Features

Navigating the winds of change: Leadership, ethics & non-compromise – II

Published

11 months ago

2025/02/25

Sahan Weerasooriya

Albert Camus: “A man without ethics is a wild beast [set loose] upon this world.”

by Sasanka Perera

(The writer is on X as @sasmester)

(Keynote address delivered at the first Award Ceremony of the ‘The Bandaranaike Academy for Leadership & Public Policy on 15 February 2025 at Mihilama Medura, BMICH, Colombo)

(Continued from last week)

Ethics

This compromised sense of leadership is a good point of departure for a brief discussion on ethics, because much of our grievances and hardships are a direct result of our own compromise of ethics. It was Albert Camus who said that “a man without ethics is a wild beast” [set loose] “upon this world.” Indeed, we know this from experience for well over 30 years in the way our toxic political environment has impacted on the way we have lived and worked. In fact, I would venture that we have been marauded by hordes of such two-legged creatures from different political dispensations.

How else can you explain the way in which our politicians stayed put within their political groupings publicly pining for their compromised leaders and singing hosannas of themselves when their countrymen and women were suffering extreme pain and anguish, and the country was being pushed towards financial bankruptcy? How do you explain why they did not opt to form different and cleaner political formations and practices even though that might have meant some personal political risks? Why were such risks not taken if their true intent — as often publicly expressed — was in the interest of the nation? What kind of ethics and moral positions would have informed such calculated timidity and such orchestrated selfishness?

Or, is the culprit here the lack of moral and ethical depth of character among these powerful citizens in the first place? Thinking of your course, ‘Executive Credential on Leadership & Public Policy,’ but also momentarily stepping away from it and into the messiness of the real world, how would focus areas such as ‘Ethical Leadership’, ‘Visionary Leadership’ and above all, ‘Moral Leadership’ embedded in this course explain what happened to us since Independence in general, and over the last two decades, in particular?

Will these important and appreciable concepts explain our politics at all? Or, would our politics render these concepts mere figments of imagination? From what universe then would the examples for these concepts in your course ideally come from? Is it even possible to think of ethics in our politics the way our politics have actually transpired?

I do not intend to give you a lecture on ethics. But at the present moment in our country, what concerns me as a citizen is how the notion of ‘ethics’, as an idea and as a moral and civilization prerogative for a decent life has lapsed from the nation’s consciousness. But one cannot fault the politicians alone. We, as citizens, are also profoundly and irrevocably implicated in our nation’s dismantling as we have watched in calculated and collective silence, as the ethical standards in the country erode over decades. I can’t recall a moral uproar in any public sense.

Our present-day general education system does not place a premium on ethics. I am also concerned this value is not inculcated beyond a point within our family structures. Is it that in today’s world, being ethical means to be foolish and, therefore, a matter of depriving oneself of economic, social and political opportunities? If we are not disturbed at a personal level, then, we are very unlikely to be distributed at the national, regional or the global levels. This is how apathy, insensitivity and diminished empathy are institutionalized and even justified. This is how autocrats are nurtured.

This rupture of ethics, its distancing from day-to-day life is most clearly manifest in our politics at all levels. What has happened in so far as I can see is, ethics have been overdetermined and overtaken by a disruptive and counterproductive discourse on power, money, avarice and influence shrouded by an ever-present shadow of corruption. This vulgar discourse has made adherence to ethics and reflection on ethics immaterial, relegating them to a position of insignificance and relative erasure.

I am sure many of you will castigate me as being overly dreamy, being too idealistic, and being unable to understand the complexities of contemporary living which render such rupture normal. I believe part of our problem is precisely this: That is, our capacity to be idealistic and to approach these ideals as a matter or moral necessity has been lost. We have found excuses for the inexcusable.

It is in this massive void that the current political dispensation has found its footing, and been able to make significant strides electorally, to obtain the parliamentary majority it enjoys, promising to address this issue of diminishing ethics and morals, among other things. More than any other time in the past, in this instance, our people by and large voted for a moral and ethical high ground.

It remains to be seen if the new political class vested with this responsibility can live up to these standards in a situation where the defeated are spectacularly drowned in the mess of the ethical hinterland. But I must say, post-election, the bells of morality and ethics ring somewhat hollow, given the way the government is proceeding to appoint political stooges of dubious credentials to the Sri Lanka Foreign Service; constantly looking for party loyalists — rather than competence — to handle important public services, and the way it mishandled the entire episode of the former Parliamentary Speaker’s fictional educational qualifications, to name just a few examples.

The demand for ethics, however, has grown further in the popular discourse, at least momentarily. But to what extent will these remain important to a people with incredibly short collective memories?

Non-compromise

Where does ‘non-compromise,’ the third core element along with leadership I had identified at the outset, fit into, in this scheme of things? It is in trying to answer this question that a set of three memorable lines from Russian-American author and philosopher Ayn Rand come to mind. She noted, “there can be no compromise on basic principles. There can be no compromise on moral issues. There can be no compromise on matters of knowledge, of truth, of rational conviction.” Personally, I am guided by these ideas.

But is this how we live as individuals; as people, and as a nation? When the people’s struggle swept into the streets in 2022 amidst considerable national and personal chaos, what I saw was underlying layers of utter and absolute compromise; not only among people who were in power at the time, but also among the metaphorical rats trying to jump the sinking ship disregarding their own roles in authoring that chaos. The authors of the carbonic fertiliser fiasco, authors of the bond scam, and authors of every single scam in the last 20 or more years in the extended comfort zone of nepotistic crony capitalism could do so, because of the relentless compromise of ethics and principles.

When I say this, I do not only refer to politicians alone. I also mean government servants, foreign service officers, civil servants, military and police personnel and many regular citizens, who opted to see nothing. Turning a blind eye to what is evident is the worst kind of compromise one can make. What I see at all levels of this institutionalized compromise and self-induced blindness of convenience, leads me to believe that for many people travesty somehow does not exist.

In this sense, we are very similar to Salman Rushdie’s character in the novel, The Enchantress of Florence, Alessandra Fiorentina. As Rushdie narrates, “Alessandra Fiorentina had long ago perfected the art of seeing only what she wanted to see” and, “If she did not see you, then you did not exist” (Rushdie 2010: 190). To me, this seems like many of us in recent times. And this is a clear indication where and how our spirit of non-compromise has been dismantled.

In April 2024 my former university accused me of being anti-Indian and violating Indian national rules for supervising an Indian Muslim student whose PhD research proposal had a single quote from the well-known American linguist Noam Chomsky that was critical of the Indian Prime Minister. I could have prostrated before the India-appointed President and the Dean of Social Sciences I myself had recruited some years ago, apologized profusely using saccharine language. This would have ensured my position at the university until such time I was ready to retire.

The entire university was against me or kept silent out of fear for their own positions. The Indian court system was not open to me as the university was a diplomatic entity. I was not supported, despite that diplomatic immunity, by the Sri Lankan President at the time, his Foreign Ministry, or the Sri Lankan UGC or SAARC while all these entities should have stood by me given the way in which the one-sided inquiry continued without any space for personal representation. All this was extensively reported in the Indian and global press at the time. Worse was that Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner in India at the time threw me under the bus at a time when I really needed help.

In sheer personal interest, this should have been the ideal time for absolute compromise. But for me, this course of action was unthinkable. Instead, I opted to leave the university I had helped set up, which had by then become an entity seeped in a crude and nasty version of Indian nationalism and hostility to others. This had by that time become an institution I could not recognize from the initial years of its existence. Again, this change itself can be mapped according to the way leadership, ethics and the logic of non-compromise had changed over time within the university and similar downgrading of these attributes in SAARC, the Sri Lankan government and its High Commission in New Delhi.

So, ladies and gentlemen, when people tell me that I am too idealistic and do not really understand what true leadership, ethics and non-compromise mean in real life, I beg to differ. Not only do I know these attributes, but I have also seen them, molded them in my students, sadly failed to inculcate them in my colleagues, adopted them in my own life, and finally been victimized by their lack in others. But at the end of the day, my conscience is clear for there has been no compromise on my part. Here, I am reminded of the words of the Spanish Catholic priest Josemaria Escriva who noted, “compromise is a word found only in the vocabulary of those who have no will to fight.”

Conclusion

Let me now bring my soliloquy to its conclusion. What I tried to do was to talk about three concepts, which are leadership, ethics and non-compromise that I think are intrinsically linked. And if we are to let go of one, everything else will unravel. This is what the history of our country and the histories of the nation states in South Asia also indicate to different degrees. I have not only given my opinions on these concepts and their disjunctures, but I have also tried to bring some examples to explain these from my own life.

So, my parting advice to you is, do not assume you can learn matters of leadership from a class or formal instruction; but depart from there into the wider world and look for sources of inspiration. And, importantly — and I cannot emphasize this enough — do not spend your time with political leaders for inspiration, particularly in our country — even if they are family or friends. Instead, go in search of people about whom books have not been written, about whom public songs of praise have not been composed and sung, in whose names streets and public buildings have not been named, and whose images do not appear on currency.

In their lives you will certainly find qualities of leadership, ethics and the gentle art of non-compromise worth emulating, which you may be able to more easily juxtapose with what you have learned in your courses. They will also shed more nuanced light into your own lives as you walk into the messiness of the world and begin to grapple with its unpredictability.

I wish you all the best.

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Features

The Venezuela Model:The new ugly and dangerous world order

Published

1 day ago

2026/01/9

Thilina Walpola

The US armed forces invading Venezuela, removing its President Nicolás Maduro from power and abducting him and his wife Cilia Flores on 3 January 2026, flying them to New York and producing Maduro in a New York kangaroo court is now stale news, but a fact. What is a far more potent fact is the pan-global impotent response to this aggression except in Latin America, China, Russia and a few others.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro described the attack as an “assault on the sovereignty” of Latin America, thereby portraying the aggression as an assault on the whole of Latin America. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva referred to the attack as crossing “an unacceptable line” that set an “extremely dangerous precedent.” Again, one can see his concern goes beyond Venezuela. For Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum the attack was in “clear violation” of the UN Charter, which again is a fact. But when it comes to powerful countries, the UN Charter has been increasingly rendered irrelevant over decades, and by extension, the UN itself. For the French Foreign Minister, the operation went against the “principle of non-use of force that underpins international law” and that lasting political solutions cannot be “imposed by the outside.” UN Secretary General António Guterres said he was “deeply alarmed” about the “dangerous precedent” the United States has set where rules of international law were not being respected. Russia, notwithstanding its bloody and costly entanglement in Ukraine, and China have also issued strong statements.

Comparatively however, many other countries, many of whom are long term US allies who have been vocal against the Russian aggression in Ukraine have been far more sedate in their reaction. Compared to his Foreign Minister, French President Emmanuel Macron said the Venezuelan people could “only rejoice” at the ousting of Maduro while the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz believed Maduro had “led his country into ruin” and that the U.S. intervention required “careful consideration.” The British and EU statements have been equally lukewarm. India’s and Sri Lanka’s statements do not even mention the US while Sri Lanka’s main coalition partner the JVP has issued a strongly worded statement.

Taken together, what is lacking in most of these views, barring a negligible few, especially from the so-called powerful countries, is the moral indignation or outrage on a broad scale that used to be the case in similar circumstances earlier. It appears that a new ugly and dangerous world order has finally arrived, footprints of which have been visible for some time.

It is not that the US has not invaded sovereign countries and affected regime change or facilitated such change for political or economic reasons earlier. This has been attempted in Cuba without success since the 1950s but with success in Chile in 1973 under the auspices of Augusto Pinochet that toppled the legitimate government of president Salvador Allende and established a long-lasting dictatorship friendly towards the US; the invasion of Panama and the ouster and capture of President Manuel Noriega in 1989 and the 2003 invasion of Iraq both of which were conducted under the presidency of George Bush.

These are merely a handful of cross border criminal activities against other countries focused on regime change that the US has been involved in since its establishment which also includes the ouster of President of Guyana Cheddi Jagan in 1964, the US invasion of the Dominican Republic in 1965 stop the return of President Juan Bosch to prevent a ‘communist resurgence’; the 1983 US invasion of Grenada after the overthrow and killing of Prime Minister Maurice Bishop purportedly to ensure that the island would not become a ‘Soviet-Cuban’ colony. A more recent adventure was the 2004 removal and kidnapping of the Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, which also had French support.

There is however a difference between all the earlier examples of US aggression and the Venezuelan operation. The earlier operations where the real reasons may have varied from political considerations based on ideological divergence to crude economics, were all couched in the rhetoric of democracy. That is, they were undertaken in the guise of ushering democratic changes in those countries, the region or the world irrespective of the long-term death and destruction which followed in some locations. But in Venezuela under President Donald Trump, it is all about controlling natural resources in that country to satisfy US commercial interests.

The US President is already on record for saying the US will “run” Venezuela until a “safe transition” is concluded and US oil companies will “go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money” – ostensibly for the US and those in Venezuela who will tag the US line. Trump is also on record saying that the main aim of the operation was to regain U.S. oil rights, which according to him were “stolen” when Venezuela nationalized the industry. The nationalization was obviously to ensure that the funds from the industry remained in the country even though in later times this did lead to massive internal corruption.

Let’s be realistic. Whatever the noise of the new rhetoric is, this is not about ‘developing’ Venezuela for the benefit of its people based on some unknown streak of altruism but crudely controlling and exploiting its natural assets as was the case with Iraq. As crude as it is, one must appreciate Trump’s unintelligent honesty stemming from his own unmitigated megalomania. Whatever US government officials may say, the bottom line is the entire operation was planned and carried out purely for commercial and monetary gain while the pretext was Maduro being ‘a narco-terrorist.’ There is no question that Maduro was a dictator who was ruining his own country. But there is also no question that it is not the business of the US or any other country to decide what his or Venezuela’s fate is. That remains with the Venezuelan people.

What is dangerous is, the same ‘narco-terrorist’ rhetoric can also be applied to other Latin American countries such as Columbia, Brazil and Mexico which also produce some of the narcotics that come into the US consumer markets. The response should be not to invade these countries to stem the flow, but to deal with the market itself, which is the US. In real terms what Trump has achieved with his invasion of Venezuela for purely commercial gain and greed, followed by the abject silence or lukewarm reaction from most of the world, is to create a dangerous and ugly new normal for military actions across international borders. The veneer of democracy has also been dispensed with.

The danger lies in the fact that this new doctrine or model Trump has devised can similarly be applied to any country whose resources or land a powerful megalomaniac leader covets as long as he has unlimited access to military assets of his country, backed by the dubius remnants of the political and social safety networks, commonsense and ethics that have been conveniently dismantled. This is a description of the present-day United States too. This danger is boosted when the world remains silent. After the success of the Venezuela operation, Trump has already upended his continuing threats to annex Greenland because “we need Greenland from the standpoint of national security.” Greenland too is not about security, but commerce given its vast natural resources.

Hours after Venezuela, Trump threatened the Colombian President Gustavo Petro to “watch his ass.” In the present circumstances, Canadians also would not have forgotten Trump’s threat earlier in 2025 to annex Canada. But what the US President and his current bandwagon replete with arrogance and depleted intelligence would not understand is, beyond the short-term success of the Venezuela operation and its euphoria, the dangerous new normal they have ushered in would also create counter threats towards the US, the region and the world in a scale far greater than what exists today. The world will also become a far less safe place for ordinary American citizens.

More crucially, it will also complicate global relations. It would no longer be possible for the mute world leaders to condemn Russian action in Ukraine or if China were to invade Taiwan. The model has been created by Trump, and these leaders have endorsed it. My reading is that their silence is not merely political timidity, but strategic to their own national and self-interest, to see if the Trump model could be adopted in other situations in future if the fallout can be managed.

The model for the ugly new normal has been created and tested by Trump. Its deciding factors are greed and dismantled ethics. It is now up to other adventurers to fine tune it. We would be mere spectators and unwitting casualties.

Features

Beyond the beauty: Hidden risks at waterfalls

Published

1 day ago

2026/01/9

Thilina Walpola

Bambarakanda waterfall. Image courtesy LANKA EXCURSIONS HOLIDAYS

Sri Lanka is blessed with a large number of scenic waterfalls, mainly concentrated in the central highlands. These natural features substantially enhance the country’s attractiveness to tourists. Further, these famous waterfalls equally attract thousands of local visitors throughout the year.

While waterfalls offer aesthetic appeal, a serene environment, and recreational opportunities, they also pose a range of significant hazards. Unfortunately, the visitors are often unable to identify these different types of risks, as site-specific safety information and proper warning signs are largely absent. In most locations, only general warnings are displayed, often limited to the number of past fatalities. This can lead visitors to assume that bathing is the sole hazard, which is not the case. Therefore, understanding the full range of waterfall-related risks and implementing appropriate safety measures is essential for preventing loss of life. This article highlights site-specific hazards to raise public awareness and prevent people from putting their lives at risk due to these hidden dangers.

Flash floods and resultant water surges

Flash floods are a significant hazard in hill-country waterfalls. According to the country’s topography, most of the streams originate from the catchments in the hilly areas upstream of the waterfalls. When these catchments receive intense rainfalls, the subsequent runoff will flow down as flash floods. This will lead to an unexpected rise in the flow of the waterfall, increasing the risk of drowning and even sweeping away people. Therefore, bathing at such locations is extremely dangerous, and those who are even at the river banks have to be vigilant and should stay away from the stream as much as possible. The Bopath Ella, Ravana Ella, and a few waterfalls located in the Belihul Oya area, closer to the A99 road, are classic examples of this scenario.

Water currents

The behaviour of water in the natural pool associated with the waterfall is complex and unpredictable. Although the water surface may appear calm, strong subsurface currents and hydraulic forces exist that even a skilled swimmer cannot overcome. Hence, a person who immerses confidently may get trapped inside and disappear. Water from a high fall accelerates rapidly, forming hydraulic jumps and vortices that can trap swimmers or cause panic. Hence, bathing in these natural pools should be totally avoided unless there is clear evidence that they are safe.

Slipping risks

Slipping is a common hazard around waterfalls. Sudden loss of footing can lead to serious injuries or fatal falls into deep pools or rock surfaces. The area around many waterfalls consists of steep, slippery rocks due to moisture and the growth of algae. Sometimes, people are overconfident and try to climb these rocks for the thrill of it and to get a better view of the area. Further, due to the presence of submerged rocks, water depths vary in the natural pool area, and there is a chance of sliding down along slippery rocks into deep water. Waterfalls such as Diyaluma, Bambarakanda, and Ravana Falls are likely locations for such hazards, and caution around these sites is a must.

Rockfalls

Rockfalls are a significant hazard around waterfalls in steep terrains. Falling rocks can cause serious injuries or fatalities, and smaller stones may also be carried by fast-flowing water. People bathing directly beneath waterfalls, especially smaller ones, are therefore exposed to a high risk of injury. Accordingly, regardless of the height of the waterfall, bathing under the falling water should be avoided.

Hypothermia and cold shock

Hypothermia is a drop in body temperature below 35°C due to cold exposure. This leads to mental confusion, slowed heartbeat, muscle stiffening, and even cardiac arrest may follow. Waterfalls in Nuwara Eliya district often have very low water temperatures. Hence, immersing oneself in these waters is dangerous, particularly for an extended period.

Human negligence

Additional hazards also arise from visitors’ own negligence. Overcrowding at popular waterfalls significantly increases the risk of accidents, including slips and falls from cliffs. Sometimes, visitors like to take adventurous photographs in dangerous positions. Reckless behavior, such as climbing over barriers, ignoring warning signs, or swimming in prohibited zones, amplifies the risk.

Mitigation and safety

measures

Mitigation of waterfall-related hazards requires a combination of public awareness, engineering solutions, and policy enforcement. Clear warning signs that indicate the specific hazards associated with the water fall, rather than general hazard warnings, must be fixed. Educating visitors verbally and distributing bills that include necessary guidelines at ticket counters, where applicable, will be worth considering. Furthermore, certain restrictions should vary depending on the circumstances, especially seasonal variation of water flow, existing weather, etc.

Physical barriers should be installed to prevent access to dangerous areas by fencing. A viewing platform can protect people from many hazards discussed above. For bathing purposes, safer zones can be demarcated with access facilities.

Installing an early warning system for heavily crowded waterfalls like Bopath Ella, which is prone to flash floods, is worth implementing. Through a proper mechanism, a warning system can alert visitors when the upstream area receives rainfall that may lead to flash floods in the stream.

At present, there are hardly any officials to monitor activities around waterfalls. The local authorities that issue tickets and collect revenue have to deploy field officers to these waterfalls sites for monitoring the activities of visitors. This will help reduce not only accidents but also activities that cause environmental pollution and damage. We must ensure that these natural treasures remain a source of wonder rather than danger.

(The writer is a chartered Civil Engineer specialising in water resources engineering)

By Eng. Thushara Dissanayake ✍️

Features

From sacred symbol to silent victim: Sri Lanka’s elephants in crisis

Published

1 day ago

2026/01/9

Thilina Walpola

The year 2025 began with grim news. On 1st January, a baby elephant was struck and killed by a train in Habarana, marking the start of a tragic series of elephant–train collisions that continued throughout the year. In addition to these incidents, the nation mourned the deaths of well-known elephants such as Bathiya and Kandalame Hedakaraya, among many others. As the year drew on, further distressing reports emerged, including the case of an injured elephant that was burnt with fire, an act of extreme cruelty that ultimately led to its death. By the end of the year, Sri Lanka recorded the highest number of elephant deaths in Asia.

This sorrowful reality stands in stark contrast to Sri Lanka’s ancient spiritual heritage. Around 250 BCE, at Mihintale, Arahant Mahinda delivered the Cūḷahatthipadopama Sutta (The Shorter Discourse on the Simile of the Elephant’s Footprint) to King Devanampiyatissa, marking the official introduction of Buddhism to the island. The elephant, a symbol deeply woven into this historic moment, was once associated with wisdom, restraint, and reverence.

Yet the recent association between Mihintale and elephants has been anything but noble. At Mihintale an elephant known as Ambabo, already suffering from a serious injury to his front limb due to human–elephant conflict (HEC), endured further cruelty when certain local individuals attempted to chase him away using flaming torches, burning him with fire. Despite the efforts of wildlife veterinary surgeons, Ambabo eventually succumbed to his injuries. The post-mortem report confirmed severe liver and kidney impairment, along with extensive trauma caused by the burns.

Was prevention possible?

The question that now arises is whether this tragedy could have been prevented.

To answer this, we must examine what went wrong.

When Ambabo first sustained an injury to his forelimb, he did receive veterinary treatment. However, after this initial care, no close or continuous monitoring was carried out. This lack of follow-up is extremely dangerous, especially when an injured elephant remains near human settlements. In such situations, some individuals may attempt to chase, harass, or further harm the animal, without regard for its condition.

A similar sequence of events occurred in the case of Bathiya. He was initially wounded by a trap gun—devices generally intended for poaching bush meat rather than targeting elephants. Following veterinary treatment, his condition showed signs of improvement. Tragically, while he was still recovering, he was shot a second time behind the ear. This second wound likely damaged vital nerves, including the vestibular nerve, which plays a critical role in balance, coordination of movement, gaze stabilisation, spatial orientation, navigation, and trunk control. In effect, the second shooting proved far more devastating than the first.

After Bathiya received his initial treatment, he was left without proper protection due to the absence of assigned wildlife rangers. This critical gap in supervision created the opportunity for the second attack. Only during the final stages of his suffering were the 15th Sri Lanka Artillery Regiment, the 9th Battalion of the Sri Lanka National Guard, and the local police deployed—an intervention that should have taken place much earlier.

Likewise, had Ambabo been properly monitored and protected after his injury, it is highly likely that his condition would not have deteriorated to such a tragic extent.

It should also be mentioned that when an injured animal like an elephant is injured, the animal will undergo a condition that is known as ‘capture myopathy’. It is a severe and often fatal condition that affects wild animals, particularly large mammals such as elephants, deer, antelope, and other ungulates. It is a stress-induced disease that occurs when an animal experiences extreme physical exertion, fear, or prolonged struggle during capture, restraint, transport, or pursuit by humans. The condition develops when intense stress causes a surge of stress hormones, leading to rapid muscle breakdown. This process releases large amounts of muscle proteins and toxins into the bloodstream, overwhelming vital organs such as the kidneys, heart, and liver. As a result, the animal may suffer from muscle degeneration, dehydration, metabolic acidosis, and organ failure. Clinical signs of capture myopathy include muscle stiffness, weakness, trembling, incoordination, abnormal posture, collapse, difficulty breathing, dark-coloured urine, and, in severe cases, sudden death. In elephants, the condition can also cause impaired trunk control, loss of balance, and an inability to stand for prolonged periods. Capture myopathy can appear within hours of a stressful event or may develop gradually over several days. So, if the sick animal is harassed like it happened to Ambabo, it does only make things worse. Unfortunately, once advanced symptoms appear, treatment is extremely difficult and survival rates are low, making prevention the most effective strategy.

What needs to be done?

Ambabo’s harassment was not an isolated incident; at times injured elephants have been subjected to similar treatment by local communities. When an injured elephant remains close to human settlements, it is essential that wildlife officers conduct regular and continuous monitoring. In fact, it should be made mandatory to closely observe elephants in critical condition for a period even after treatment has been administered—particularly when they remain in proximity to villages. This approach is comparable to admitting a critically ill patient to a hospital until recovery is assured.

At present, such sustained monitoring is difficult due to the severe shortage of staff in the Department of Wildlife Conservation. Addressing this requires urgent recruitment and capacity-building initiatives, although these solutions cannot be realised overnight. In the interim, it is vital to enlist the support of the country’s security forces. Their involvement is not merely supportive—it is essential for protecting both wildlife and people.

To mitigate HEC, a Presidential Committee comprising wildlife specialists developed a National Action Plan in 2020. The strategies outlined in this plan were selected for their proven effectiveness, adaptability across different regions and timeframes, and cost-efficiency. The process was inclusive, incorporating extensive consultations with the public and relevant authorities. If this Action Plan is fully implemented, it holds strong potential to significantly reduce HEC and prevent tragedies like the suffering endured by Ambabo. In return it will also benefit villagers living in those areas.

In conclusion, I would like to share the wise words of Arahant Mahinda to the king, which, by the way, apply to every human being:

O’ great king, the beasts that roam the forest and birds that fly the skies have the same right to this land as you. The land belongs to the people and to all other living things, and you are not its owner but only its guardian.

by Tharindu Muthukumarana ✍️
tharinduele@gmail.com
(Author of the award-winning book “The Life of Last Proboscideans: Elephants”)