Features
10 EUROPEAN CITIES IN 10 DAYS – Part 48
CONFESSIONS OF A GLOBAL GYPSY
By Dr. Chandana (Chandi) Jayawardena DPhil
President – Chandi J. Associates Inc. Consulting, Canada
Founder & Administrator – Global Hospitality Forum – chandij@sympatico.ca
The Travel Bug
ILO headquarters in Geneva was much larger than what we expected. Around mid-February, 1982, our group of ILO Fellows were taken to Switzerland. Our coach travelled about four hours from Turin to Geneva. After sightseeing and lunch by the Lake Geneva, we proceeded for our training at the ILO headquarters. As Fellows of ILO we were well treated by the ILO staff who did our orientation. Over the next few days, we attended classes learning Modules of Employable Skills (MES). Our learning elements focused primarily on vocational training programs.
After our one-week study program at ILO headquarters, we travelled to ten different European cities over the next ten days. These included Geneva, Bern, Basel, Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, Turin, Lyon, Paris, Rouen, Amiens and Calais. The words my father jokingly said before my third overseas trip came true. Now I was certainly bitten by the travel bug.
Exploring Switzerland
Geneva is an extremely beautiful water front city. I was most impressed by the cleanliness of the city and air in spite of being the second most populous city in Switzerland. Geneva is a global city, a financial centre and a worldwide centre for diplomacy. This was due to the presence of numerous international organizations, including the headquarters of many agencies of the United Nations and the Red Cross. Our Swiss guide took great pride in announcing that Geneva was the city that hosts the highest number of international organizations in the world.
Bern, as the capital city of the federal city of Switzerland, appeared to be small. The city is beautifully surrounded by a tributary of the High Rhine, the longest river that both rises and ends entirely within Switzerland. I thought that the historical section of the city, which traced its origins back to the 12th century, with well-preserved medieval architecture, was more beautiful and interesting. During a walk on the Kramgasse (Grocers Alley) we reached the 800-year-old Zytglogge Clock tower, which is one of Bern’s most recognisable symbols and the oldest monument of the city.
Switzerland’s political structure is fairly unique in the world. In total, there are 26 cantons (states of the Swiss Confederation), all of which manage their own education, healthcare, law enforcement, taxes, as well as social welfare. The average population of a Swiss canton in 1982 was only around 240,000. The primary language in 19 cantons is German, six cantons are French and one canton is Italian.
Basel is a city on the Rhine River in north-west Switzerland, close to the country’s borders with France and Germany. Its medieval, old town centres were quaint. Among other attractions, Basel is famous for its many museums, including the Kunstmuseum, the largest museum of art in Switzerland. It is also one of the largest cultural centres in relation to its size and population in Europe. We stopped at the University of Basel, founded in 1460 and Switzerland’s oldest university. We ended our day in Basel by walking across the famous Middle Bridge. One of my batch mates from Ceylon Hotel School, Anton and his Swiss wife, Claudia who lived in Basel, met us on the bridge for a brief meeting and to give us some Swiss souvenirs.
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc was our next stop where we had lunch and a tour ending our trip to Switzerland. This was one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. This ski resort area is near the junction of France, Switzerland and Italy. Mont Blanc or Monte Bianco (White Mountain), is the highest summit in the Alps nearly 16,000 feet above sea level. It’s renowned for its skiing. Year-round, cable cars take visitors up to several nearby peaks with panoramic views.
My first trip to Switzerland created a fascination about this land-locked small country. Its mountains, lakes, natural beauty, neutrality, banks, watches, hospitality service standards, cheeses and chocolates all enhanced my interest of Switzerland. My introduction to this country in 1982 was very useful when I returned to work briefly in Switzerland as a recruiter of international students for Hotel Consult Institut Hôtelier César Ritz in Brig, a few years later. That connection led me to do two, short contracts in early 1990s, as a Visiting Professor of Hospitality Management at IMI International Management Institute in Weggis.
Exploring France
After our memorable visit to Switzerland, we returned to Turin for a few days. We enjoyed a large farewell party there before each ILO Fellow proceeded to another country to continue their learning, individually. England and Scotland were my next stops to practice or enhance what I learnt at the Turin Centre and ILO headquarters. Although the organization funding my three-month fellowship in Europe – United Nations, kindly offered me free air tickets to travel from Turin to London, I preferred to travel mainly by coach, train and ferry. This way, my wife and I were able to get a much better sense of a few cities in between Turin and London. As I had a few free days before my individual program commenced, I decided to spend a few days of leisure in France with my wife. We travelled to five French cities.
Lyon stands on the site of the ancient Roman city called Lugdunum, founded in 43 BC, which was the capital of Gaul (encompassing many large areas of Europe). We visited three main attractions in Lyon. The Museum of Archaeology displaying Gallo-Roman-era objects was very interesting. During the Renaissance, Lyon had been a major economic hub. The impressive cultural heritage of Lyon is evidenced in Musée des Beaux-Arts, widely considered the next best fine arts museum in France after the Louvre in Paris. We then walked around Quartier Saint-Jean and Quartier Saint-Georges (Old Town) and had a typical Lyonnaise meal.
Paris was our most anticipated city. When we arrived in France on our way to Italy, our visits were limited to the airports in Paris and Lyon. Therefore, travelling between these two major French cities by train was a new experience for us. In most of the cities we visited, we first did a three-hour city tour to get an orientation of the city. Then we visited three key attractions and enjoyed a typical local meal or two. In Paris, passing through Avenue des Champs-Élysées and Arc de Triomphe were memorable.
As a child, listening to my father’s stories and the memories of his frequent official visits to UNESCO head office in Paris, motivated me to follow his favourite route. We went up the Eiffel Tower and then visited Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris. Six years after my first visit to Paris, I returned to Paris in 1988 to be trained as an international hotelier at the prestigious management training institute (located in Paris and Tour) of the upscale Le Meridien Hotel company which was owned by Air France. During that visit, I also spent a short management observer period at their 1,000-room hotel in the heart of Paris, Le Méridien Montparnasse.
Louvre Museum experience for the first time was like a visiting a separate, great city. It was like taking a walk through the history of art. It is widely accepted as the world’s greatest art museum in comparison to other great contenders to that title from New York, London, St. Petersburg and Madrid, which I visited in years to follow. From the time it was open to the public in the year 1793, the Louvre Museum had expanded its collection and number of visitors almost every decade.
In 1982, the Louvre Museum had over 32,000 works of art and attracted over six million visitors a year (increased to over 10 million in the year 2018). We simply could not do any justice to this museum in one day. I noted that if someone wanted to see everything in one visit and spent half a minute on each, it would take more than 11 days! As an artist, the biggest highlight for me was that the Louvre had six of the 24 known free-standing works of art done by Leonardo da Vinci, including the most famous painting, Mona Lisa.
During this trip, we were fortunate to get the opportunity to visit four out of the five most visited tourist attractions in the world – the Colosseum in Rome, Vatican Museums in Vatican City, Louvre in Paris, and the Eiffel Tower in Paris (we had to wait for another 11 years to visit the fifth – the Statue of Liberty in New York). We felt ready to explore a few smaller cities of France and experience day to day French life style.
Rouen was our next stop. It is a small port city on the river Seine, with a population of just over 100,000. The reason for our stop here was to visit one of my uncles, Tilak Gunasekara and his French family. Although he was a cousin of my mother, Tilak was my age and in childhood, we grew up as friends and school mates. Tilak was always an adventurer and wanted to travel the world as a sailor which he did from his late teens. A few years earlier when his ship arrived in France, while touring in Rouen he met a teenage French girl. It was love at first sight and he never left Rouen. In 1982, Tilak was working in Rouen as an underwater welder.
Tilak came to the Rouen railway station to pick us up. He was accompanied by his young French wife and infant son. While driving us through the city, they showed us impressive Gothic churches, medieval half-timbered houses and a skyline dominated by the spires of Rouen Cathédrale Notre-Dame. I understood the reasons for the great impressionist Claude Monet to have chosen Rouen for a series of over 30 paintings. We stayed with Tilak and family for two nights.
Amiens is another historic city Tilak took us to briefly on our way to Calais. It was slightly bigger than Rouen. A central landmark of the city is Amiens Cathedral, the largest gothic cathedral in France. Famous author Jules Verne’s house and local food markets were popular tourist attractions. We had a memorable lunch in a small café in the city centre. In France, most restaurants and cafés in any city, town or village were blessed with unique characteristics and great food.
Calais, which was our port to catch a ferry to England, had a very small population of around 60,000. Calais overlooks the Strait of Dover, the narrowest point in the English Channel, which is only 21 miles wide, and is the closest French town to England. The White Cliffs of Dover can easily be seen on a clear day from Calais. Due to its position, Calais, since the Middle Ages, has been a major port and a very important centre for transport and trade with England.
The importance of Calais was much greater in the pre-channel tunnel era. We drove past the old part of the town, Calais proper (known as Calais-Nord), which was situated on an artificial island surrounded by canals and harbours. Aside from being a key transport hub, Calais was also a notable fishing port and a central fish market. After goodbyes, we boarded a small ferry for our 90-minute trip to the Port of Dover in England for the next leg of our European adventure.
by Dr Gotabhya Ranasinghe
Senior Consultant Cardiologist
National Hospital Sri Lanka
When we sought a meeting with Hon Dr. Ramesh Pathirana, Minister of Health, he graciously cleared his busy schedule to accommodate us. Renowned for his attentive listening and deep understanding, Minister Pathirana is dedicated to advancing the health sector. His openness and transparency exemplify the qualities of an exemplary politician and minister.
Dr. Palitha Mahipala, the current Health Secretary, demonstrates both commendable enthusiasm and unwavering support. This combination of attributes makes him a highly compatible colleague for the esteemed Minister of Health.
Our discussion centered on a project that has been in the works for the past 30 years, one that no other minister had managed to advance.
Minister Pathirana, however, recognized the project’s significance and its potential to revolutionize care for heart patients.
The project involves the construction of a state-of-the-art facility at the premises of the National Hospital Colombo. The project’s location within the premises of the National Hospital underscores its importance and relevance to the healthcare infrastructure of the nation.
This facility will include a cardiology building and a tertiary care center, equipped with the latest technology to handle and treat all types of heart-related conditions and surgeries.
Securing funding was a major milestone for this initiative. Minister Pathirana successfully obtained approval for a $40 billion loan from the Asian Development Bank. With the funding in place, the foundation stone is scheduled to be laid in September this year, and construction will begin in January 2025.
This project guarantees a consistent and uninterrupted supply of stents and related medications for heart patients. As a result, patients will have timely access to essential medical supplies during their treatment and recovery. By securing these critical resources, the project aims to enhance patient outcomes, minimize treatment delays, and maintain the highest standards of cardiac care.
Upon its fruition, this monumental building will serve as a beacon of hope and healing, symbolizing the unwavering dedication to improving patient outcomes and fostering a healthier society.We anticipate a future marked by significant progress and positive outcomes in Sri Lanka’s cardiovascular treatment landscape within the foreseeable timeframe.
by Fr. Emmanuel Fernando, OMI
Jesuit Fr. Aloysius Pieris (affectionately called Fr. Aloy) celebrated his 90th birthday on April 9, 2024 and I, as the editor of our Oblate Journal, THE MISSIONARY OBLATE had gone to press by that time. Immediately I decided to publish an article, appreciating the untiring selfless services he continues to offer for inter-Faith dialogue, the renewal of the Catholic Church, his concern for the poor and the suffering Sri Lankan masses and to me, the present writer.
It was in 1988, when I was appointed Director of the Oblate Scholastics at Ampitiya by the then Oblate Provincial Fr. Anselm Silva, that I came to know Fr. Aloy more closely. Knowing well his expertise in matters spiritual, theological, Indological and pastoral, and with the collaborative spirit of my companion-formators, our Oblate Scholastics were sent to Tulana, the Research and Encounter Centre, Kelaniya, of which he is the Founder-Director, for ‘exposure-programmes’ on matters spiritual, biblical, theological and pastoral. Some of these dimensions according to my view and that of my companion-formators, were not available at the National Seminary, Ampitiya.
Ever since that time, our Oblate formators/ accompaniers at the Oblate Scholasticate, Ampitiya , have continued to send our Oblate Scholastics to Tulana Centre for deepening their insights and convictions regarding matters needed to serve the people in today’s context. Fr. Aloy also had tried very enthusiastically with the Oblate team headed by Frs. Oswald Firth and Clement Waidyasekara to begin a Theologate, directed by the Religious Congregations in Sri Lanka, for the contextual formation/ accompaniment of their members. It should very well be a desired goal of the Leaders / Provincials of the Religious Congregations.
Besides being a formator/accompanier at the Oblate Scholasticate, I was entrusted also with the task of editing and publishing our Oblate journal, ‘The Missionary Oblate’. To maintain the quality of the journal I continue to depend on Fr. Aloy for his thought-provoking and stimulating articles on Biblical Spirituality, Biblical Theology and Ecclesiology. I am very grateful to him for his generous assistance. Of late, his writings on renewal of the Church, initiated by Pope St. John XX111 and continued by Pope Francis through the Synodal path, published in our Oblate journal, enable our readers to focus their attention also on the needed renewal in the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka. Fr. Aloy appreciated very much the Synodal path adopted by the Jesuit Pope Francis for the renewal of the Church, rooted very much on prayerful discernment. In my Religious and presbyteral life, Fr.Aloy continues to be my spiritual animator / guide and ongoing formator / acccompanier.
Fr. Aloysius Pieris, BA Hons (Lond), LPh (SHC, India), STL (PFT, Naples), PhD (SLU/VC), ThD (Tilburg), D.Ltt (KU), has been one of the eminent Asian theologians well recognized internationally and one who has lectured and held visiting chairs in many universities both in the West and in the East. Many members of Religious Congregations from Asian countries have benefited from his lectures and guidance in the East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI) in Manila, Philippines. He had been a Theologian consulted by the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences for many years. During his professorship at the Gregorian University in Rome, he was called to be a member of a special group of advisers on other religions consulted by Pope Paul VI.
Fr. Aloy is the author of more than 30 books and well over 500 Research Papers. Some of his books and articles have been translated and published in several countries. Among those books, one can find the following: 1) The Genesis of an Asian Theology of Liberation (An Autobiographical Excursus on the Art of Theologising in Asia, 2) An Asian Theology of Liberation, 3) Providential Timeliness of Vatican 11 (a long-overdue halt to a scandalous millennium, 4) Give Vatican 11 a chance, 5) Leadership in the Church, 6) Relishing our faith in working for justice (Themes for study and discussion), 7) A Message meant mainly, not exclusively for Jesuits (Background information necessary for helping Francis renew the Church), 8) Lent in Lanka (Reflections and Resolutions, 9) Love meets wisdom (A Christian Experience of Buddhism, 10) Fire and Water 11) God’s Reign for God’s poor, 12) Our Unhiddden Agenda (How we Jesuits work, pray and form our men). He is also the Editor of two journals, Vagdevi, Journal of Religious Reflection and Dialogue, New Series.
Fr. Aloy has a BA in Pali and Sanskrit from the University of London and a Ph.D in Buddhist Philosophy from the University of Sri Lankan, Vidyodaya Campus. On Nov. 23, 2019, he was awarded the prestigious honorary Doctorate of Literature (D.Litt) by the Chancellor of the University of Kelaniya, the Most Venerable Welamitiyawe Dharmakirthi Sri Kusala Dhamma Thera.
Fr. Aloy continues to be a promoter of Gospel values and virtues. Justice as a constitutive dimension of love and social concern for the downtrodden masses are very much noted in his life and work. He had very much appreciated the commitment of the late Fr. Joseph (Joe) Fernando, the National Director of the Social and Economic Centre (SEDEC) for the poor.
In Sri Lanka, a few religious Congregations – the Good Shepherd Sisters, the Christian Brothers, the Marist Brothers and the Oblates – have invited him to animate their members especially during their Provincial Congresses, Chapters and International Conferences. The mainline Christian Churches also have sought his advice and followed his seminars. I, for one, regret very much, that the Sri Lankan authorities of the Catholic Church –today’s Hierarchy—- have not sought Fr.
Aloy’s expertise for the renewal of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka and thus have not benefited from the immense store of wisdom and insight that he can offer to our local Church while the Sri Lankan bishops who governed the Catholic church in the immediate aftermath of the Second Vatican Council (Edmund Fernando OMI, Anthony de Saram, Leo Nanayakkara OSB, Frank Marcus Fernando, Paul Perera,) visited him and consulted him on many matters. Among the Tamil Bishops, Bishop Rayappu Joseph was keeping close contact with him and Bishop J. Deogupillai hosted him and his team visiting him after the horrible Black July massacre of Tamils.
Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement
By Gomi Senadhira
senadhiragomi@gmail.com
“You might tell fairy tales, but the progress of a country cannot be achieved through such narratives. A country cannot be developed by making false promises. The country moved backward because of the electoral promises made by political parties throughout time. We have witnessed that the ultimate result of this is the country becoming bankrupt. Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet.” – President Ranil Wickremesinghe, 2024 Budget speech
Any Sri Lankan would agree with the above words of President Wickremesinghe on the false promises our politicians and officials make and the fairy tales they narrate which bankrupted this country. So, to understand this, let’s look at one such fairy tale with lots of false promises; Ranil Wickremesinghe’s greatest achievement in the area of international trade and investment promotion during the Yahapalana period, Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA).
It is appropriate and timely to do it now as Finance Minister Wickremesinghe has just presented to parliament a bill on the National Policy on Economic Transformation which includes the establishment of an Office for International Trade and the Sri Lanka Institute of Economics and International Trade.
Was SLSFTA a “Cleverly negotiated Free Trade Agreement” as stated by the (former) Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate on the SLSFTA in July 2018, or a colossal blunder covered up with lies, false promises, and fairy tales? After SLSFTA was signed there were a number of fairy tales published on this agreement by the Ministry of Development Strategies and International, Institute of Policy Studies, and others.
However, for this article, I would like to limit my comments to the speech by Minister Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate, and the two most important areas in the agreement which were covered up with lies, fairy tales, and false promises, namely: revenue loss for Sri Lanka and Investment from Singapore. On the other important area, “Waste products dumping” I do not want to comment here as I have written extensively on the issue.
1. The revenue loss
During the Parliamentary Debate in July 2018, Minister Samarawickrama stated “…. let me reiterate that this FTA with Singapore has been very cleverly negotiated by us…. The liberalisation programme under this FTA has been carefully designed to have the least impact on domestic industry and revenue collection. We have included all revenue sensitive items in the negative list of items which will not be subject to removal of tariff. Therefore, 97.8% revenue from Customs duty is protected. Our tariff liberalisation will take place over a period of 12-15 years! In fact, the revenue earned through tariffs on goods imported from Singapore last year was Rs. 35 billion.
The revenue loss for over the next 15 years due to the FTA is only Rs. 733 million– which when annualised, on average, is just Rs. 51 million. That is just 0.14% per year! So anyone who claims the Singapore FTA causes revenue loss to the Government cannot do basic arithmetic! Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, I call on my fellow members of this House – don’t mislead the public with baseless criticism that is not grounded in facts. Don’t look at petty politics and use these issues for your own political survival.”
I was surprised to read the minister’s speech because an article published in January 2018 in “The Straits Times“, based on information released by the Singaporean Negotiators stated, “…. With the FTA, tariff savings for Singapore exports are estimated to hit $10 million annually“.
As the annual tariff savings (that is the revenue loss for Sri Lanka) calculated by the Singaporean Negotiators, Singaporean $ 10 million (Sri Lankan rupees 1,200 million in 2018) was way above the rupees’ 733 million revenue loss for 15 years estimated by the Sri Lankan negotiators, it was clear to any observer that one of the parties to the agreement had not done the basic arithmetic!
Six years later, according to a report published by “The Morning” newspaper, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) on 7th May 2024, Mr Samarawickrama’s chief trade negotiator K.J. Weerasinghehad had admitted “…. that forecasted revenue loss for the Government of Sri Lanka through the Singapore FTA is Rs. 450 million in 2023 and Rs. 1.3 billion in 2024.”
If these numbers are correct, as tariff liberalisation under the SLSFTA has just started, we will pass Rs 2 billion very soon. Then, the question is how Sri Lanka’s trade negotiators made such a colossal blunder. Didn’t they do their basic arithmetic? If they didn’t know how to do basic arithmetic they should have at least done their basic readings. For example, the headline of the article published in The Straits Times in January 2018 was “Singapore, Sri Lanka sign FTA, annual savings of $10m expected”.
Anyway, as Sri Lanka’s chief negotiator reiterated at the COPF meeting that “…. since 99% of the tariffs in Singapore have zero rates of duty, Sri Lanka has agreed on 80% tariff liberalisation over a period of 15 years while expecting Singapore investments to address the imbalance in trade,” let’s turn towards investment.
Investment from Singapore
In July 2018, speaking during the Parliamentary Debate on the FTA this is what Minister Malik Samarawickrama stated on investment from Singapore, “Already, thanks to this FTA, in just the past two-and-a-half months since the agreement came into effect we have received a proposal from Singapore for investment amounting to $ 14.8 billion in an oil refinery for export of petroleum products. In addition, we have proposals for a steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million), sugar refinery ($ 200 million). This adds up to more than $ 16.05 billion in the pipeline on these projects alone.
And all of these projects will create thousands of more jobs for our people. In principle approval has already been granted by the BOI and the investors are awaiting the release of land the environmental approvals to commence the project.
I request the Opposition and those with vested interests to change their narrow-minded thinking and join us to develop our country. We must always look at what is best for the whole community, not just the few who may oppose. We owe it to our people to courageously take decisions that will change their lives for the better.”
According to the media report I quoted earlier, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) Chief Negotiator Weerasinghe has admitted that Sri Lanka was not happy with overall Singapore investments that have come in the past few years in return for the trade liberalisation under the Singapore-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement. He has added that between 2021 and 2023 the total investment from Singapore had been around $162 million!
What happened to those projects worth $16 billion negotiated, thanks to the SLSFTA, in just the two-and-a-half months after the agreement came into effect and approved by the BOI? I do not know about the steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million) and sugar refinery ($ 200 million).
However, story of the multibillion-dollar investment in the Petroleum Refinery unfolded in a manner that would qualify it as the best fairy tale with false promises presented by our politicians and the officials, prior to 2019 elections.
Though many Sri Lankans got to know, through the media which repeatedly highlighted a plethora of issues surrounding the project and the questionable credentials of the Singaporean investor, the construction work on the Mirrijiwela Oil Refinery along with the cement factory began on the24th of March 2019 with a bang and Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his ministers along with the foreign and local dignitaries laid the foundation stones.
That was few months before the 2019 Presidential elections. Inaugurating the construction work Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the projects will create thousands of job opportunities in the area and surrounding districts.
The oil refinery, which was to be built over 200 acres of land, with the capacity to refine 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day, was to generate US$7 billion of exports and create 1,500 direct and 3,000 indirect jobs. The construction of the refinery was to be completed in 44 months. Four years later, in August 2023 the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to cancel the agreement with the investors of the refinery as the project has not been implemented! Can they explain to the country how much money was wasted to produce that fairy tale?
It is obvious that the President, ministers, and officials had made huge blunders and had deliberately misled the public and the parliament on the revenue loss and potential investment from SLSFTA with fairy tales and false promises.
As the president himself said, a country cannot be developed by making false promises or with fairy tales and these false promises and fairy tales had bankrupted the country. “Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet”.
(The writer, a specialist and an activist on trade and development issues . )
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