Features

Living with Covid 19

Published

5 years ago

2020/11/15

Sahan Weerasooriya

Remembered Yesterdays

by J. Godwin Perera

This Covid thing has put me in a mess

The more I read of it, up goes my stress

Should I pour some charmed water to the river

And chant ‘the Nation’ ‘the Nation ‘ is the giver

So bless the nation may the virus now recede

Docs and all the bosses please take heed

It’s not about the mask you wanted us to wear

The secret’s in that water and by it we will swear.

A Sunday paper had this headline ‘Has Govt’s strategy to dam the Covid spread gone to pot ?’ Under this there is a photograph of The Minister of Health, Honorable Pavithra Wanniarachchi embracing a pot of what the Honorable Minister claims to be, charmed water. The said news item explains that the Honorable Minister had gently thrown this pot into the Kalu Ganga. Not to be outdone at the same auspicious moment the Minister of Energy the Honorable Udaya Gamanpilla had reverently thrown a similar pot into the Kelani Ganga. There is a photo of him performing this ritual. Also at the simultaneous moment the Minister of Tourism the Honorable Prasanna Ranatunge had thrown another similar pot but this one, rather casually, into the Kelani Ganga. And of course there is a photo of him. Keep in mind that no Minister does anything in public without being videoed and photographed. And these videos and photographs are circulated through the length and breadth of Sri Lanka. All this is to show the people how our Parliamentarians are working hard. Did someone say ‘Hardly working’- No. Maybe it was just the ‘keech, keech’ of a gecko.

Anyway let’s continue. At a debate in Parliament which had nothing to do with pots or charmed water, the Honorable Pavithra Wanniarachchi had lamented that a Facebook comment has been made criticizing her for throwing the pot of charmed water into the river and had suggested that she should jump into the sea to end this pandemic. In a Siri Sangaboesque reply the Honorable Minister had stated that she will do that if it could solve the Covid 19 problem. Surely such fervent patriotism must be admired and emulated by others especially by those who adorn the comfortable seats in Parliament at the tax-payers expense. However later in Parliament she assured her people in her electorate who may have been in impending mourning at losing her to the lashing waves of the sea, and to the people at large, that ‘ the Government always followed the advice of medical experts when dealing with the pandemic.’ On hearing this statement there was a very loud, collective sigh of relief, so loud and clear that it even blew the rain clouds away.

And now we come to the Venerable Muruththettuwe Ananda Thero. In a front page press statement on the Covid 19 crisis the Venerable Thera states ‘ I have been closely associated with Health Ministers, Secretaries and Directors –General, since 1966 but never come across a pathetic situation where the whole sector has lost its sense of direction with the administrative process in a knotty mess.’ The Venerable Thero must surely know all about the health sector, because he is the President of the Public Service United Nurses Union. But hark! Here is something which also appeared in the same newspaper. This is repeated for your enlightenment but as the lawyers would say ‘Without Prejudice. ’ It is by Dr Upul Wijayawardhana and we quote ‘ It is a great shame that nurses in Sri Lanka who are second to none are not able to find a member of their own profession to lead their union. In the country that produced the first female Prime Minister in the world, is there no lady with leadership qualities to lead the union of a profession still largely dominated by women? It is indeed an outrage for a Buddhist priest to lead a trade union , nursing or otherwise.’ Unquote. What had provoked the good doctor to make these comments was a threat of trade union action within 48 hours if the demands of this union are not met. And this union was the above mentioned Public Service United Nurses Union.

We report . You decide.

Next there is the Brandix Covid 19 cluster. This it seems has been relegated to the back burner. According to reports the Attorney – General’s order to the Police to conduct a probe is being delayed for various reasons. A spokesperson from the Attorney- General’s office has stated that despite three reminders no response has been received as of Friday. That particular Friday has passed and it is hoped that by the time this article is being read the necessary response would have been received. If not, may we ask, why not?

And now to a group of professionals who should know more about Covid 19 than any ordinary lay person. The Government Medical Officers Forum (GMOF). They are different from the Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA). Though ordinary lay persons will not know how, when and why this difference came about. But both groups are government officials. The GMOF has been very critical of the Government for the two month delay in appointing a Director – General of Health Services after the previous incumbent left. Further and here let it come straight off the bat, ‘ By appointing a retired military senior army official as the Health Secretary we thought we will be able to watch ‘Sinhabahu’ but for the last six months what we have being seeing is a ‘Sergeant Nallathamby’ drama. Pretty strong stuff !

Would the GMOF have anything to say about another retired senior army officer who is now the President of this country? But let that pass. The point is why cannot the GMOF and GMOA get together and submit a joint set of proposals as to how this country –it’s their country and our country, can overcome the challenge of Covid 19. And if they have already done this then what is the present Director–General of Health Services doing about it ? Another matter of importance to the general public is that there seems to be too many spokespersons talking too frequently on the subject of Covid 19. For instance there is the Minister of Health, the Director –General of Health Services, the Chief Epidemiologist, the Deputy Director of the Medical Research Institute, the DIG of Police, the Government Information Department.

Let’s face it. Covid 19 is the most serious crisis this country has faced in several decades. It is alarming. When there are too many spokespersons it leads to confusion which is not in the best interest of everyone. Or it leads to total indifference because no one knows whose instructions should be followed, which is certainly a far worse situation. The Army Commander, Lt. General Shavendra Silva is the Head of the National Operation Centre for Prevention of Covid 19 Outbreak. That is very clear. Since the very onset of Covid 19 in this country it is Lt. General Shavendra Silva who has been addressing us. On TV, in the press on radio. Therefore is it not logical and indeed practical for Lt. General Shavendra Silva to be the sole spokesperson on behalf of the Government, on Covid 19. Other than of course the President himself, who has every right and responsibility to address the nation. Furthermore the people have the highest respect for him. No one else could have undertaken this task in the confident manner that he is performing it.

But we the people have our responsibilities too. Yes we do wear the face mask. But social distancing? Hand washing before and after leaving any premises? Why worry! Yes, we Sri Lankans are such an over complacent lot. We remember to forget. Forget the appeals, regulations, warnings, instructions. There is this senile mentality that the worst will always happen to someone else. Never to one’s own self. Like keeping one’s premises garbage free by simply dumping that garbage on a road where someone else lives. The Covid 19 pandemic! That’s the Government’s problem. Not ours. No, it is very much our problem. It is very much our responsibility. If we do not take this seriously and take every precaution to get this pandemic well under control, no amount of charmed water, whether poured into rivers or sprinkled from the skies can ever save us.

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Features

Political violence stalking Trump administration

Published

11 hours ago

2026/04/30

Sahan Weerasooriya

A scene that unfolded during the shooting incident at the recent White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington. (BBC)

It would not be particularly revelatory to say that the US is plagued by ‘gun violence’. It is a deeply entrenched and widespread malaise that has come in tandem with the relative ease with which firearms could be acquired and owned by sections of the US public, besides other causes.

However, a third apparent attempt on the life of US President Donald Trump in around two and a half years is both thought-provoking and unsettling for the defenders of democracy. After all, whatever its short comings the US remains the world’s most vibrant democracy and in fact the ‘mightiest’ one. And the US must remain a foremost democracy for the purpose of balancing and offsetting the growing power of authoritarian states in the global power system, who are no friends of genuine representational governance.

Therefore, the recent breaching of the security cordon surrounding the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington at which President Trump and his inner Cabinet were present, by an apparently ‘Lone Wolf’ gunman, besides raising issues relating to the reliability of the security measures deployed for the President, indicates a notable spike in anti-VVIP political violence in particular in the US. It is a pointer to a strong and widespread emergence of anti-democratic forces which seem to be gaining in virulence and destructiveness.

The issues raised by the attack are in the main for the US’ political Right and its supporters. They have smugly and complacently stood by while the extremists in their midst have taken centre stage and begun to dictate the course of Right wing politics. It is the political culture bred by them that leads to ‘Lone Wolf’ gunmen, for instance, who see themselves as being repressed or victimized, taking the law into their own hands, so to speak, and perpetrating ‘revenge attacks’ on the state and society.

A disproportionate degree of attention has been paid particularly internationally to Donald Trump’s personality and his eccentricities but such political persons cannot be divorced from the political culture in which they originate and have their being. That is, “structural” questions matter. Put simply, Donald Trump is a ‘true son’ of the Far Right, his principal support base. The issues raised are therefore for the President as well as his supporters of the Right.

We are obliged to respect the choices of the voting public but in the case of Trump’s election to the highest public position in the US, this columnist is inclined to see in those sections that voted for Trump blind followers of the latter who cared not for their candidate’s suitability, in every relevant respect, and therefore acted irrationally. It would seem that the Right in the US wanted their candidate to win by ‘hook or by crook’ and exercise power on their behalf.

By making the above observations this columnist does not intend to imply that voting publics everywhere in the world of democracy cast their vote sensibly. In the case of Sri Lanka, for example, the question could be raised whether the voters of the country used their vote sensibly when voting into office the majority of Executive Presidents and other persons holding high public office. The obvious answer is ‘no’ and this should lead to a wider public discussion on the dire need for thoroughgoing voter education. The issue is a ‘huge’ one that needs to be addressed in the appropriate forums and is beyond the scope of this column.

Looking back it could be said that the actions of Trump and his die-hard support base led to the Rule of Law in the US being undermined as perhaps never before in modern times. A shaming moment in this connection was the protest march, virtually motivated by Trump, of his supporters to the US Capitol on January 6th, 2021, with the aim of scuttling the presidential poll result of that year. Much violence and unruly behaviour, as known, was let loose. This amounted to denigrating the democratic process and encouraging the violent take over of the state.

In a public address, prior to the unruly conduct of his supporters, Trump is on record as blaring forth the following: ‘We won this election and we won by a landslide’, ‘We will stop the steal’, ‘We will never give up. We will never concede. It doesn’t happen’, ‘If you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.’

It is plain to see that such inflammatory utterances could lead impressionable minds in particular to revolt violently. Besides, they should have led the more rationally inclined to wonder whether their candidate was the most suitable person to hold the office of President.

Unfortunately, the latter process was not to be and the question could be raised whether the US is in the ‘safest pair of hands’. Needless to say, as events have revealed, Donald Trump is proving to be one of the most erratic heads of state the US has ever had.

However, the latest attempt on the life of President Trump suggests that considerable damage has been done to the democratic integrity of the US and none other than the President himself has to take on himself a considerable proportion of the blame for such degeneration, besides the US’ Far Right. They could be said to be ‘reaping the whirlwind.’

It is a time for soul-searching by the US Right. The political Right has the right to exist, so the speak, in a functional democracy but it needs to take cognizance of how its political culture is affecting the democratic integrity or health of the US. Ironically, the repressive and chauvinistic politics advocated by it is having the effect of activating counter-violence of the most murderous kind, as was witnessed at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Continued repressive politics could only produce more such incidents that could be self-defeating for the US.

Some past US Presidents were assassinated but the present political violence in the country brings into focus as perhaps never before the role that an anti-democratic political culture could play in unraveling the gains that the US has made over the decades. A duty is cast on pro-democracy forces to work collectively towards protecting the democratic integrity and strength of the US.

Features

22nd Anniversary Gala …action-packed event

Published

11 hours ago

2026/04/30

Sahan Weerasooriya

The Skyliners: Shanaka Viswakula (bass), Mario Ranasuriya (lead guitar), Daryl D'Souza (keyboards) and Kushmin Balasuriya (drums)

The Editor-in-Chief of The Sri Lankan Anchorman, a Toronto-based monthly, celebrating Sri Lankan community life in Canada, is none other than veteran Sri Lankan journalist Dirk Tissera, who moved to Canada in 1997. His wife, Michelle, whom he calls his “tower of strength”, is the Design Editor.

According to reports coming my way, the paper has turned out to be extremely popular in Toronto.

In fact, The Sri Lankan Anchorman won a press award in Toronto for excellence in editorial content and visual presentation.

However, the buzz in the air in Canada, right now, is The Sri Lankan Anchorman’s 22nd Anniversary Gala, to be held on Friday, 12 June, 2026, at the J&J Swagat Banquet Convention Centre, in Toronto.

An action-packed programme has been put together for the night, featuring some of the very best artistes in the Toronto scene.

The Skylines, who are classified as ‘the local musical band in Toronto’, will headline the event.

Dirk Tissera and wife Michelle: Supporting Sri Lanka-Canada community events, in Toronto, since launching The Anchorman
in 2002

They have performed and backed many legendary Sri Lanka singers.

According to Dirk, The Skylines can belt out a rhythm with gusto … be it Western, Sinhala or Tamil hits.

Also adding sparkle to the evening will be the legendary Fahmy Nazick, who, with his smooth and velvety vocals, will have the crowd on the floor.

Fahmy who was a household name, back in Sri Lanka, will be flying down from Virginia, USA.

He has captivated audiences in Sri Lanka, the Middle East and North America, and this will be his fourth visit to Toronto – back by popular demand,

Cherry DeLuna, who is described by Dirk as a powerhouse, also makes her appearance on stage and is all set to stir up the tempo with her cool and easy delivery.

“She’s got a great voice and vocal range that has captivated audiences out here”, says Dirk.

Chamil Welikala, said to be one of the hottest DJs in town, will be spinning his magic … in English, Sinhala, Tamil and Latin.

Both Jive and Baila competitions are on the cards among many other surprises on the night of 12 June.

This is The Anchorman’s fifth annual dance in a row – starting from 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 – and both Dirk and Michelle, and The Anchorman, have always produced elegant social events in Toronto.

“We intend to knock this one out of the park,” the duo says, adding that Western music and Sinhala and Tamil songs is something they’ve always delivered and the crowd loves it.

“We have always supported Sri Lanka-Canada community events, in Toronto, since launching The Anchorman, in 2002, and we intend to keep it that way.”

No doubt, there will be a large crowd of Sri Lankans, from all communities, turning up, on 12 June, to support Dirk, Michelle and The Anchorman.

Features

Face Pack for Radiant Skin

Published

11 hours ago

2026/04/30

Sahan Weerasooriya

* Apple and Orange:

Blend a few apple and orange pieces together. Add to it a pinch of turmeric and one tablespoon of honey. Apply it to the face and neck and rinse off after 30 minutes. This face pack is suitable for all skin types.

According to experts, apple is one of the best fruits for your skin health with Vitamin A, B complex and Vitamin C and minerals, while, with the orange peel, excessive oil secretion can be easily balanced.

* Mango and Curd:

Ripe mango pulp, mixed with curd, can be rubbed directly onto the skin to remove dirt and cleanse clogged pores. Rinse off after a few minutes.

Yes, of course, mango is a tasty and delicious fruit and this is the mango season in our part of the world, and it has extra-ordinary benefits to skin health. Vitamins C and E in mangoes protect the skin from the UV rays of the sun and promotes cell regeneration. It also promotes skin elasticity and fights skin dullness and acne, while curd, in combination, further adds to it.

* Grapes and Kiwi:

Take a handful of grapes and make a pulp of it. Simultaneously, take one kiwi fruit and mash it after peeling its skin. Now mix them and add some yoghurt to it. Apply it on your face for few minutes and wash it off.

Here again experts say that kiwi is the best nutrient-rich fruit with high vitamin C, minerals, Omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin E, while grapes contain flavonoids, which is an antioxidant that protects the skin from free radical damage. This homemade face pack acts as a natural cleanser and slows down the ageing process.