Features

WARTIME IN SRI LANKA

Published

11 months ago

2025/07/27

CHAPTER 11

The wheels of the vehicles of war with which Nazism [was] halted came from the latex of rubber trees collected on thousands of rubber estates in Ceylon. The millions of cups of tea that cheered troops on freezing battlements [came from] our plantations… When we talk of aid to developing countries… let us… remember that small countries like Ceylon helped Britain, the United States… and Russia when they were most in need of aid.

(Oliver Goonetilleke, as quoted in Jeffries,1969, p.63)

NU and State-run Industries A more confident NU returned to Sri Lanka in December 1939. Already the only qualified economist in government service, he now had expertise in the new field of business administration, along with an enhanced worldview from his year abroad. His value as an officer in the government had vastly increased, and his career would soon reach a new launching point – in 1942 – when Sri Lanka was beginning to mobilize for war. Wartime called for the marshalling of clear thinkers and effective administrators, persons with good judgment, unafraid to take quick decisions amid crisis conditions. NU had all these qualities in full measure. His discipline and organizing capacity equipped him to deal with the challenges presented by wartime emergencies. During this period, NU would be called upon to fill several posts linked to wartime contingencies.

Upon his return from London, NU resumed his position as Commercial Assistant in the Department of Commerce and Industries, and continued in this post for another three years with greater responsibilities. The government had sent NU to London for training in business administration primarily because it wanted to give “a lead to private enterprise by starting certain state-aided concerns on commercial lines” (J.C.W. Rock, in N.U. Jayawardena Personal Files, emphasis added). This policy was given further impetus as wartime created shortages of materials and goods, especially those required for the shipping of exports.

NU was placed in charge of the Model Coir Yarn Factory, which was the first commercial factory established by the Department of Commerce and Industries. According to NU, this was the first occasion he had of applying the knowledge acquired from his training in London. As NU explained:

In the space of 2 months work, engaged mostly part-time, I was able to reorganize the factory, introduce an efficient system of production control, execute a successful sales programme, and convert the factory from a loss to a profit-earning basis. (N.U. Jayawardena Personal Files)

NU applied for the post of Assistant Director (Factories) in December 1943.( A job application in his Personal Files shows that NU applied for this post. However, he did not take it up. There are no records to show whether this was because he was not selected, or because he was selected and decided against taking up the post. ) After having observed at first hand the latest production techniques used in British factories, NU would have been eager to apply the management principles he had studied and witnessed abroad.

The responsibility of organizing the sales section of the Department of Commerce and Industries was also entrusted to NU. This section was established to market the Department-run factories’ products, which were sold through a sales outlet on Chatham Street, known as the Marketing Department. Products are still sold under the Marketing Department’s “MD” label, though the operation was privatized some time ago.

Although NU was involved in the running of the government’s first factory, and later in the marketing of goods produced by the various government-run factories, the experience demonstrated to him the pitfalls of state involvement in industry, stemming from political expediency as well as from leaving decision-making to inexperienced and impractical civil servants. Years later, he would draw on this experience on many occasions when stating his aversion to state enterprises. He had particularly sarcastic words for D.H. Balfour, the Ministry Secretary whom he termed as “an infectiously imaginative civil servant… [graduating] from Cambridge, specializing in Chemistry, and now turned industrial entrepreneur,” whom NU noted, “displayed enthusiasm but less business judgment.” Balfour had set up a cement factory in Kankesanturai, a chemical factory in Paranathan, a paper factory in Valachchenai, a plywood factory in Galle, a steel factory in the suburbs of Colombo and a ceramics factory in Negombo, and an ilmenite factory in the Eastern Province, some of which were in some state of survival even in the 1980s. NU further noted that many of the factories set up by the government were located in the electorates of influential politicians (de Zoysa manuscript, p. 12).

NU during this time also served as the editor of the Ceylon Trade Journal, published by the Department of Commerce and Industries based on the work of the Commercial Intelligence Department. His involvement in other areas began to branch out. In November 1940, he was appointed to serve as Secretary to the Ceylon Delegation at the Eastern War Materials Conference, which was held over the course of a month in New Delhi.

Lecturing at University

In 1941, NU at age 33, the self-taught student of economics, became the teacher, when he was appointed visiting lecturer for the diploma course in Economics at the University College, Colombo. He gave lectures on Sri Lankan trade, commerce, industry and transport. The professor of Economics at that time was B.B. Das Gupta under whom NU had served earlier on the Banking Commission in 1934. In spite of his busy schedule, NU would have readily welcomed this opportunity, which brought him into contact with the intellectual community.

NU would have no doubt taught many future academics and public servants of Sri Lanka. Das Gupta commented favourably on NU’s contribution as a lecturer, noting that NU’s “official work… kept him in constant touch with economic problems,” adding that he was “a wide reader and balanced thinker.” NU’s association with the university exposed him to a different milieu, where intellectual discourse and access to a library of scholarly books were some of the advantages. S.A. Pakeman, Professor of History and Economics and acting Principal of the University College at the time, praised NU’s lectures as “most stimulating and valuable” (N.U. Jayawardena Personal Files). NU would have felt some sense of achievement when, a few years later, he was requested by the University College of Ceylon to set and be co-examiner of the two question papers in Economics for entry into the prestigious Ceylon Civil Service – of which he was never a member.

It is hard to imagine where NU found the time and energy tofulfil his diverse responsibilities, such as organizing factories and sales sections, editing a journal, preparing lectures, setting papers on Economics, and teaching. The war years were a frantically busy and tense period with its recurring crises, when many demands would be made on NU’s expertise in a variety of areas.

Wartime Sri Lanka

World War II reached Asia’s doorstep in July 1941, when the Japanese entered the conflict, by launching a surprise attack on Pearl Harbour, Hawaii. The Japanese forces made speedy advances spreading their grip in every corner of Asia, including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Burma (now Myanmar) and Singapore. After the fall of Singapore, it was inevitable that Sri Lanka, too, would soon be targeted by the Japanese.

In January 1942, Sri Lanka was put on a war footing, and Admiral Sir Geoffrey Layton was appointed Commander-in-Chief. A Civil Defence Department was also established. Oliver Ernest Goonetilleke (OEG), who had already established his credentials as Auditor General, was appointed Civil Defence Commissioner. Ivor Jennings, newly arrived on the island, served as OEG’s deputy.

The city and country had to be prepared for any contingency. Staff had to be quickly recruited, fire-fighting and emergency workers trained and equipped, and food provisions and distribution systems established. Fire gaps, wardens’ posts, trenches, shelters and water tanks were constructed; buildings protected by sandbags, and emergency kitchens and hospitals had to be set up to prepare the city in the event of bombing. An Air Raid Precautions (ARP) unit was formed to mobilize local leaders to act as wardens of civil defence. The department recruited 4,000 regular defence workers and 64,000 men and women part-time volunteers, who were “most of the more prominent leaders from Dondra Head to Point Pedro” (Jennings, 2005, p.126). Another task of the Civil Defence Department was to prevent the spreading of rumours and panic, and the leaking of information to the enemy. Posters reminding citizens that, “careless talk costs lives” were displayed throughout the city. Hoarding by black-marketeers was another serious problem of that period of shortages and rationing.

For those living in Colombo along and other parts of the country,there were many hardships, including food shortages, blackouts, and regular air-raid drills. Due to the shortage of rice, alternative forms of grain, such as bhajiri from India had to be imported and popularized. (A network of co-operative stores helped in the distribution of bhajiri and other rationed goods. The Communist Party, which supported the war effort, joined in supervising the distribution of food. Hedi Keuneman (Viennese wife of CP leader Pieter Keuneman) wrote: “I remember this as perhaps the most satisfying work I did because it made a genuine contribution to help the local population to get a fair supply of foodstuffs with their coupons.

Loading tea crates for shipment

The chief enemies were the blackmarketeers, and I remember arriving at our Co-op very early, long before opening time every morning, in order to prevent illegal black market dealings in food” (personal communication to K. Jayawardena, December 1990). One Sri Lankan recalled Hedi and Pieter Keuneman, surrounded by a crowd outside the main railway station of Colombo, when they were promoting alternative cereals to rice as a part of the war effort: It was not the usual pavement astrologer, musician or the snake-bite specialist, but a diminutive lady clad in a cheap cotton sari and… a tall young man in shirt and shorts. They were serving a steaming cereal to the people around them… I was simply thrilled and spent a considerable length of time watching the humanitarian drama.” (G. Nanayakkara, Sunday Island, 20 Jan. 1991) According to an eyewitness account of Hyacinth Mahendrarajah, who as a young girl lived through this time:

The cost of living rocketed sky-high. Food was scarce as no ships called at Colombo, which was normally an important port of call in the East. Ships were being bombed before they reached the various ports. This resulted

in a struggle to exist on a ‘meal a day’ that consisted mainly of yams and vegetables grown in the countryside.

The tension of imminent attack by the Japanese also created some anxiety, as Hyacinth further recounts:

At school they dug trenches for the children to go into, for protection during an air raid. We were given instructions on air raid precautions and whenever the siren sounded we had to observe them. These were carried out frequently to help us remember exactly what to do in the event of a genuine air raid. ( Mahendraraja, Hyacinth, Schoolgirl’s Memories in Ceylon, WW2 People’s War – An archive of World War II memories – public writings gathered by the BBC, entry contributed on 9 July 2004, http://www.bbc. co.uk/ww2peopleswar/categories/c54629/)

NU’s daughter Neiliya, who was a small child at that time, also recalls the air raid drills: “When the air raid sirens went off, both my brothers and myself had to run with our pillows to the dining room table under which our mats were laid” (Neiliya Perera, 2006).

The Japanese Attack on Sri Lanka

When the Japanese finally did attack Sri Lanka, the government was not caught completely off-guard – they had received advance notification that a fleet of Japanese ships was advancing southeast of Devundara, from a patrolling British pilot who had been able to radio news back to base before his plane was shot down. According to OEG’s account, the island was “wide open for attack” since “our own military resources were negligible… to meet an invasion” (Jeffries, 1969, p.58).

On Easter Sunday, 5 April 1942, the attack on Sri Lanka began. A fleet of Japanese aircraft raided Colombo, targeting the harbour and Ratmalana airport, followed by an attack on Trincomalee harbour. In both attacks, only a few ships were destroyed, and there were relatively few civilian casualties. ( In Colombo there had been 85 civilian casualties, about 50 of which were patients who were killed in the bombing of the Angoda Mental Hospital, which the Japanese had mistaken for a power station.

Two ships in the harbour – a destroyer and an armed merchant vessel – and two cruisers at sea were sunk. The harbour engineering workshops were severely damaged as well. One bomb fell in the Pettah on a Muslim hotel, completely destroying it. It opened a road in the Pettah known as “Oeeji’s Way” (Jeffries, 1969, pp.53- 54; and Jennings, 2005, p.130). In the Trincomalee attack, the HMS Hermes and two tankers were sunk, and the harbour installations and wharf were badly damaged (Jennings, 2005, p.132). The attack on Colombo, which was short but intense, turned the city into a ghost town overnight. Jennings described the panic:

As soon as the raid ended, a procession of cars… started moving out of Colombo by all the main roads… Those who had bullock carts piled up their baggage, packed in their families, (others carried) their worldly goods upon their heads. One-third of the population of Colombo left the city that day, some back to their villages but many knew not whither. (Jennings, 2005, p.131)

The evacuation caused more problems than the bombing. Apart from the serious shortage of food, there was a breakdown in distribution, as many shopkeepers had fled the city. Much of the local labour force necessary to carry out essential services, too, had disappeared. OEG managed to avert a crisis when he ordered the closed shops to be opened and “called out the whole staff of the Audit Department and put them to serve in boutiques” (ibid, p.131). NU, like many government servants, sent his family off to the countryside for a short period during this time, but himself stayed back in the city. His daughter Neiliya recalls being sent off to Koskandawela, a village in Gampaha, with her mother and two brothers, to live with a family who were known to her mother’s parents and that NU would visit them on weekends.

Accounts from this period reveal how close Sri Lanka came to being captured by the Japanese. It was a combination of luck and circumstances that saved Sri Lanka – Winston Churchill would later famously remark that the attack on Sri Lanka had been his “most

dangerous moment.” ( An account of the attack on Sri Lanka is given in a book entitled, Most Dangerous Moment: Japanese Assault on Ceylon, 1942, Mayflower (Sept. 1979), by Michael Tomlinson.) Although we know with hindsight that the Japanese had been halted in their advance and would not return to attempt further assaults on the island, at the time this was far from certain. ( Only 25 aircraft fighters were still serviceable the day after the attack on Sri Lanka, and only 4 were still

serviceable after the attack a few days later on Trincomalee (Jennings, 2005, p.133). Several fortunate circumstances averted disaster, including the fact that

the Japanese fleet did not have enough fuel to prolong the attack and had to return to Singapore for refuelling (Jeffries, p.58; and Jennings, 2005, pp.128-30).

The country would be kept on a war-footing for another three years until the Japanese were defeated in 1945. In spite of the threat of war, these were idyllic days for Neiliya

and her brothers. As she recalls:

It was here [Koskandawela] that we as children discovered the joys of fishing in streams, playing with calves, collecting eggs from chicken coops, playing with goats and their kids. Our whole life and activities centred around a mother who exposed us to all the beautiful things of the world. (Neiliya Perera, 2006)

Their stay in the village seems to have made a lasting impression on the children, for on returning to Colombo and their home in Police Park Avenue, “a single story beautiful colonial house with a large back and front garden,” Neiliya noted that:

The first thing my mother got us was a nanny goat for milk with three little kids and the three of us adopted one each. Then came a stream of animals thereafter – dogs which we had always had, two cows for milk, rabbits in numbers, a series of deer and even a baby bear and over the years we had parrots. One of the parrots called Polly would call out the names of her favourite people: ‘Nimal, Nanna’. The more exotic birds and animals belonged to my brother Nimal, who even today has as his hobby collecting

exotic birds and fish. (ibid)

On the other hand, these years when his young children were growing up were extremely busy ones for NU. Neiliya recounts an anecdote:

My father was as usual always busy at work. My mother was both father and mother… The story goes that my father worked so hard – seven days of the week, that he left home before my second brother Nimal was awake and came home after he was asleep. The most regular male visitor was the postman, and Nimal used to call the postman ‘Daddy.’ (ibid)

Oliver Goonetilleke

It was during wartime when, according to NU, he was “discovered” by Oliver Goonetilleke (OEG). It was upon OEG’s recommendation that he would be seconded to the Department of Commodity Purchase as Deputy Commissioner; and OEG was listed as a referee by NU on a job application in 1943.

OEG was one of the key figures in the colonial administrative service and also dominated the political scene during the war and post-war periods. NU was associated with him when OEG was Civil Defence and Food Commissioner, and would work closely with him as they both moved up the career ladder. There were many parallels in their lives. Oliver Goonetilleke, born in 1892, was the only son amongst the eight children of Alfred Ernest Goonetilleke, a postmaster from Kotte who was a Christian. OEG was educated at Wesley College, Colombo. Journeying by train, he walked to school from the station to save the tramcar fare of 5 cents, as his father was economically hard-pressed. Like NU, he took an external London University degree (BA), and also taught for a time at Wesley College. In 1924, OEG was Assistant Colonial Auditor, a post previously filled by British officials. In 1926 he did a postgraduate course at the London School of Economics, and in 1931 became the Colonial Auditor (renamed Auditor-General), an office he held for 11 years. As OEG’s biographer, Sir Charles Jeffries wrote:

The appointment was acclaimed as a new departure in policy and a new triumph for the Ceylonese people. The satisfaction was justified, for Goonetilleke’s promotion marked the beginning of the end of the traditional assumption that Ceylon, like other colonies, should be staffed, in the higher grades, from the general British Colonial Service. (Jeffries, 1969, p.38)

Although NU worked closely with OEG during the next several years, he would have disagreements with OEG regarding his policy on food subsidies – particularly rice subsidies. NU believed that these should have been gradually reduced following the war and warned OEG about the economic consequences of not doing so; political turmoil would end up being one of the results

(To be continued)

(Excerpted from N.U. JAYAWARDENA The first five decades)

By Kumari Jayawardena and Jennifer Moragoda ✍️

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Features

World Cup Football, Trump’s War and Peace Chaos, and Obama’s Serene Legacy

Published

13 hours ago

2026/06/21

Thilina Walpola

Barak Obama and Michelle Obama statue at the new Presidential Centre

President Trump is constantly exceeding expectations about his ability to spread chaos in his country and around the world. To the chaos and destruction of the war against Iran that he began on February 28, he is now adding the chaos of peace. The 2026 World Cup has crashed into the chaotic world of both. In the midst of all of Trumps’ chaos, the US is anchoring the hosting of 2026 World Cup Football, flanked by Mexico to the south and Canada to the north. In the midst of it all, former President Obama held the opening ceremony for the Obama Presidential Centre in southside Chicago on Thursday, June 18.

It was a beautiful ceremony that was full of grace and elegance and a call for future action to stop America’s aberrational detour of the last 10 years and restore its historical march towards being a more perfect union as stipulated in the constitution. Trump was not mentioned but the contrast was clear. In attendance were all former US Presidents and world leaders of the Obama era, including Germany’s Angela Merkel and Canada’s Justin Trudeau. The Presidential Centre is a massive campus with a 225-foot behemoth tower, a museum, library and a basketball gym.

The project has been controversial with initial community backlash about its location in a public park and the threat of gentrification that may drive modest households in the area out of their homes. The actual implementation of the project and the choreographing of its opening ceremony would seem to have responded well to the early concerns. The City of Chicago has passed an ordinance to preserve affordable housing in the area, and a University of Chicago study has projected that the Centre would create 1,900 new permanent jobs and an annual $220 million economic spin-off for the City.

The timing of the opening could not have been politically more apt than being midway through Trump’s rapidly unravelling second terms in office. Local and national artists provided politically immersive entertainment, and the speeches were by President Obama and the former First Lady Michelle Obama, the two finest of speakers in contemporary America. Neither of them mentioned Trump, but both left no doubt of their concern with Trump’s America and “fierce urgency” of the moment to start undoing all of Trump’s misdoings in America and around the world. Obama insisted that Centre is not meant to be a monument to his presidency but a “vibrant, living celebration of community,” and hoped that it would inspire Americans now experiencing “anger and vision” to look “for fairness and common sense and mutual respect,” at the same time.

The Centre and its opening ceremony are a perfect foil to the Trump’s presidency and its grotesque ways. This year Trump is presiding over the 250^th anniversary of American Independence. And he is doing it in his own way – inviting the King of England to mark the occasion and then hosting an evening of wrestling, of all places on one of the White House lawns, featuring only badass white male pugilists. The latter was also in celebration of his 80^th birthday. A good majority of Americans including Republicans do not approve of Trump’s vulgarization of American culture.

Trump signing the MOU at Chateâu de Versailles

Trump wants to transform Washington to entrench his name and image in perpetuity, to elevate him to the same status heights of presidential greats such as Lincoln and Kennedy, and to leave everywhere the maximalist mark of his obsession with gold and its colour. But the courts, certainly those below the Supreme Court, would have none of them. One after the other, the Courts have disallowed his bizarre efforts at narcissistic exhibitionism. A US District Court Judge in Washington has declared that Trump’s directive to change the name of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts be known as the “Trump-Kennedy Center” is unconstitutional, and he ordered the restoration of the original name along with the removal of the name of Trump from all of the Centre’s venue names, websites, records and documents. The courts have also stopped Trump’s construction ball to build a new oversized ballroom devouring one of its historic lawns. The president went ahead without license or permit excavating a foundation cavern, and now his legacy after he leaves the White House could be a gaping hole in front of the main building. It will fall to his successor to bury Trump’s legacy and back-fill the hole.

World Cup Antidote

It turns out that after 18 months of Trump’s chaotic and traumatic second term, the World Cup is a welcome antidote to the convulsions that only the current US president is capable of causing for others. For sports fans in general, the World Cup is crashing into a crowded midyear sports agenda, that includes the French Open and the Wimbledon tournaments in tennis and majors in other sports. With technology enabling the simultaneous coverage of the global and the local, sports like other entertainments is catering to the local and global interests of fans.

Forty eight countries, including Iran, are in the bowl, and their supporters and flags are overflowing the streets and stadia of the 16 cities in the US (11), Mexico (three) and Canada (two), where the matches are being played. FIFA oligarchy could not have found a better free market host than Donlad Trump. Ticket prices have gone through the roof, for unlike in Europe and South America where there are limits on prices, there is none in the US but only limited restrictions in Canada and Mexico. FIFA is reaping the American free market and keeping the national football associations quiet against fandom pressure by sharing the ticket bounty proportionately with each national outpost.

On the other hand, it is also remarkable to see massive crowds filling up the stadia and other public venues to watch their favourite game. For all the talk and reality of inequality in wealth, there is also money in the pockets of many to splurge on tickets for a world cup football game, the modern opium of the masses. As with the old religion, there is a hierarchy among spectators and their seats, the latter rising from the close-up seats at the pitch level, where the price is at its highest, and reaching to the skies above from where one can steal a bird’s eye view of the action below at much lower but still high prices.

For American sports fans, the World Cup came crashing into the finals of the National Basketball Championship, which was especially remarkable this year because the New York Knicks whose home base is the storied Maddison Square Gardens, the Mecca of basketball, in the heart of New York, won the national championship after an interval of 53 years. For basketball aficionados, the victorious 1973 Knicks team included such national figures as Phil Jackson and Bill Bradely. Jackson would later coach Michael Jordon and Chicago Bulls, and Kobe Bryant and LA Lakers, guiding them to multiple championships. Bradley went on to become a long serving US Senator from New Jersey for the Democratic Party and was an unsuccessful presidential contender in 2020. Bradley was often compared to the similarly unsuccessful Adlai Stevenson whom President Kennedy appointed as his envoy to the UN, calling him “the most articulate statesman of our time.”

The Knicks’ long awaited victory may inspire hope among contenders at the World Cup. Only eight countries have won the World Cup so far – Argentina, Brazil, England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Uruguay. Netherlands has been to three finals but never won the cup. Italy that has won four World Cups has twice failed to qualify – in 2022 and again in 2026. Germany, another four-times winner is looking to return to its winning ways and end its dismal record since 2014. Mexico and Portugal are leading soccer countries but have never won the cup or been in the finals.

England who invented the game has won the cup only once – way back in 1966 – and is hoping to win again. “Coming home … football is coming home”, the 1996 song is now being sung everywhere England is playing in North America. First sung to mark England’s hosting of the Euro Cup in 1996, the song has become England’s veritable football anthem blending nostalgic joy for the 1966 win and pathos, with hope, for the country’s successive losses ever since. The English team this year parades an impressive array of young talent. Fans are both hopeful as well as resigned as has been their wont. They have reason for hope as pundits have short listed England among the top four contenders.

As the opening matches are being played out, the favoured teams are acquitting themselves well. Argentina, the reigning champions, has sent perhaps the strongest message with its 3-0 victory over Algeria. More than the scoreline, it is Lionel Messi’s masterclass of a hat trick that has electrified the fans and alerted the other teams. France is not far behind with its 4-1 win against Senegal. England registered a stirring 4-2 win against Croatia, the country that defeated it in the semifinals in the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

The most favoured country Spain was totally out of sorts in its opening game and was held to a goalless draw by Cabo (or Cape) Verde, the little West African island and part of the Dutch Kingdom. Other contenders, Brazil, Portugal and Netherlands were held to 1-1 draws respectively by Morocco, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Japan. At the same time, Mexico, South Korea, USA, Australia, Germany, Sweden, Norway and Austria have scored impressive opening match victories. Iran played well against New Zealand in a 2-2 tie. No one is expecting any country that has never won the World Cup before to become champions now. The last time it happened was in 2010 when Spain won for the first time and only time so far. But that does not dampen fan enthusiasm over every match that will be played until the finals on Sunday, July 19, in New York City.

The paradox of Peace

American attention to world matters has never befitted the country’s superpower status. And the chasm have never been wider than under President Trump. The level of awareness ranges from total ignorance to absolute indifference. The attention to the war against Iran has been no different. The people, politicians and the media have almost singularly been focused on the price at the pump and the cost of groceries. These are fundamental concerns in politics, no doubt, but the economic havoc that the war is causing for the Middle East and the rest of the world has never been an equal concern in the US public discourse and media commentaries. Of course, American experts will lead the way analyzing and writing about the global effects of the war on Iran, but that will be a postmortem and it will not compensate for the real time failure of the Trump Administration to give due weight, as a superpower must, to the global effects of its war making decisions.

Trump admitted in France that he signed the MOU with Iran to avoid “economic catastrophe” in the US. That says it all even though he will likely never say it again. The MOU is officially called – Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran. So, Pakistan gets its place in history and deservedly so. And Trump crafted his own history by signing a hard copy of the MOU at the Palace of Versailles, of all palaces, following his G7 summit attendance in the French Alps. Will the same hard copy be ever signed by an Iranian leader is an open question. That will be for future museums to explain, among many other leftovers of Trump. Trump may also use a certified copy of the document, if not the original itself, for the next application on his behalf for the Nobel Peace Prize.

This MOU has been signed by multiple times by both sides, but perhaps its strongest endorsement came with the approval of direct negotiation between Iran and the US given by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mujtaba Khamenei and read out on state television. The paradox of this peace is that while the MOU is universally welcome everywhere in the world, it is receiving the harshest scrutiny within the US. There is no palpable enthusiasm for it in the country. The war hawks are not at all pleased. Republicans are confused about Trump going to war for no reason and signing an MOU that gives Iran a control over the Strait of Hormuz that it never had before.

Democrats have no interest in welcoming the MOU, and they are focused on the overall failure of Trump in the Middle East. The powerful Israeli lobby has gone mute, fully realizing that their Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has overreached himself with his war zealotry and made Israel unwelcome among a majority of Americans and a virtual pariah state in the world. Vice President Vance, who is doing damage control to save his own presidential plans for 2028, has warned that Israel must realize that President Trump is “the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment in time.”

The 14-point MOU is a finely worded and compact document, but it would have received universal support even in America had Trump achieved this without going to war and as an extension of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between Iran and the P5 + 1 (US, UK, France, Russia, China and Germany) that was facilitated by President Obama. Trump tore up that agreement and has been personally vindictive in criticizing Obama for allegedly reaching a deal that was only advantageous to Iran. It was not, and Trump’s irrational criticisms of the JCOPA are now coming back to haunt him as US critics are picking apart Trump’s MOU by comparing it to Obama’s JCPOA and taking into account the war-cost of the new MOU. Overseas, the G7 leaders who have been insulted by Trump all along, are welcoming the MOU as a “game changer,” perhaps hoping that flattery is the only way to keep Trump’s antics to be minimal for the rest of his presidency.

by Rajan Philips

Features

Meththa Rehabilitation Foundation:Restoring Mobility, Dignity and Hope Across Sri Lanka

Published

13 hours ago

2026/06/21

Thilina Walpola

For thousands of Sri Lankans living with limb loss and physical disabilities, access to quality rehabilitation services remains a significant challenge. Yet, for more than three decades, our organisation has quietly transformed lives through innovation, compassion and community-based care. The Meththa Rehabilitation Foundation Guarantee Limited (MRFGL), supported by the Meththa Foundation-UK has emerged as one of Sri Lanka’s most effective voluntary rehabilitation service providers, restoring mobility, independence and dignity to some of the country’s most vulnerable citizens.

The Foundation’s roots stretch back to 1994, when a group of expatriate Sri Lankan professionals in the United Kingdom recognized the severe shortage of rehabilitation services available to disabled persons in Sri Lanka. Drawing upon their expertise in rehabilitation medicine and allied healthcare professions, they established the Meththa Foundation-UK with a simple but powerful vision: to provide affordable, high-quality prosthetic and rehabilitation services to those who needed them most.

What began as an effort to recycle and repurpose high-quality prosthetic components donated by the UK’s National Health Service has evolved into a comprehensive rehabilitation network serving communities across the island.

Clinical services commenced in Sri Lanka in 1995 through a mobile outreach programme that initially supported injured soldiers and later expanded to civilians affected by conflict and disability. The majority of them were victims of land mines. In 2010, the Sri Lankan arm of the organisation was formally registered as the Meththa Rehabilitation Foundation Guarantee Limited, strengthening its ability to deliver sustainable services nationwide.

Today, the Foundation operates four modern rehabilitation centres located in Mahawa, Mankulam, Balapitiya and Kilinochchi. These centres provide prosthetic and orthotic services, posture and mobility support, limb repairs, and rehabilitation assistance to patients from diverse social and economic backgrounds.

Recognising that many disabled individuals live in remote areas with limited access to healthcare, Meththa Foundation also established a mobile outreach service in 2011. Through a successful “Hub and Spoke” model, rehabilitation teams travel regularly to underserved communities, ensuring that patients are not denied care simply because of distance or financial hardship.

The scale of the Foundation’s work is impressive. During 2025 alone, the organization recorded approximately 2,000 patient contacts, including the provision of 350 new artificial limbs, 850 limb repairs and around 800 other rehabilitation devices. For many beneficiaries, these interventions represent far more than medical treatment; they offer a pathway back to employment, education and social participation.

Innovation has become a hallmark of the Foundation’s approach. Through an active research and development programme, MRFGL has developed affordable prosthetic technologies specifically suited to Sri Lankan conditions. Among its achievements is the development of a modular below-knee artificial limb system manufactured largely from locally sourced materials. The Foundation has also designed low-cost prosthetic knee components that significantly reduce the financial burden on patients while maintaining quality and functionality. These developments are funded by generous International Grants facilitated by affluent members of the Meththa Foundation-UK. Service users are encouraged to donate whatever they can but for those who cannot, which is a majority the services are entirely free.

These innovations not only make rehabilitation more affordable but also strengthen local manufacturing capabilities and reduce dependence on imported components.

Equally important is the Foundation’s commitment for building local expertise. Recognizing the shortage of trained rehabilitation professionals in Sri Lanka, Meththa Foundation established an apprentice-based vocational training programme that recruits and trains young people as prosthetists, orthotists and rehabilitation technicians. Several locally trained staff members are now employed across the Foundation’s centres, helping to create a sustainable workforce for the future.

The organisation’s work has attracted growing recognition within the healthcare sector. Discussions have already taken place with health authorities regarding the potential use of Meththa-designed prosthetic components within Government hospitals. Such collaboration could significantly expand access to affordable rehabilitation services throughout the country.

Beyond its clinical achievements, the Foundation’s impact is measured in restored confidence and renewed independence. Surveys conducted among beneficiaries indicate that many educated amputees successfully return to productive lives after receiving rehabilitation support. However, the Foundation also highlights an ongoing challenge among poorer and less educated amputees, many of whom struggle to access follow-up care due to transportation difficulties and financial constraints.

To address this issue, the organization hopes to expand its mobile services and community outreach programmes. Additional funding would allow rehabilitation teams to reach isolated communities more frequently, ensuring that vulnerable patients continue to receive the support they need.

Operating on an annual expenditure of approximately Rs. 30 million in Sri Lanka, supplemented by overseas fundraising and donations, the Foundation remains heavily reliant on the generosity of donors, charitable trusts and well-wishers. Every contribution directly supports the provision of artificial limbs, mobility devices, training programmes and outreach services for those who might otherwise be left behind.

As Sri Lanka continues to strengthen its healthcare and social welfare systems, organisations such as the Meththa Foundation demonstrate how innovation, volunteerism and dedication can create lasting social impact. By helping individuals regain mobility and independence, the Foundation is not merely providing artificial limbs—it is rebuilding lives and restoring hope.

For many beneficiaries, every step they take is a testament to the life-changing work of the Meththa Foundation.

www.meththafoundation-sl-uk.org

Chairman’s WhatsApp contact number +94 77 788 6119

Prof S P Lamabadusuriya, Chairman

Dr B Panagamuwa, First Trustee

Features

Sri Lanka’s Marine Frontline: Dr. Samantha Gunasekara’s Battle Against Plastic Pollution and Transboundary Waste

Published

13 hours ago

2026/06/21

Thilina Walpola

Dr. Gunasekara with Environment Minister Dr Dhammika Patabendi at the First International Conference on Marine Science & Sustainability

For decades, Sri Lanka’s coastline has been celebrated for its pristine beaches, rich marine biodiversity and vibrant fishing communities. Yet beneath the beauty lies an escalating environmental crisis that threatens ecosystems, fisheries, tourism and coastal livelihoods.

At the forefront of the battle against marine pollution is Dr. Samantha Gunasekara, Chairman of the Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA), who has spearheaded some of the country’s most ambitious coastal restoration and pollution mitigation programmes in recent years.

In an interview with The Island, Dr. Gunasekara outlined the scale of the challenge facing Sri Lanka’s marine environment, from locally generated plastic waste to transboundary pollution washing ashore from beyond the country’s borders.

He also spoke about the ongoing clean-up following the MV MSC Elsa 3 maritime incident and the urgent need for regional cooperation to tackle marine litter in the Indian Ocean.

“The issue is much bigger than what people see on a beach,” Dr. Gunasekara said. “When the public notices plastic bottles, polythene bags or other debris on the shoreline, they are only seeing the final stage of a problem that begins many kilometres inland.”

: Transboundary pollution

According to him, more than 80 percent of marine plastic pollution originates from land-based sources.

“What is found in the ocean is largely a reflection of what happens on land. Waste discarded into canals, streams and rivers eventually reaches the sea. Unless we address waste management within the country, marine pollution will continue regardless of how many clean-up programmes we conduct.”

He noted that household waste, industrial refuse, improperly managed dumpsites and littering remain major contributors to marine pollution.

Over the past year, MEPA has intensified its coastal clean-up operations, restoring numerous beaches that had been heavily contaminated by plastic and polythene waste.

The results have been dramatic.

Photographs documenting several restoration projects reveal coastlines once buried beneath layers of plastic debris transformed into clean and attractive public spaces.

“The President himself expressed concern after seeing the scale of pollution in some areas,” Dr. Gunasekara said. “That support has enabled us to move forward with several restoration initiatives.”

Yet, despite local efforts, Sri Lanka continues to face a challenge largely beyond its control—transboundary marine pollution.

Dr. Gunasekara was particularly concerned about the volume of waste washing ashore in the Northern Province and surrounding islands.

He said islands such as Delft, Nainativu, Punkudutivu and Eluvaitivu receive enormous quantities of foreign-origin debris every year.

“The quantities are unbelievable. If someone visits these locations after a rough sea period, they will immediately understand the magnitude of the problem,” he said.

According to observations made during numerous clean-up operations, a significant proportion of the debris appears to originate from across the Palk Strait.

“Based on the labels, packaging, language markings and the nature of the waste, it is evident that much of the material comes from India. In some locations, nearly all the debris collected can be traced to Indian sources,” Dr. Gunasekara said.

He stressed that the issue should not be viewed as an attempt to assign blame but rather as a regional environmental challenge requiring regional solutions.

“The ocean does not recognise political boundaries. What enters the sea in one country can easily end up on the shores of another. This is why cooperation among neighbouring countries is essential.”

Nevertheless, he believes stronger action is required.

“Sri Lanka invests considerable resources in cleaning its coastlines. When foreign-origin waste continuously arrives on our shores, it places an additional burden on our economy and our institutions.”

Recognising the seriousness of the issue, MEPA has prepared policy proposals and submitted recommendations through the relevant ministry seeking higher-level government engagement.

A Cabinet paper addressing transboundary marine debris has also been prepared for consideration.

“The intention is to facilitate discussions at government-to-government level. We need practical mechanisms for prevention, monitoring and mitigation,” he said.

Dr. Gunasekara pointed out an apparent contradiction.

“Several coastal areas in India have received international recognition for beach cleanliness and environmental management. Therefore, there is no reason why similar standards cannot be maintained more broadly. The challenge is ensuring that waste generated inland does not eventually enter the marine environment.”

Another major challenge facing Sri Lanka has been the aftermath of the MV MSC Elsa 3 incident, which released large quantities of plastic nurdles into the marine environment.

Nurdles are tiny plastic pellets used as raw material in plastic manufacturing and are considered among the most difficult forms of marine pollution to remove because of their small size and tendency to disperse over vast distances.

Dr. Gunasekara recalled that the first signs of contamination emerged in Delft Island before spreading rapidly along the coastline.

“Initially there was little evidence of significant contamination. Then, within weeks, large quantities began washing ashore,” he said.

The pellets eventually spread across numerous northern islands and along extensive sections of the western coastline.

MEPA responded immediately, deploying personnel and mobilising local communities.

For the first three months, the authority led much of the clean-up effort directly.

However, the scale of contamination soon required additional resources.

Discussions were initiated with representatives of the shipping company and its insurers.

“The company agreed to support the clean-up operation under MEPA’s supervision and technical guidance,” Dr. Gunasekara said.

Today, thousands of workers continue to participate in the recovery effort.

At its peak, nearly 1,700 labourers were engaged daily in collecting nurdles and associated debris from affected coastal areas.

The operation remains one of the largest marine pollution response exercises undertaken in Sri Lanka.

Workers have been provided with protective equipment, water, welfare facilities and logistical support funded by the responsible parties.

“The objective is not simply to remove visible pollution but to minimise long-term environmental impacts,” Dr. Gunasekara said.

The task has proven far more complex than initially anticipated.

Changing ocean currents and rough weather have redistributed pollution into previously unaffected locations.

“Areas that were relatively clean months ago are now receiving fresh deposits. Therefore, the operation remains dynamic and requires constant monitoring.”

The volume of recovered material has been staggering.

According to MEPA estimates, approximately 47 shipping containers have already been filled with collected debris.

“These containers include nurdles, bottles, packaging material and other plastic waste recovered from beaches and coastal habitats,” he said.

The authority is now examining environmentally responsible disposal options.

Recycling remains difficult because prolonged exposure to seawater often contaminates plastic materials and reduces their suitability for conventional recycling processes.

Adding another mystery, MEPA recently detected coloured nurdles among the recovered pellets.

“We have found red, blue and green pellets. Traditionally, nurdles are colourless. We are investigating the source and significance of these findings,”

Dr. Gunasekara said.

Despite the immense challenges, he remains encouraged by the support received from local communities.

Fishing families, religious leaders, schools and volunteer groups have joined restoration efforts across the country.

In the North, villagers welcomed clean-up teams with garlands and handmade gifts as expressions of gratitude.

“These gestures demonstrated how much these communities value their environment,” he said.

Religious institutions have also become important partners.

“In several coastal regions, churches and temples helped coordinate volunteers and identify the most vulnerable communities requiring assistance.”

Looking ahead, Dr. Gunasekara believes Sri Lanka must adopt a broader vision of marine environmental protection.

He argues that marine pollution should no longer be regarded solely as an environmental issue.

“It affects fisheries, tourism, public health and national development. Every plastic bottle thrown into a canal ultimately becomes someone else’s problem.”

He also advocates stronger regional cooperation within South Asia to address marine pollution, improve waste management and establish joint monitoring mechanisms.

“The future of the Indian Ocean depends on collective action. No country can solve this problem alone.”

As Sri Lanka continues its struggle against mounting environmental pressures, Dr. Gunasekara’s message is both urgent and hopeful.

“The sea has sustained our civilisation for generations. Protecting it is not merely an environmental obligation; it is a responsibility we owe to future generations.”

For the chairman of MEPA, the mission extends beyond cleaning beaches. It is about safeguarding an entire marine heritage—one that remains central to Sri Lanka’s identity, economy and future prosperity.

By Ifham Nizam