Features
More on rape of forests:
Self-appointed economists drop drips of wisdom
It is good to see and read the hoo haa that is being raised over rapid deforestation in Free Sri Lanka. Sunday Punch in the Sunday Times of November 29 dealt this blow: “New writ opens season to slam the country’s rainforest canopy: 700,000 hectares of forest land condemned to face the axe before the altar of Mammon.” Punched well but will it have any effect? Will the new ordinance be changed? Will racketeers and shitty money makers stop felling trees, even if it’s forbidden by law? Most think only of immediate personal gain and to hell with the country and its welfare, fauna and flora included!
A recent The Island editorial described an ugly incident in Polonnruwa, where the State Minister of Wildlife Protection and Forest Resource Development, Wimalaweera Dissanayake, “had conniptions, when Wildlife Officers refused to follow his order that villagers be allowed to graze their cattle inside wildlife sanctuaries What he was doing was to violate the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance.” Can you see the tragic irony of the situation? Here the State Minister is going against his TORS and mandate. Not only does this sentence show how corrupt things have become normal, but also taught readers a new word: conniptions. Cass had to google fast to get its meaning, which is “a fit of hysterical excitement or anger.” How very apt! We are justified in mixing in a pinch of insanity caused by temporary power and of course self interest into the aforesaid incident. Female forest officer Devani Jayathilake should be greeted with hosannas all over again. She boldly argued with State Minister Sanath Nishantha to save a mangrove earmarked for an ostensible playground but thought to have a hotel built. We saw how that State Minister ranted at the woman, in dire conniption! His power was being challenged while his devious plans were exposed. Many men just stood around, Cass remembers, as Devani stood her ground for country – alone and unaided.
Pseudo economists Sunday Punch
on 29 November also dealt a strong punch with the sub heading “Wimal’s 5000 buck shot”. The article read thus: “Perhaps Weerasangilige Wimal Weerawansa was born with the proverbial silver spoon stuffed in his oral cavity right down to…” Yes, one could think thus observing the luxury he ensconces himself and his family in, sunk in further luxury as he drives around, 
Now he is turned pro-government economist pronouncing the Rs 5000 handout to the poorest of the daily employed should suffice for an entire month for his/her family! Won’t last a single man for basic living for even a week; with prices what they are.
He is following in the older footsteps of economist pundit, earlier tuition master, who made a similar statement. They sound as if these blighted disadvantaged are lice or mice!
Of course, Cassandra must add that people on the whole are never satisfied and demand bigger handouts whenever there is even a whiff of economically straightened circumstances. It’s always asking for more and in such an ugly fashion with insults hurled at the government. If the men folk stopped imbibing or drug taking and a bit of savings was done, they could try at least to weather difficult times instead of expecting full manna to fall to them as if it is fully deserved.
Demeaning TV clips
Cass is certain others join her when she opines that TV cameras should not, or very briefly shoot scenes where women go to town howling, crying, clawing and hurling insults. When the unemployed locked-down are shown on TV and after the Mahara prison riot these scenes were focused on woman tearing their hair, screaming and sobbing and even fainting with sheer sorrow. At what? Their rioting kinsman and women prisoners. If only they had restrained them and showed such concern when they were peddling drugs or actually abusing it.
More restraint is called for. Our people will not contain their exuberant emotions, mostly of sadness or revenge and hate, and hardly ever behave with dignity and the calmness all religions advocate. Cameras should not focus on such.
Judging execution of duties depends entirely on political party in power
Headline in a Sunday newspaper of November 29 read thus: “HRCSL concerned over health and threats to Shani’s life”. Shani Abeysekara, ex-CID Director, is the person imprisoned and now in danger of his life having contracted Covid-19. His crime and reason for his arrest and incarceration are having done his duty diligently during his tenure of service. What we see now is that good duty served gets classified as crimes when governments change with different parties grabbing the reins of government. What was a crime then is not so now and the diligent, dutiful and hard-working official is termed a criminal when new leaders come marching in. Efficient public servants of then deserve punishment. Mistakes, misappropriation of funds then is pardoned and blameless now. And so the roller coaster moves with changes of government. And who ultimately suffers: WE the PEOPLE. We will have no police or judges or anyone to rely on. The stealer of a coconut then, will continue to be the stealer now and he of course gets more than his due punishment since he carries not a smithereen of clout. He is expendable. Hence our quandary: battered on one front by Covid; on another by economic and financial deprivation; and a third front buffeted by fractured faith in government and its long arms.
Cass sadly supposes this beautiful land of ours will never see a Nelson Mandela at the helm of government. Also, never an admittance of a fault or mistake by big bugs in power.
An unexpected flash of sunshine
Cass watched the BBC 1000 Women in their series Witness History on Tuesday December 01 feeling doom, gloom and despair. All driven away by the shy smile of Mrs Sirimavo Bandaranaike featured beautifully as the world’s first woman Prime Minister. As her daughter Sunethra narrated, she rose to the elevated job very soon and held her own with dignity and sureness amongst world leaders. Those were the politicians my friend! Maybe many of them were good not being born, bred, trained and tainted as poli-tikkas. They all had their warts, big and small, but in the long run we could be proud of them, and they did serve the country and its people. To when? JRJ? Mould seems to have been broken by the bludgeon of self interest, and monetary and power gain. We had faith of a resurrection with the election of the present Prez.
With a woman at the helm of the health ministry it had to be a man – Leader of Opp – who proposed that hygienic needs of women be tax free. Scotland gives all products free having passed that in their Parliament. Our minister is too busy with the mumbo jumbo of the esoteric.
Es vaha?
Oh, deari deari me! Such a pity Biden’s playing with his dog caused him to take a toss and suffer a hairline fracture, necessitating the wearing of orthopedic boots for a while. Anyways, thank heavens it was only a minor accident. Cass of course, given to cursing and the evil tongue, is sure it was es and kata vaha, meaning the evil eye and tongue that brought on the mishap. Inevitable when a good man succeeds. Sure, Trump would have swung his golf club the harder with delight