Features
The recovery has begun
by Jehan Perera
Downtown Colombo and especially its upmarket commercial areas sparkled, and will continue to do so, in the night this Christmas season until the grand finale on New Year’s Eve. There is little indication that this city of night lights had experienced dire economic collapse just three years ago. The long lines of vehicles that once queued up for fuel outside petrol stations are overshadowed the much longer lines of traffic crawling on the way to the centre of celebrations at Galle Face Green, once the epicentre of the Aragalaya protests that brought down the government and had the president fleeing the country.
The hotels and nightclubs at the higher end have been packed to capacity. The cost of celebrating in them is steep but there seem to be a large number of people who can afford this expenditure, at least once in a while. New hotels such as ITC Ratnadeepa and City of Dreams overlooking water fronts create an image of Dubai at night. The ever-rising stock market is evidence for the new found confidence in the economic management of the country. There is a sense of political stability that comes not only from the 2/3 majority that the government enjoys in parliament but also from the inability of the opposition to make suggestions or proposals that are significantly different from the policies being followed by the government.
The desire to be part of the festivities was visible also in the large number of people who participate in them at different levels. They enjoyed themselves at the expensive buffets of five star hotels and in the open spaces of Galle Face Green, where there was a carnival and mobile eateries or in the big shopping malls where they might have a bite at Pizza Hut or engage in window shopping. The high costs of restaurants and consumer items relative to income are manifest in the struggle of the government to bring down the cost of living but with little success. The ongoing battle of the government with the so-called “Rice Mafia” has yielded positive results after the import of rice. But the price of coconuts remains high along with everything else that went up in price three years ago and did not come down.
SPREAD DEVELOPMENT
Outside of Colombo the Christmas celebrations were more muted if they existed at all. Christian churches were the focus of such initiatives. The big celebrations outside of Colombo would take place during the traditional Sinhala and Tamil New Year in April. Some of the provincial capitals like Jaffna had their own displays of festive lights and decorations, but they were not on the scale of Colombo. The difference in purchasing power of Colombo, the national capital, and the provincial capitals was reflected in this disparity.
One of the key justifications for the devolution of power is that there needs to be equitable development across the country and not only in the region of the capital city. Power and wealth tend to go together as those with power to decide will tend to make decisions that benefit themselves and the area they live in. The devolution of power to the provinces is to provide engines of development to the provincial capitals, ensuring wider distribution of the fruits of development. This aspect of devolution of power needs to be explained to the general population who see the concept as being a foreign-driven one meant to resolve the ethnic conflict. Devolved systems of governance have existed in Sri Lanka from the times of the kings due to the impracticalities of centralized rule.
So far the devolution of power in Sri Lanka has been seen in the context of resolving the ethnic conflict. But it can also be justified in a broader perspective as befits the “System Change” that was the main slogan of the Aragalaya protest movement that finally propelled the present government to power. The present system of devolution has been brought into operation through the 13th Amendment to the constitution which came at the height of the ethnic war in 1987 and was facilitated by the external intervention of India. It is not surprising, therefore, that the devolution of power under the 13th Amendment should be seen in that context and as having a bearing on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country. Its implementation has been resisted by all successive governments, including the one that brought it into law. This may account for the government’s commitment to devolve power with the passage of a new constitution, but on a different basis to that which exists at present.
CHANGED BEHAVIOURS
The progress of the economy, which is expected to grow by 4 percent this year, and higher than anticipated by international financial institutions, will be due in part to the stability in the polity, which is reflected in increased investor confidence. This positive growth factor will be supplemented by the government’s promise of non-corrupt governance. Unlike in the past, the first 100 days of the new government have not given rise to any major corruption scandal involving government leaders. The issue of the PhD degree of the Speaker of Parliament which led to the resignation of the Speaker has been a new practice when compared to the practices of the recent past. Those in power have not stepped down or been asked to step down when found out for things done which were much more detrimental to the country’s reputation and economy.
The non-ostentatious, non-extravagant and non-corrupt attitude that comes from the president and his top team appears to be seeping down to the bottom. During the holiday season a visit to the local government office to obtain a Grama Niladari certificate of local residence bore this out. The concerned officer was at his desk at the time of the visit, gave information about the application procedure and delivered the required document without any fuss or delay. He explained that he was following all the formalities including getting the signatory to sign in his presence. He explained his supervisor would be checking for this. He also volunteered the information that the change in behaviour at the top of the government was influencing those at the bottom to follow the rules in performing their duties.
Another point he made was that his area was a multi ethnic and multi religious one. The previous person he had attended to was from the Diaspora, a dual citizen, and asking for a national identity card. As that person had all the proper documentation, he had issued the relevant certificate even though he had no personal knowledge of this person who had lived abroad for the past twenty years. He said that person was a citizen and needed to be treated as an equal. In response to the query whether this too was part of the positive influence from the new government, the Grama Niladari said no, it was a message that he had picked up during the period of the Yahapalana government. The new government has inherited not only the bad but also the good from the past and is taking the good alone, to build on it in the year to come and beyond. This gives hope for the future.
With reports emerging that India has attacked some ‘sites’ in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, the question could be posed whether the stage has just been set for yet another costly India-Pakistan military conflict. Sensible opinion in South Asia could only hope that wise counsel would sooner rather than later come to prevail on both sides of the divide and that they would draw back from the brink of full-scale war.
The states concerned ought to know fully well the possible wide-ranging weighty consequences of another regional conflict. It should be plain to see that it would benefit none in the two theatres of confrontation, most particularly the relevant publics or the ‘Silent Majority’.
In fact, in connection with the mentioned initial military attacks, the Pakistani side has gone on record that some civilian lives have been lost. Such losses could burgeon in the event of full scale hostilities. These costs could of course be staggering and unimaginable in the event the nuclear option is resorted to by the sides, going forward.
Accordingly, the hope of the peace-loving world-wide is likely to be that India and Pakistan would give negotiations a chance and resolve their differences peacefully. It would be in the best interests of the world for the champions of peace to join their voices to that of UN chief Antonio Guterres and call on the sides to negotiate an end to their differences.
The utter helplessness and misery of the people of the Gaza ought to drive home afresh the horrors of war. Currently the news is that the Gazans are literally starving to death. Food and other essentials provided by UN agencies are reportedly being prevented by Israel from getting to the hapless people of Gaza. So dire is their situation that concerned quarters are calling on the compassionate worldwide to provide the Gazans with food, water and other essentials voluntarily. This SOS would need to be heeded forthwith.
Accordingly, it could be inferred that most formal arrangements, including those that are generally under the purview of the UN, geared to providing emergency humanitarian assistance to the needy, have, for all intents and purposes, been rendered ineffective in the Gaza. The UN cannot be faulted for this state of things; rather, Israel should be held accountable in the main for it.
The matter of accountability is central to the dramatic slide into lawlessness the world has been experiencing over the past few decades. As could be seen, International Law is no longer fully applicable in the conflict and war zones of the world because it is not being adhered to by many state and non-state aggressors. That the UN is hapless in the face of such lawlessness is plain to see.
We have of course the Middle East wherein International Law has fallen silent for quite a while. How could it be otherwise, when Israeli aggressions are being winked at by the US, for which the policy of backing Israel is almost sacrosanct?
Moreover, under President Donald Trump, it is difficult to see the US changing policy course on the Middle East. Trump made vague promises of bringing peace to the region in the run-up to his reelection but has done nothing concrete by way of peace-making. Consequently, complete lawlessness prevails in the Middle East. US policy towards Israel counts as another example of how the self- interest of US central administrations blinds them to their international obligations, in this case Middle East peace.
However, the commentator could be criticized as being biased if he holds only Israel responsible for what has befallen the Middle East. It has been the position of this columnist that Israel’s security needs should be taken cognizance of by its state and non-state adversaries in the Middle East and acted upon if the basis is to be laid for a durable Middle East peace. Inasmuch as Palestinian statehood must be guaranteed, the same should be seen as applicable to Israel. The latter too enjoys the right to live in a secure state of its own, unopposed by its neighbours.
The Ukraine of today is also sad testimony to the ill consequences of powerful, aggressor states wantonly disregarding International Law and its obligations. Nothing could justify Russia in invading Ukraine and subjecting it to a condition of Longsuffering. Clearly, Ukraine’s sovereignty has been violated and such excesses go to the heart of the current state of ‘International Disorder’. Of course the same stricture applies to the US in relation to its military misadventures in Afghanistan and Iraq, to name just two such modern examples.
There is no ducking the fact, then, that civilian publics in the mentioned theatres of war and outside, are being subjected to the worst suffering as a consequence of the big powers’ self-aggrandizement schemes and military misadventures. Longsuffering becomes the tragic lot of the people who have nothing to do with such unbridled power ambitions.
One would not be exaggerating the case if he states that civilian publics count for almost nothing in the present ‘International Disorder’. Increasingly it is becoming evident that from the viewpoint of the big powers and authoritarian governments the people are of little or no importance. Considering that self-aggrandizement is of the paramount interest for the former the public interest is coming to be seen as inconsequential.
Consequently, not much of a case could be made currently for the once almost reverentially spoken of ‘Social Contract’. For, the public interest does not count for much in the scrambles for power among the major powers who are seen at the popular level as the principal history-makers.
It is in view of the above that much is expected of India. Today the latter is a ‘Swing State’ of the first importance. Besides being a major democracy, it is one of the world’s principal economic and military powers. It possesses abundant potential to help to put things right in international politics. If there is one state in Asia that could help in restoring respect for International Law, it is India.
Considering the above, India, one believes, is obliged to bear the responsibility of keeping South Asia free of any more long-running, wasting wars that could aggravate the material hardships and socio-economic blights of the region. Thus, India would need to consider it imperative to negotiating peace with Pakistan.
Under the Global-Ise Australia Advanced Sports Development Programme, a delegation of 15 swimmers from Lyceum International School, Wattala, had the remarkable opportunity to train and experience high-performance sports development in Melbourne, Australia.
The 10-day programme was carefully curated to offer intensive training, educational exposure, and cultural experiences for the young athletes.
The swimmers underwent specialised training through Swimming Victoria’s elite programme, held at some of Melbourne’s premier aquatic facilities.
Visit to Victorian Parliament
Each day began as early as 5:00 a.m. and continued until 7:00 p.m., ensuring a rigorous and enriching schedule that mirrored the standards of international competitive swimming.
Beyond training, the programme offered a wide array of experiences to broaden the students’ horizons.
Morning training
The tour group explored iconic landmarks such as the Victorian Parliament and the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), and enjoyed shopping at Chadstone – The Fashion Capital. They also experienced the natural beauty of Victoria with visits to Yarra Valley Chocolaterie & Ice Creamery, and Cardinia Reservoir Park, where they observed kangaroos in their natural habitat.
An academic highlight of the tour was the group’s exclusive visits to three of Australia’s leading universities: the University of Melbourne, Monash University, and Deakin University. These visits aimed to inspire students and showcase the vast educational opportunities available in Australia.
Checking out the scene at Yarra Valley Chocolaterie & Ice Creamery
As part of the cultural immersion, Global-Ise hosted a traditional Australian BBQ at the Tim Neville Arboretum in Ferntree Gully. The students also enjoyed a variety of diverse culinary experiences each evening, further enriching their understanding of local and international food cultures.
The tour concluded with a celebratory dinner at the Spicy Wicket Restaurant, where each participant received a presentation in recognition of their involvement.
Enjoying an Aussie BBQ for lunch
The evening was made especially memorable by the presence of Pradeepa Saram, Consul General of Sri Lanka in Victoria.
Global-Ise Management—Ken Jacobs, Johann Jayasinha, and Dr Luckmika Perera (Consultant from the University of Melbourne)—did a magnificent job in planning and the execution of the advanced sports programme.
Coaches from Sri Lanka presenting a plaque to Global-Ise Management team
Ken Jacobs (centre), Johann Jayasinha, and Dr Luckmika Perera (on the right
Hi! How’s the beauty scene keeping with you?
Phew, this heat is awful but there is nothing that we can do about it.
However, there are ways and means to take care of your skin and I will do my best to help you in every way I can.
Well, this week, let’s go for a Bright, Smooth Skin.
Gram flour (also known as besan) is a traditional skincare ingredient known for its:
* Natural exfoliating properties.
* Ability to absorb excess oil.
* Gentle brightening and tan-removal effects.
* Suitability for all skin types, especially oily and acne-prone skin.
You will need 01–02 tablespoons gram flour (besan) and rose water, or raw milk, to make a paste.
You could add the following two as optional add-ins: A pinch of turmeric (for extra glow), and a few drops of lemon juice (for oily skin and pigmentation)
Add the gram flour to a small bowl and mix in the rose water (for oily/sensitive skin) or raw milk (for dry skin) slowly.
Stir well to make a smooth, spreadable paste—not too thick, not too runny.
Now apply this mixture, evenly, to your damp face and neck, and let it sit for 5–10 minutes (don’t let it dry completely if you have dry skin).
Gently massage in circular motions using wet fingers—this helps exfoliate.
Rinse off with lukewarm water, and then pat your skin dry.
Use it 02–03 times a week for best results.
Skin Benefits:
* Removes dirt, sweat, and oil without stripping natural moisture.
* Gently exfoliates dead skin cells, revealing smoother skin.
* Brightens the complexion and fades mild tanning.
* Helps clear clogged pores and reduce pimples.
* Leaves skin fresh and glowing—perfect for humid climates.
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