for two years. As in Bacolod City where the Philippines had their first experience of CBR, the urban project here commenced with an intensive information programme.

When we had an assignment in Geneva, Gunnel always drove down from Goteborg so that we had the use of her car in Geneva. Many a time she offered me the use of it. I told her I would not dare to drive in Europe. All those multi-lane high-speed highways and one-way road systems had me quite confused even sitting by her side as a passenger. In these circumstances, I could never be a navigator either.

It was not too difficult to find accommodation in Geneva for a period of three months. Sometimes we stayed separately, sometimes we shared an apartment. I recall how amused she was when once I stayed in a guest house run by the Salvation Army. I had selected it because it was located in the old city which I thought would be interesting.

It was. Only after I went into occupation did I know that it was maintained for retirees from the Red Light District not far away.

The ladies would come to breakfast in flimsy negligees with their faces made up as they would have been made up when they were employed. The trade was lawful in Geneva. The occupant of the room next to mine was quite elderly and confined to bed. She was looked after 24/7 by staff of the guest house. Still dressed in her flimsy negligees. Still with her face made up immaculately.

Most Saturdays we spent working. If we did not, I was out window shopping. On Sunday we would relax, driving out of Geneva. Sometimes we drove around the picturesque countryside of Switzerland through pretty mountain villages. In the spring and summer colourful wild flowers covered every available space on roadsides and spread up the mountainsides. But to me all this appeared to be organised just like all else in Switzerland. I felt that the flowers had been planted there by human hands. Not really wild. But of course they were wild. Just God’s wonders.

One Sunday we drove through the very old village of Gruyere famous for the cheese it produces. Outside this village high up in the Alps, fat and healthy cows were grazing on the mountain sides.

Other Sundays we drove in the French countryside. More often than not I had no French entry visa. But this was no obstacle for someone who knew the back roads where there were unmanned border posts. We would drive around and find a Michelin recommended restaurant to enjoy a late lunch.

On Sundays roads in France were deserted not just of vehicles, but there were no people to be seen either. When once I remarked on this to Einar he said to me, “Do you expect to see people as you would in your part of the world?” Sunday, for the French, was a day spent with one’s own family at home. For us, it was largely visiting extended family and friends. And catching up with the weekly marketing.

Gunnel and I enjoyed the food of foreign countries. In Geneva, after a long day of work, we indulged in dinner at different restaurants. One of our favourites was a Turkish restaurant popular for its Doner Kebab. Lamb grilled on the spit to perfection and served as slices as thin as paper.

In autumn as the weather became colder it was time for genuine Swiss Cheese Fondue – two or three special cheeses melting and blending together in a pot into which one would dip cubes of soft bread and pop them hot into one’s mouth. My favourite Swiss food was Raclette. Although here traditionally, the melting slices of cheese were served on potatoes, I preferred this on toasted bread. Eaten with pickled gherkins and onions.

Knowing my liking for steak, Einar would, on each one of our periods in Geneva, take Gunnel and me to enjoy a good French steak at the Café du Paris on the Rue du Mont Blanc in the centre of the city. Such a popular spot that we had always to stand in a queue to get in.

Before my first visit to Geneva in 1979 I did not drink wine. Associated this with alcohol. But dining out so often with those two Swedes, that habit soon changed. After some time I was persuaded to, “Just try it. Have a sip.” I enjoyed it so much that before the end of three months, I could drink three glasses of it with a meal. And feel no effects of it.Those days in Geneva were memorable – both for the work we did and for the enjoyment we had. I missed having Gunnel to work with. She still lives in my memory from day to day.

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Dilemmas of ‘hurting economies’ – the case of Sri Lanka

Published

18 hours ago

2026/05/7

Sahan Weerasooriya

Dr. Ganeshan Wignaraja (right) and Ambassador (Retd) Ravinatha Aryasinha.

Maldives President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu was in Sri Lanka recently on what was apparently a goodwill visit and this event, no doubt, bodes very well for Maldives-Sri Lanka relations. Besides, the visit would go some distance in strengthening Sri Lanka’s claims to Non-Alignment.

However, the commentator on regional politics could be accused of simplistic thinking if he/she glosses over or ignores the regional politics nuances or undertones of the Maldivian President’s visit. In Sri Lanka we currently have a government which is eager to solidify its bridges, so to speak, with China and which, given the chance, would be courting increasingly close relations with Russia. In other words, the NPP government is likely to see itself as a ‘natural ally’ of the East and would prefer to distance itself to the extent possible from the West, if that is a realistic proposition.

Given the foregoing backdrop, it would be in some of the NPP regime’s best interests to be on cordial terms with the Maldives which is a close ally of China in the South Asian region. However, the NPP government, given the utter financial helplessness of Sri Lanka, cannot afford to distance itself politically and diplomatically from India and the West. Sheer economic necessity compels Sri Lanka to adopt this foreign policy stance. In other words, the latter has no choice but to be ‘Non-Aligned.’

This columnist was led to the above observations on listening to a lucid and comprehensive presentation titled, ‘A Global Economy in the Shadow of the Iran War and implications for Sri Lanka’s debt recovery’, by Dr. Ganeshan Wignaraja, Visiting Senior Fellow, ODI Global London, at the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies (RCSS), Colombo on May 4th. The forum, RCSS Strategic Dialogue – 4, was moderated and presided over by RCSS Executive Director Ambassador (retd) Ravinatha Aryasinha.

The forum brought together a wide cross section of society, including diplomatic personnel, academicians, public and private sector personalities and the media. After the presentation a very lively and informative Q&A followed.

Ambassador Aryasinha at the outset set an appropriate backdrop to the presentation and discussion by stressing ‘the increasing interconnectedness of geopolitical and economic developments, noting how disruptions in the Middle East could have significant ramifications for global markets, trade flows, energy prices and broader economic stability, including Sri Lanka.’

Indeed, there are occurring currently very disruptive economic and material consequences for the world from ‘the Iran War’, and with US-Iran hostilities spiraling in West Asia it may not be wrong to surmise that the worst could be yet to come, unless a peace process materializes in earnest.

Meanwhile, ‘hurting countries’ such as Sri Lanka would need to summon their best economic management capabilities to remain materially and economically afloat. ‘Economic transformation’ is what is urgently needed and not mere management and some of the insights thrown up by Dr. Ganeshan Wignaraja should have the local polity thinking.

There was the following observation, for instance: ‘Sri Lanka has achieved remarkable cyclical stabilization but faces critical challenges in transitioning to transformative growth, with 2027-2028 debt repayments looming and only $5.4 billion usable reserves.’

Needless to say, the path ahead to ‘transformative growth’ for Sri Lanka is strewn with multiple challenges and meeting them effectively is of the first importance. Sri Lanka must soldier on towards even a semblance of development in the short and medium terms and such initiatives cannot be separated from its foreign policy choices since the country’s economic partners and their growth prowess have a close bearing on the country’s material fortunes.

As mentioned, Sri Lanka will be compelled to be ‘a friend of all countries and an enemy of none’ going forward but it cannot afford to be seen as cultivating China as a close growth partner at the expense of India and other major economies of the region.

This is primarily because while India is remaining a major economic power, the current West Asian crisis notwithstanding, China’s economy is being seen as ‘slowing’. Dr. Wignaraja singled out the following in the main as the factors causing this slow-down: a bursting property bubble, increasing state regulation, and weakening investor confidence. Besides, the speaker sees production cycles moving away from China and India replacing China and Hong Kong as ‘manufacturing hubs’.

Accordingly, the NPP regime in Sri Lanka would need to craft its regional policy in particular with the utmost far-sightedness. It will need to have close economic links with all the growth centres that matter.

On the question of authentic economic transformation, the following observations of Dr. Wignaraja on Sri Lanka’s economy are of the first importance as well: ‘Foreign reserves are now at $ 5.4 billion, the cost of living is high, an estimated 20 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line of $ 3.65 per day, the recent cyber security breach at the Treasury would affect some 10 payments.’ These factors were termed ‘critical vulnerabilities’.

It is difficult to conceive of an economic transformation worthy of the phrase minus a steady economic empowerment of the populace. The above data point to the considerable magnitude of the local poverty problem. Right now, the disruptive effects of the West Asian crisis render swift poverty alleviation a most difficult proposition.

One possible way out of the present economic debacle is the forging of a national consensus by the present government on all outstanding problems that have been bedeviling the country’s advancement. That is, there needs to be a meeting of minds across current political divides. Considering the present inflammatory political polarities in Sri Lanka this would prove an insurmountable challenge.

Unfortunately, conscience-filled and civic minded sections in Sri Lanka have chosen to be laid back rather than seize the initiative, come centre stage and impress on politicians the need for enlightened governance and progressive change. There needs to be a historic coming together of the right thinking to ensure that the best interests of the people and of the people only are served by governments. In the absence of such a process, might would be projected as right and brute force would come to increasingly rule politics and society.

Features

Australia funds project to restore climate-resilient vegetable livelihoods in cyclone-affected highlands

Published

18 hours ago

2026/05/7

Sahan Weerasooriya

(L-R) D. P. Wickramasinghe, Secretary of Agriculture; Matthew Duckworth, Australian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, K. D. Lal Kantha, Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation, and Vimlendra Sharan, FAO Representative for Sri Lanka and the Maldives at the signing ceremony.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation, the Government of Australia, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have launched of a AUD 2 million (USD 1.4 million) recovery initiative to restore and transform vegetable production systems in the cyclone-affected districts of Nuwara Eliya and Badulla.

The FAO said yesterday (5) that the agreement was formalized through the signing of the grant agreement by Matthew Duckworth, Australian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, and Vimlendra Sharan, FAO Representative for Sri Lanka and the Maldives, alongside the signing of the project document by D. P. Wickramasinghe, Secretary of Agriculture.

Cyclone Ditwah, which struck Sri Lanka in November 2025, caused widespread devastation across the country, severely disrupting agricultural production systems and livelihoods. The highland districts of Nuwara Eliya and Badulla, key suppliers of vegetables such as beans, carrots, leeks, cabbage, tomato and potato, were among the hardest hit, with thousands of smallholder farmers losing crops, seed stocks, and productive assets.

This 12-month initiative aims torestore and strengthen climate-resilient vegetable production systems, with a strong focus on empowering women farmers and supporting persons with disabilities. The project will directly benefit more than 2,400 smallholder farmers, through improved seed and seedling production systems, small machinery, training, and market linkages while indirectly supporting thousands more.

“This initiative is an important step not only in restoring what was lost, but in building a more resilient and self-reliant agricultural sector,” said Minister Lal Kantha. “By strengthening local seed systems and supporting smallholder farmers, particularly women and vulnerable groups, we are investing in the long-term sustainability of Sri Lanka’s food systems.”

“Australia stands alongside Sri Lanka in its ongoing recovery from Cyclone Ditwah,” said High Commissioner Duckworth. “Australia is a steadfast partner in the agriculture sector with its importance for food security, rural development and climate resilience. By focusing on climate smart practices, farmer-led solutions and inclusive economic opportunities, this project will deliver meaningful and lasting benefits to affected communities.

The project will prioritize the restoration of farmer-led seed systems for beans and potatoes, support the re-establishment of both open-field and protected cultivation systems and women led seedling supply nurseries while empowering all farmers with Climate-Smart Good Agricultural Practices (CSGAP) with small scale machinery and input support.

A key feature of the initiative is the establishment of six accessible and inclusive nurseries in Nuwara Eliya and Badulla. These nurseries will serve as sustainable agri-based enterprises, producing high-quality vegetable seedlings while creating new income opportunities and strengthening local input supply chains.

By combining recovery support with long-term resilience measures, the project will help stabilize vegetable production, improve household food security and nutrition, and reduce reliance on imported seeds.

Features

War on Iran may hasten unraveling of New World Order

Published

18 hours ago

2026/05/7

Sahan Weerasooriya

It took several decades for the US to realise it was losing the war in Vietnam. It took a bit shorter time in Afghanistan. And what is happening in the countries the US and Israel intervened and broke up? The US has been asked to leave Iraq. Syria is talking to Russia about establishing military bases, President al-Sharaa met with Vladimir Putin in Moscow to discuss the project, which is vital for Russian power projection in the Middle East. Libya has been divided into two competing administrative units with the Eastern section actively engaged with Russia in defence matters. The Sudanese government has finalised a 25-year deal to allow a Russian naval facility in the Red Sea in exchange for weapons, including anti-aircraft systems. On the Eastern side of the Red Sea, Yemen remains divided, with the main power center, the Houthis maintaining a staunchly anti-US, anti-Israel stance, while the internationally recognised government remains in exile.

When the Iranian Foreign Minister recently undertook a tour of Pakistan, Oman and Russia, the US wanted to meet him and got ready to send its negotiators Vice President J. D. Vance and his team to Pakistan, but Iranian FM snubbed them and left Pakistan, saying Iran did not want to talk to the US while a blockade of their ports were in place. The Iranian FM met President Putin, who congratulated Iran for courageously defending their country and then phoned US President Trump and told him further attacks on Iran would not be acceptable. During this conversation on April 27, 2026, Putin reportedly warned Trump that further U.S. or Israeli attacks on Iran would have dangerous consequences, according to Al Jazeera). Such a sequence of events would not have been possible in the unipolar world we had in the past.

Furthermore, the damage that Iran has inflicted on the US and Israel in this war would have been unimaginable in the late 20th Century and early 21st Century. Sixteen US military bases spread across Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan and Oman have been either destroyed or severely damaged. Advanced surveillance aircraft and radar systems worth more than $ 2.8 bn were destroyed. This had a far-reaching effect on the war as the US could not use these bases in the war against Iran and also in the defence of its allies in the Gulf.

The attacks on Israel have been equally damaging. In Central Israel and Tel Aviv area multiple attacks targeted military and intelligence assets, resulting in massive damage. Iranian missiles hit the Haifa oil refinery, causing a shutdown, and hit residential buildings, leading to injuries and structural damage. Residential and commercial areas were damaged in Bat Yam and Petah Tikva with significant casualties and destruction. Attacks in Dimona and Arad targeted the Negev Nuclear Research Center, with casualties reported in both towns. The Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba was hit in a strike. The strategic port and naval base in Eilat were targeted. In Rishon LeZion suburban residential areas suffered extensive damage.

Usually, Israel makes short work of its many enemies in the region, for example it took just six days to defeat the combined military of Egypt, Jordan and Syria in 1967 and grab their land as well. Hamas, Fatah and Palestinians would suffer ignominious defeats if they dare challenge Israel. However, the recent war against Hamas, following a daring wide scale invasion into Israel by Hamas in October 2023, went on for more than two years with no conclusive victory for Israel.

These significant massive military setbacks suffered by the combined forces of the US and Israel have been made possible by the unprecedented advancement in military technology achieved mainly by China and to a degree by Russia as well. Iran has been able to develop ballistic missile systems that could penetrate the “iron dome” that Israel boasted, with technological assistance from China and North Korea. Iran’s drones are very cheap yet very effective, requiring interceptors worth millions of dollars to counter them, thus making it much more costly for the US to fight this war than it is for Iran.

Further, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Houthies in Yemen and Hamas in Palestine are well equipped with advanced missiles and drones. Hezbollah has been able to destroy about hundred Israel tanks and stop their advance. According to Larry Johnson, former CIA intelligence analyst, Israel soldiers are much war weary and mentally affected and are being withdrawn. Netanyahu’s 40 year dream of a “Greater Israel” is telling on the poor soldiers.

If a person like Barack Obama had been the US President instead of the hyper egoistic, blustering, intellectually barren Trump, things may have been different. An attempt would have been made to reconcile with the fact that the world is changing, instead of trying to stop it and make “America Great Again”. Perhaps, it could be said that Trump is facilitating the emergence of the new world order by enabling the US citizens to see the reality, the futility of war and the fact that Israel is a liability because the US is fighting its war. Further, the war has enabled Iran to assert its place in the region and negotiate from a position of strength.

Perhaps, Israeli people may realise that the Palestine problem cannot be solved by militarily occupying their land, and that in a changing world a “Greater Israel” is a “pie in the sky”. They may have to agree to a two-state solution. US support may not always be forthcoming, certainly not at the level that Trump could extend, as this war is very unpopular and expensive. The other very significant fact is that Israeli settlers in the occupied lands feel insecure and one in three wants to leave and the numbers may grow when Palestinians and their sympathisers grow in strength in the new world order.

Moreover, the war on Iran has afforded China the opportunity to demonstrate with authority the fact that it stands for universal peace and does not tolerate illegal wars. Its message to the US conveyed its world view and its desire for peace in no uncertain terms. Trump cannot afford to disregard the Chinese position on the war on the eve of his visit to that country which may decide on future trade between the two countries as the US depends on China for several essential materials like rare earth minerals. Furthermore, China has shown that peace could be achieved by developing the economies of the underdeveloped countries irrespective of their alliances. It helps Iran as well as Saudi Arabia and try to build bridges between these foes. It welcomes Trump in the coming weeks and hopes to strengthen ties between the two countries despite the weaknesses of the latter.

Another important factor is the gradual decline of the critical value of the petro-dollar. Following the end of the gold standard in 1971, the US struck deals with Saudi Arabia and other OPEC nations (around 1974) to price oil exclusively in USD in exchange for military protection and arms sales. Dollars earned by selling oil came to be known as petro-dollar. Oil producers, holding large dollar surpluses, reinvest these funds in the US Treasury securities, real estate, and financial assets ensuring the recycling of petro-dollars. The system ensures a consistent global demand for US dollars, which helps fund the US budget deficit and maintains the currency’s dominance.

However, the petro-dollar system is on the decline and there are two main reasons for this, firstly the gradual rise of the new world order with organisations like BRICS, making a concerted effort to extricate from the dollar dominance by developing alternate currencies and methods to bypass the dollar. Secondly, the need felt by most countries to develop alternative energy sources to replace enormously harmful fossil fuel would eventually result in a decline in the demand for it and consequently the effectiveness of the petro-dollar. China is leading the world in both these endeavours; depolarisation process and renewable energy production. The war on Iran seems to have hastened the process of depolarisation as Iran insists that it will sell its oil for yuan only.

These revolutionary changes in the aftermath of the Iran war have their undeniable implications for the Global South, where more than 60% of the poor live.

by N. A. de S. Amaratunga