Features
40th Death Anniversary of Justin Wijayawardhana: Reminiscences of a bygone socio-political milieu
By Dr Upul Wijayawardhana
It was 14th January 1982. I, together with my family, was making slow progress from Colombo to Matara in the pre-expressway era, when we heard on the car radio, the noon news bulletin of SLBC announcing the death of my father. There were no mobile phones then for me to receive the sad news from the family. My sister Mali, the only other medic in the family, very kindly undertook the onerous task of looking after our father in the intimate environs of our traditional family home ‘Wijaya Giri”‘ in Godagama rather than allowing him to wither away on a hospital bed. Having visited my father a few days earlier and persuaded Mali against active treatment in an inevitable situation, I was not surprised to learn the end of his multifaceted life but was sad that I could not be there, holding his hand that penned millions of words, when he left this world after decades of selfless service.
Standing at the foot of the bed and looking at his majestic face darkened by death, I thought to myself, “What have I done, compared to what you achieved in so many spheres?” I am still reading about his unmatchable achievements and learning more and more about him from others who write about him. has taken 40 long years for me to pen this tribute although my admiration of him has grown exponentially over the years. In fact, I wondered whether I could be tarnishing his image posthumously by referring to him as a politician because he had so many other significant achievements. I am doing so purposefully to emphasis that our country was once blessed with politicians whose mission was to serve.
First to represent the UNP from Matara District
Communism took root in the Matara district because the leader of the Communist Party Dr S A Wickramasinghe was from there and also a very caring general practitioner. In fact, my father started social service in the early 1930s with Dr Wickramasinghe, forming the Matara Youth Society with him as secretary and Dr Wickramasinghe as the president. Although they parted ways due to ideological differences, they remained friends, and Dr W was gracious enough to offer him the nomination from the Communist Party on more than one occasion. In spite of certainty of success, my father refused and stood by the UNP. The Matara branch of the UNP proposed him as the candidate for the 1952 and 1956 general elections, but the hierarchy of the UNP parachuted outsiders encouraging caste-based politics.
In 1960, the UNP high-command was forced to relent and my father successfully contested Matara seat becoming the first UNP MP for Matara and the first to do so from the whole district. He was chosen to propose the vote of thanks to the throne speech of the Dudley Senanayake government enabling him to demonstrate his much-recognised oratory in the parliament too. His old friend, Dr W retorted cynically from the Opposition benches, “My good friend has made an excellent speech, as usual, but it may well be the funeral oration of this government”, which was prophetic! Unfortunately, my father lost in July, the seat he gained in March. One reason for the loss was malicious stories spread by his opponents alleging he had said, that he needed to wash the seat in the parliament before sitting on it. I know well this was more hurtful to him than losing the election as he was one of the pioneers in the South to stand against caste divisions. In fact, in early 1940s, when caste discrimination was rampant in the South, he organised, as the Secretary of the Matara branch, a Sinhala New Year Celebration which commenced with many from different castes eating Kiri Bath, sitting on mats with the leader of the Sinhala Maha Sabha, S W R D Bandaranaike.
S W R D’s offer
The SLFP government people elected in 1956 with high hopes also started faltering. Sensing the imminent danger, SWRD started planning a revamp. He wanted to go to the UN to display his masterful oratory and reconstitute the Cabinet on his return. He sent an emissary to my father with the offer of appointment to the Senate as the Junior Minister of Education straightaway to be made the Minister with the planned reshuffle. According to my mother, who overheard the conversation, he did not take even a second to refuse the offer.
Betrayal by UNP
Undaunted by the loss, my father continued to teach and do social work. The crossover of C P De Silva caused Mahanama Samaraweera to be nominated the UNP candidate for Matara. J R Jayewardene persuaded my father to contest the Kamburupitiya seat saying, “Justin, don’t worry. Even if you lose, we will look after you. After all, there is the Senate”. My father lost, the UNP forgot the promises, but he enabled my cousin, Chandrakaumara and my brother, Ranjan to represent that constituency subsequently.
George Rajapaksa once told me, “The UNP does not know how to treat the faithful, the best example being your father. If he had done for us what he did for the UNP, we would place him on a high pedestal”.
Even during his era, my father perhaps was too soft and remained with the UNP till his death. Would any other person have refused such offers?
Maybe, to overcome their guilt, the UNP government issued a stamp in the memory of my father in 1990.
Teacher, par excellence
Born on 18 November 1904, Kotawila Withanage Don Charlis Justin Wijayawardhana attended the missionary school in the village before joining to St. Thomas College in Matara. Don Juvanis Wijayawardhana, a notary’s clerk, decided to send his son to Mahinda College, Galle in view of the brilliant performance of his son, Justin at the Junior School Certificate Examination. More than the easy success in the Cambridge Senior examination, what Mahinda College gave my father was the inspiration to fight for independence and the preservation of Buddhism. Though he could have got a more rewarding government position with his qualifications, he opted to be a teacher and joined Rahula College in Matara.
He contributed immensely to the upliftment of Rahula College by the renowned principal Mr D J Kumarage, to be one of the best schools in the country. Rahula was an assisted school, which meant only teachers’ salaries were paid by the government. To meet the increasing demand for admissions, my father went round with Mr Kumarage and persuaded philanthropists in the area to build four buildings which were ceremoniously opened by Prime Ministers DS, Dudley, Sir John and Sir Oliver, the Governor General.
In addition, he was in charge of Sinhala and English debating teams, Arts and Drama society. He wrote many plays for students to stage of which one stands out; Matara Batha, a comedy which was so hilarious, it is said that even Mr Kumarage, who seldom smiled, burst into laughter.
My father taught Buddhism, Sinhala and art. He taught me too and I managed to fail in art, the only subject that I have ever failed! After teaching and inspiring many generations of students, he retired in 1964 having devoted his entire teaching career to Rahula.
Social service
He was a live-wire of the co-operative movement and headed the village co-operative till a few years before his death. He masterminded village development projects like roads and culverts through the Village Development programme.
When Buddhism was threatened by a fanatic sect, Thapasa Nikaya and , defended Bhikkhus threatened by misguided villagers. With the support of Chandraratna Manawasinghe, who was on the editorial staff of Lankadeepa, my father was able to dispel the falsehoods, helping save Buddhism in Sri Lanka.
He reserved his best for Community Centres Praja Mandala, which were established in Matara and surrounding areas. They were the meeting places where villagers could listen to the radio for the very first time. He obtained radios from the government for these centres. Those huge primitive devices needed a massive aerial across the tallest of coconut trees to get a rattly short-wave reception and were powered by car batteries, needing a fortnightly replacement by the post office. When they got late, the radio fell silent and the whole village missed the ‘Radio bana’.
The crowning glory was the annual congress of Community Centres, which lasted a couple of days with many competitions; that was the only opportunity for people to display their talents, unlike today, when we have too many talent shows. One of the highlights was the Kavi Maduwa, the poet’s corner where reputed guest poets gave lectures, in addition to recitals. That was the biggest event in the cultural calendar of the South.
Pioneer translator and writer
A visit to India in the late 1930s changed my father’s life forever as he was able to meet the leaders of the Indian Independence Movement but the most important was his meeting Rabindranath Tagore, whose works he had already translated to Sinhala. He recalled with great fondness the unexpectedly long meeting wherein Tagore granted him permission to translate any of his works.
Sivumal Motagedara, who studied the life and literary works of my father for his research project for the M A degree from Colombo University, has published his dissertation “Justin Wijayawardhana: Jeewithya ha Sastriya Sevaya (Godage, ISBN 978-955-30-9644-9). He argues, very convincingly that it is a great injustice that Justin Wijayawardhana has not been accorded a much more prominent place in Sinhala literature and takes to task the academia for not doing so. He rates Justin Wijayawardhana as the pioneer translator who introduced the works not only of Eastern writers like Tagore but also Western writers like Leo Tolstoy, Hall Caine, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Walt Whitman and H G Wells to Sinhala readers. He also mentions Wijayawardhana’s ability to change the style of writing to fit the original for translation and contends that it is rare.
Perhaps, the main reason why my father’s writings have not received the attention it deserves is they were published in newspapers and magazines––not as books due to lack of facilities like agents for writers and the monopoly held by only a few publishers.
I know the great difficulties he had in getting his first book, “Nasthikara Puthraya”, the translation of Sir Hall Caine’s ‘The Prodigal Son’ published in 1964. He had to give up royalty for a tiny sum and the publisher did not even notify how many copies were sold!
Although he had many manuscripts ready, unfortunately, only two more books were published during his lifetime.
One was a translation of a book on the invasion of Tibet “Tibbethaye Bauddha Manava Sanharaya”, which was extensively used by the UNP during the 1965 election campaign. The other was “Tom Mamage Kutiya”, a translation Of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s masterpiece ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’, which was published by Marga in 1976.
The Ministry of Cultural Affairs, acceding to our request, published “Seeliyage Lokaya” in January 1983 to coincide with the first death anniversary and “Samawa Deema” in January 1984 to coincide with the second death anniversary. The latter, a collection of translations of ten short stories by Russian writers Leo Tolstoy, Maxim Gorky, Anton Chekhov and Hungarian writers Geza Gardonyi, Kalman Mikszath, Karoly Kisfaludy, was completed in September 1975 and dedicated to JRJ, the then leader of the Opposition. The dedication in my father’s handwriting, in his trademark violet ink, written with his beloved ‘Swan’ pen is reprinted in this book.
“Seeliyage Lokaya”
is an original work written in a novel genre. It is an exploration of village life, a synthesis of events and people in their respective villages of birth as seen by my parents. However, he has titled it ‘Seeliya’s world’, as he called my mother, Jinaseeli Jayawardana ‘Seeliya’ affectionately. The cover was drawn by my youngest brother Kamal. During one of my visits to President JRJ, when I presented a copy, he went through the chapter titles carefully and said “Upul, you must translate this to English as it is a mirror, showing the world what our village life is. It will be the opposite of ‘Grass for My Feet’ by J Vijayatunga”. I tried but, unfortunately, I do not seem to have inherited the translator gene!
The youngest of our six sisters, Champa is doing a tremendous job in keeping our father’s literary heritage going. She had been able to get “Nasthikara Putrya” and “Seeliyage Lokaya” republished. “Samawa Deema” has also been republished with a new title “Idama ha Thanhawa”. In addition, she has got the following in print: “Punarjeewanaya”, a translation of Leo Tolstoy’s ‘Resurrection, “Lo Pathala Keti Katha”, a collection of short stories by world famous authors including Tagore, Mulkraj Anand, Guy de Maupassant, Oscar Wild” and “Minis Angaharu Yuddaya”, a translation of H G Wells’ ‘War of the Worlds’.
‘Sai Baba: Man of Miracles’ by Howard Murphet was translated at the request of the Sai Baba Society, which was made in late 1974. Although my father finished the translation in a matter of two months, a unique achievement for a book running to 400 pages, it did not come out in print till a year after his death, in spite of Sai Baba’s blessings!
Matara C Justin Wijayawardhana started writing to Sinhala newspapers and magazines from his late teens and continued for six decades. In addition to articles on Buddhism and current affairs, there are many more translations that have been serialised. Champa is engaged in this monumental task of gathering them so that more books may be published.
Marriage
My father, who initially put service over marriage, changed his mind the moment he saw a new lady teacher who joined Rahula staff. The marriage of Justin Wijayawardhana and Jinaseeli Jayawardana from Ransegoda took place on 17 May 1940, during the biggest flood ever recorded in the Southern Province. We were under the impression that the bridegroom encountered the flooding on his way to the bride’s but two books by Hewamadduma brothers give a different story. The Hewamadduma family from Lenaduwa was one of the closest families to ours. Till his untimely death in 2013, Amare, the well-known administrator, historian and writer used to write regularly about my father. After that his younger brother Dharme has taken over. In Amare’s book “Amara Samara-1”, as well as his elder brother Upatissa’s book “Ma Dutu Maha Purushaya: Justin Wijayawardhana” give detailed accounts, as recounted by their father. Every time a flood occurred, their father Sinnno Appuhamy used to say, “This is nothing compared to the flooding when Wijayawardhana mahattaya got married” and had gone on to relate how my father directed the preparation of boats the previous evening and how they paddled the 15 miles in floodwaters and brought back the couple, disregarding all warnings, safely to Godagama at 3 am, the following day! Apparently, my father having settled the new bride in bed had gone immediately to help flood victims. That shows his character and that my mother was solidly behind him. By the way, Thilakasena Sahabandu, who was married to Hewamadduma sister Karuna, wrote a beautiful anthology of poems titled ‘Sevaye Suwanda (Fragrance of service) which helped a great deal in my father’s election victory.
Funeral
Unfortunately, what should have been Justin Wijayawardhana’s greatest legacy was not to be. Seeing how the poor got into difficulty with lavish funerals, he campaigned for simple funerals but his pleas fell on deaf ears. However, he ensured his funeral was simple and my mother did even better, ensuring that we handed over her body to the Galle Medical Faculty when she died on 24 February 1986.
Detailed written instructions were left about the funeral but true to his considered manner, he stated we could make changes if circumstances demanded. He also stated that if we felt bad for not spending on the funeral, to build a house for a poor family, which we did. The day after death, he was cremated in a coffin made from cheap wood and painted white, on a simple pyre made from locally collected wood. Though his voice was heard at almost every local funeral, he did not want funeral orations and as stipulated there was one anusasana. Although we did not inform any VIPs, Finance Minister Ronnie de Mel turned up and as he was representing the government, we allowed him to speak. The only thing beyond our control was the massive crowd.
As we watched, a great man who had rendered selfless service for almost eight decades, gradually turned into ashes. As requested, his ashes were thrown in Nilawala Ganga.
May he attain the supreme bliss of Nibbana!
In this article, I introduce an idea which is simple to implement but is powerful and helps with building technical skills, strengthening the country brand and creating international opportunities for Sri Lankans. Furthermore, it can diversify and extend the country’s tourism revenue streams.
The simple idea is to introduce a hassle-free visa for Internships, Volunteering, Expert Exchange Programs and Short-term Studies. For brevity, let me call it a Knowledge Transfer Visa or KTV. There are three important clarifications to make up-front. Firstly, this visa is not for those seeking paid employment in Sri Lanka. Secondly, the local partner needs to ensure that if any local permits or permissions are applicable, these are in place and cover any KTV holders. Thirdly, it is not a resident’s visa and tourist rates will have to be paid by KTV holders for their sightseeing.
It is also important to spell out up-front a critical requirement for success. This is that an applicant from a country who is entitled to obtain an online tourist visa quickly and easily should be able to obtain a KTV with the same ease and convenience. It would be reasonable for the Department of Immigration to have an additional information box in the visa application to ask for the name and contact details of the local partner (corporate or individual). But it should not be the role of the visa issuing officer in a Sri Lankan foreign mission or the Department of Immigration to examine paperwork to assess the credentials of the visitor and the local partner. This should be left to the applicant and local partner to assess each other. By analogy, a tourist is not asked to demonstrate that the hotel they have booked into is validly registered as a tourism business. Nor does the visa issuing process ask the hotel if they have vetted the tourist’s ability to pay. If the KTV is kept as simple as an online tourist visa, it will succeed, otherwise it will fail to deliver the potential benefits.
A reader may ask why this sort of visa is needed. The answer is that Sri Lanka is well positioned to benefit from activities covered in a knowledge transfer visa. However, such visits will only materialise if foreign nationals are reassured that they can arrive for such purposes with a visa where the purpose of their visit is explicitly recognised and they are confident that their visit is welcomed. Visitors on a KTV will bring in hard currency revenues in much the same way as ordinary tourists but importantly lead to other benefits such as the import of expertise, building international networks for local corporates and individuals and being potential repeat visitors. Let me explain by running through the various strands.
Internships
With the first strand, Internships, there is an overt intention that people want to work in a very structured manner and obtain useful work experience to help obtain paid employment back in their home country. Sri Lanka for various reasons, wishes to have tight controls over foreign workers and to limit foreign nationals on work visas. It is important to point out that facilitating internships need not conflict with this thinking. Incoming foreign interns are different to full-time foreign workers and caters to a younger demographic looking for a short period of work experience. If Sri Lanka restricts foreign internships to unpaid internships, this will limit the candidate pool to those interns who have parental financial support. Nevertheless, this is still a start and better than not opening the door at all.
In many sectors, Sri Lanka can offer meaningful summer internships of up to 3 months or longer. Two obvious examples are Tourism and Information Technology (IT). Sri Lankan companies cannot run viable business models by relying on a supply of foreign interns. Therefore, foreign interns do not in any way threaten the prospects for locals for employment. On the contrary, foreign interns from developed economies can benefit locals working with them in various ways. These could include improving language skills, and locals gaining exposure to skills such as time-management and project planning. Internships can also be used for foreign students to engage in undergraduate and postgraduate university projects with local academics.
To explain how foreign interns can be very useful, let me construct an example. It is a fact that Sri Lankan companies are writing the software for some of the most technologically advanced companies in the world. Imagine Sri Lankan IT companies actively pitch this to foreign universities in advanced economies and foreign undergraduates take up internships in Sri Lanka. Not only do they gain work experience of an equivalent standard to working in London or New York, but they will have a more exciting time in a tropical country. When they graduate, they will take up jobs in London, New York or wherever. When their employers are looking to outsource work, they may recommend the companies they worked with in Sri Lanka. Some of these foreign interns may even start their own companies in the future and look to outsource work to the Sri Lankan companies they worked with. If the new start-ups do well, there may be frequent business visits. When their former interns start families, they will visit Sri Lanka on visits which combine business meetings with a family holiday. Their children in turn will grow up with Sri Lanka being a place that was a regular holiday destination and, in the future, bring their own children on holiday. Internships in Sri Lanka to foreign students can grow future business revenues and also create a multi-generation chain of tourists.
Some foreign interns can also work in a three-way collaboration between their university, a local university and a private sector company. Take for example, a hotel that has placed camera traps on its property to study wildlife. If they do it on their own, it may simply be for marketing the hotel. If they can partner with a local academic or conservation NGO, it could be elevated into a formal study, perhaps even a long-term study. For both the local academic and the hotel, it would be useful if any work they do is part of a long-term study with a foreign university. International collaborations like this are also more useful to the hotel in their efforts for international publicity. For the local academic or conservation NGO, the international collaboration could also open opportunities for funding and recognition and invitations to present in international conferences. A win for all.
If Sri Lanka companies open up to foreign interns, it may result in them realising the value of well-structured internship programs and the dialogue with overseas interns and their academic supervisors may lead to good internship programs being set up for both local and foreign applicants. This can only help young resident Sri Lankans who at present are frustrated by the paucity of structured internship programs even amongst Sri Lanka’s leading companies.
Before I continue to the next two strands, it is useful to reiterate why a knowledge transfer visa is important. The above-mentioned benefits can only arise if potential foreign interns and volunteers have a mechanism of a special visa to reassure them that the purpose of their visit is properly disclosed and that their activity in Sri Lanka is welcomed and completely above-board within the stated purpose of the visa.
The same will apply, with voluntourism, which is a form of commercial tourism activity. Overseas companies that have a business model of arranging voluntourism abroad are more likely to add Sri Lanka as a destination if a KTV existed.
Volunteering
The second strand is Volunteering and here I define it narrowly to cases where a volunteer is not volunteering to build out their CV to help them gain paid employment in their home country. If they are doing so, it is covered under the Internship category. Under this definition, volunteers are people who fall into two broad categories. They may be volunteering for recreational purposes, coupled with wanting to do something that is societally useful. Or they may be people who are retired and on a comfortable retirement income who now have time and money to give something back to society. For example, a person in a highly paid job may come and volunteer for two weeks on a science (e.g. biodiversity surveys) or an arts project (e.g. cataloguing temple art). They may do this because they enjoy doing something different from their day job which is related to their personal interests and societally useful. This type of volunteering has become a significant form of tourism, known as voluntourism.
For the second type of volunteering an example would be a retired wildlife reserve manager from overseas who is happy to work for free with a Sri Lankan hotel or game lodge to train guides and provide practical help in rewilding the grounds of the property. They may enjoy mentoring and want to share their experience with others who are happy to learn from them. To take another example, it could be a retired museum curator who is happy to volunteer at a government museum to train local staff and inject fresh thinking into how exhibitions are curated.
The host country receives free expertise and valuable time from such volunteers. The volunteers are also paying tourists.
In G20 countries, volunteering is highly organised and has resulted in businesses that provide on-line platforms to match volunteers with recipient organisations. Sri Lanka can benefit from making it easy for people to volunteer and to come over, whether it is to paint hospital wards, help in beach clean-ups, or to help at a literary, music or cultural festival or to train local wildlife guides. Many volunteers will also look to add on a holiday extension to their volunteering stay. It is not just free people-hours of work and spending as foreign visitors: Carefully chosen good volunteers also bring in ideas, know-how, enthusiasm and energy.
Expert Exchange
The third strand in the knowledge transfer visa is for Expert Exchange. This is for people who are established in their discipline and looking to diversify their experience and build an international network by engaging in short term unpaid assignments overseas. For example, let’s assume a senior academic would like to spend a month working with local counterparts. Perhaps it is someone from a Management Science faculty who is interested in South Asian trade and wishes to work with local counterparts in a Sri Lankan professional institution or the Management Science faculty of a university. Or, perhaps it is an academic with an interest in contemporary Asian art. In such situations, a mutually useful arrangement between the foreign visitor and any local counterparts would be for the visitor to be provided a desk and some working space in the local faculty. Perhaps the visiting academic or professional can even undertake to give a certain number of lectures to Sri Lankan students. Relationships established in this way could lead to reciprocal invitations for Sri Lankan academics to attend foreign conferences and workshops and possibly help with Sri Lankan students receiving guidance and support with doing a PhD overseas. The visiting academic or expert is not being paid by the local partners in Sri Lanka and will continue to be on the payroll of their employer in their home country. Again, such visitors need to be reassured that what they are doing is deemed above -board and welcomed. They would not wish to come to Sri Lanka on a standard tourist visa for an engagement of this kind.
Short-term Study
The final strand of the knowledge transfer visa is for Short-term Study. Sri Lanka already has the skilled teachers and education infrastructure to offer undergraduate degrees from several foreign universities. It also runs accredited courses for professional qualifications from organisations that are based in G20 countries, whether it is in Accountancy or Marketing or IT. This capability can be expanded to provide ‘summer schools’ where foreign students arrive for a combination of classroom and field teaching. Local educational institutions can use their business initiative to develop curricula in consultation with foreign universities to meet the coursework credit requirements. If it is simple and easy to obtain a visa to attend such a course in Sri Lanka, this becomes a tempting offer for foreign students. In areas spanning from medicine, tourism, and the biological sciences, Sri Lanka can become an exciting destination for classroom and field work.
Conclusion
The results won’t be seen immediately as it takes years for local counterparts and foreign counterparts to respond and adapt to the benefits of such a visa. But slowly and steadily, we will see benefits accruing to the country. We also need to keep in mind that with anything that involves people, sometimes things don’t work out. A few foreign visitors or the Sri Lankan partners may not fulfil their obligations properly. We should not allow misguided fears of a few bad apples to block the massive potential for Sri Lanka to benefit from a simple but powerful idea that is easy to implement. It would benefit the private sector, state institutions, the universities, and many other sectors to encourage the government to introduce such a visa.
To conclude, if a knowledge transfer visa (KTV) is created which is as simple and quick to obtain as an online tourist visa, it will create a comforting and reassuring environment to encourage foreign visitors who are looking for something more than a short holiday. This will result in hard currency revenues in multiple ways as with ordinary tourism. However, there are potentially significant additional benefits from the bringing in of know-how, skilled people-hours of work, the scope for new types of businesses to develop, and allow Sri Lankan individuals, corporates and institutions to have doors opened for them for international business and academic opportunities. Furthermore, there is a huge Sri Lankan diaspora out there whose children and grandchildren do not have dual nationality but could be encouraged to bring their money and know-how for a longer length of time in Sri Lanka through a knowledge transfer visa.
by Gehan de Silva Wijeyeratne
TV news showed Keheliya Rambukwella with a walking aid and grizzled unshaven, attending courts and leaving in a prison van. His son Ramith is implicated in a corruption case being heard against his father. So it’s a case of like father, like son. We recall this cricketer son was no gentleman. He supposedly broke into an office in his college – Royal, Colombo 7 – to interfere with a marks sheet or whatever. More notoriously, returning from Australia as a member of a cricket team, he attempted opening a door of the Sri Lankan plane they were in. Doors in planes are extra strong and difficult to open; otherwise if he had succeeded, there would have been a fierce rush of air and he surely would have been dragged out to fall to the ocean or land and sure death. More seriously, havoc would have been created within the plane accompanied by dire danger to passengers. He is supposed to be unemployed but living in a very expensive, luxurious flat.
Wages of sin
Not many like to see others suffering, particularly mothers of sons. But there was no sorrow, not a twinge, on seeing Keheliya limping and getting into a prison van; so different from the suave man he was. The reason is that one has to pay for sins and transgressions including the procurement of substandard and fake medicinal drugs for government hospitals.
There is no sympathy in Cass’ heart, even for Rambukwella Jr. since he developed within himself his father’s nature. The uppermost thought in her is that retribution is inevitable. Most people think it passes to manifest itself in the sinner’s next and future births. Not always. They suffer in this life too. Here is a solid example to prove this point.
When we women talk about corruption in this beautiful island some note that entire families are corrupt to the core and have collected vast amounts of illicit money, safely stashed away. They seem to be fine; the younger ones grinning from ear to ear, cock sure of themselves. But what about their minds, their nightly dreams? Are they afraid? Do nightmares torment them? Sure the older thieves suffer thus.
“Retribution often means that we eventually do to ourselves what we have done unto others.”
Qatar’s gift to President Trump
Why two remembrances?
Politicians particularly, often prove that Sri Lanka is a land like no other – negatively – Cass adds. The Medamulana Rajapaksa family proved this point on Tuesday 20 May.
The War Heroes Commemorative ceremony, which is Remembrance Day in Sri Lanka, is observed on May 19, when the end of the civil war in 2009 is marked. Those who died in the 28 year war, both armed forces personnel and civilians, are remembered on this day. A solemn ceremony was held in Battaramulla in the grounds of the stately National War Memorial, with the President, and army, navy and air force heads of that time present. Also the nearest kin of those who gave their lives to save the country, mostly mothers and wives, laid red roses at the foot of the memorial.
Then surprise, surprise, another ceremony was held the following day at the same venue and most prominent were Mahinda and Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The news reporter of the channel Cass watched announced it was a memorial service for war heroes. But the war heroes had already been duly remembered the previous day by the entire nation. Pohottu members would have been present but it was not an SLPP ceremony. What was it then? A public remembrance by private persons since both brothers are out of politics and out of job now.
It is only in Sri Lanka that such a ‘circus’ can be staged. IWere the dead being used to shore waning popularity? Perfectly true, the two brothers did much to bring peace to the country; they went to war against severe objections and obstacles placed by local persons in secondary power, and foreign nations. But that does not justify a separate remembrance.
Maybe they do not know how such ceremonies are conducted in civilized foreign countries. They would not have watched the anniversary of VE Day (May 8) held in London and the respect and homage paid to WWII veterans and the remembrance of those who died in battle. Such an impressive, dignified late morning ceremony with King Charles III, Queen Camilla and other Royals present. The country and its leaders unified in remembrance and gratitude. No politics whatsoever. In this country politics rears its Medusa head in all public occasions and even very private ones like weddings. Next year we may have two separate celebratory events for National Day – February 4.
Lies and subterfuges
As usual a mega Trump deal is surrounded by lies, denials, drawing the wool over the public eye and subterfuges which last means “deceit used in order to achieve one’s goal.” The goal was getting a replacement for the presidential airplane which certainly is old – 40 years – and its interior not up to Trump’s garishly lavish standards. The Trump administration first approached Qatar to acquire a redundant Boeing 747 with a price around USD 400m to replace Air Force One. The other story is that Qatar reached out and offered the jet as a gift to Trump. The 747 flew to Florida in March so Trump could inspect it, which he did. A circulated report is that Qatar gifts the 747 to Trump personally to be used as his presidential jet and once he leaves the White House, it is his private possession. This tale one could well believe knowing the sort of a person Trump is and how wily Middle East potentates are: no giving without getting in return.
Cancer stalks American VVIP
Trump’s immediate predecessor has had another trauma. President Joe Biden announced he had been diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer, which means his days are numbered. He was the oldest US Prez but much admired and polled to be the 14th best president in the history of the US. His first wife and one-year daughter died in a car accident on December 18, 1972, just four years after marriage. He was a devoted father to his two sons aged 2 and 3 years then. At age 46, in 2015, his elder son Beau died of brain cancer, which Biden maintained was due to his service in the Kosovo war where dangerous gases were used. And now this illness at 82. A good man given more than his fair share of tribulations.
Cruelty beyond measure
Deaths in the Gaza strip increase by the day as Israel bombards it with air missiles and debars food aid getting in. Children are dying by the hundreds and doctors in large numbers as hospitals are targeted for attack. Netanyahu has pronounced he wants the entire Gaza strip as part of Israel. How can he possibly expect this? However, at the rate the war is proceeding he will soon overcome Hamas and ride into Gaza as a vanquisher and acquirer. No nation seems to be ready to help the Palestinians.
Colombo, Sri Lanka – While U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war primarily targeted global economic heavyweights like China and the European Union, its ripple effects are being felt across smaller economies including Sri Lanka. Experts warn that Trump’s protectionist trade policies, particularly the imposition of tariffs and the “America First” doctrine, could significantly impact Sri Lanka’s export-driven growth model.
Global Supply Chains Under Pressure
One of the most immediate threats stems from the disruption of global supply chains. Sri Lanka’s key industries, including textiles, apparel, and electronics components, are heavily reliant on imported raw materials. The U.S. tariffs on Chinese and other foreign goods increased global production costs, leading to delays and price hikes that affect Sri Lankan exporters.
“These disruptions trickle down,” says an economist at the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. “Higher input costs and reduced access to affordable materials can hurt the competitiveness of our exports.”
Falling Global Demand Hits Exports
Trump’s tariffs contributed to broader economic uncertainty, weakening global trade and slowing growth. This downturn has lowered demand for Sri Lankan goods, particularly in Western markets. Apparel exports, which account for over 40% of Sri Lanka’s total exports and rely heavily on U.S. consumers, are especially vulnerable.
“As American retailers reevaluate their sourcing strategies, Sri Lankan garment manufacturers face increased competition from countries like Vietnam and Bangladesh, some of which benefit from more favourable trade agreements,” notes a trade policy analyst in Colombo.
Foreign Investment and Tourism at Risk
The trade tensions also made investors more cautious, leading to a decline in foreign direct investment (FDI) in emerging markets. Sri Lanka, already grappling with high debt levels and political instability, may find it increasingly difficult to attract investment in its export-oriented industries and infrastructure projects.
Tourism a vital source of foreign exchange could also see knock-on effects. Global economic instability tends to reduce travel spending, which directly impacts Sri Lanka’s tourism sector.
Regional Spillovers from China and India
China, a key trading partner and infrastructure investor in Sri Lanka, was one of the main targets of Trump’s tariffs. As Chinese economic growth slows due to reduced U.S. trade, its demand for Sri Lankan commodities and its ability to invest abroad could also decline. Similarly, any reduction in India’s economic engagement due to trade tensions with the U.S. may impact regional cooperation and investment flows.
Out of the Trade Bloc Loop
Perhaps, more concerning in the long term is the global realignment of trade alliances. As the U.S. withdrew from multilateral trade deals and others like the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) gained momentum, Sri Lanka risks being left behind.
A Wake-Up Call for Trade Policy Reform
The indirect but significant threats posed by Trump-era tariffs underline the urgent need for Sri Lanka to diversify its markets, join new trade alliances, and upgrade its export infrastructure.
While the Trump administration, the shift towards economic nationalism and trade protectionism continues to influence global policy. Sri Lanka, as a small and open economy, must adapt quickly or risk falling further behind.
By M. I. D Perera,
Economist
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