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Recollections of long past Easters and Sinhala and Tamil New Years

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Hot April is here upon us. With it comes the solemnity and end joy of Easter and the customs and rituals of the Sinhala and Tamil New Year. To me additionally, the name April inevitably brings to mind Chaucer’s first lines of his Canterbury Tales:

“Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote/ The droghte of March had perced to the roote,
And bathes every veyne in swich licour/ Of which vertu engendred is the flour
Tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne.”

Yes, the drought of March has given way to searing April with its blazing overhead sun. The crop is harvested; not so disastrous as the last two starved of necessities due to Prez Gota’s killer directive of banning chemical agricultural needs. The aluth sahal festivity was in Anuradhapura with Prez Ranil smilingly chatting to young ‘uns and back in Colombo planning to bring in a so-called “draconian” Bill to pass an Act against terrorism: ATA to replace PTA and allegedly more restrictive and dangerous. TUs, more so truculent Uni students have to be curtailed but not undemocratically. Ranil W is a Prez who is much in Parliament and that is commendable, as is the first faint sign of an economic turn-around.

Its festive season in the country but the ground reality is far from celebratory. To get away from eternal loud opposition and constant protest marches, and the thought of economic difficulties still suffered by most, I deliberately sent my mind back to the dim distant past. Times were truly spacious and peaceful then; people were content even though there was a distinct caste system in villages, and a division of young ones of the privileged private missionary school students and vernacular village school goers. I wanted to recapture innocent joy by recollecting how Easter was commemorated and the Sinhala and Tamil New Year celebrated.

My sibling and I were fortunate in having a mother who insisted on education in English for her children even though widowed very early in life and against a maternal uncle’s orders to “Go live in the village and send the girls to the local school. Then get them married as soon as possible. If you stay in town living alone with them, they will bring disgrace on us.”

In those ultra conservative days, a girl and boy even sending eye messages of love to each other was considered a crime and an elopement and births were shiveringly expected, hence cautionary, too strict vigilance in homes. As fate or karma is just in its dishing out, it was this uncle’s daughter who raised family eyebrows by eloping and divorcing! My sisters demurely consented to carefully arranged, very suitable marriages. By the time I came into my own as an adult, norms had changed for more freedom for women, though Mother remained Victorian.

So we went to a Methodist missionary school in Katukelle, Kandy. Mother consented to us learning Scripture and we were fortunate in reading and studying the Bible, knowing all about Jesus Christ. Later as a school boarder I went on Sundays to the Methodist Church down Brownrigg Street, Sunday school and Thursday guild meetings with boys from Kingswood.

I remember crying when we were told in Scripture classes and in Church of the betrayal of Jesus Christ by sneaky Judas Iscariot and denied by his VIP disciple Peter. This led to Christ having to carry his own wooden cross hearing the jeering catcalls and pitying cries en route and then being nailed to it and crucified between two thieves.

The joy of Christmas was so in contrast, so much so that with poignancy of Easter and being sent Easter eggs by the Janszes and peeping into their Christmas tree and decorated home, my much impressed third sister wanted to convert to Christianity. There was, however, not even a hint of conversion in our school. The mostly Irish Principals were totally service givers and their service included education, appreciation of English literature, and growing up to be modest, excellently behaved young women with values imbibed both at home and school. Principal Miss Allen particularly admired our Kandyan mores and modesty.

On the third day of Easter occurred the miraculous rising of the impaled Jesus Christ, who showed the stigmata in his palms, blessed those who had kept vigil near his stone tomb and been faithful to him; and ascended to Heaven. We so believed this story and were jubilant. Truth to tell we knew more about Christianity than Buddhism then.

Religion at home was going often to the temple on Halloluwa Road, Katukelle; pirit chanting and alms giving in-house; and visits to the Dalada Maligawa. Rituals in the Mahagedera were even more significant and practiced with a closer connection to the sponsored village temple with all night pirits at least twice a year. One sibling had to observe sil with Mother every month and invariably me with least clout got conscripted. I am thankful for that.

S&T New Year

I go by my memories of long ago Sinhala and Tamil New Years where customs were very strictly observed in my grandmother’s home and then in ours in Kandy. Mother was an out and out traditionalist.

The first custom was spring cleaning, which meant cleaning and clearing away accumulated stuff in the home. The uncemented areas of the mul gedera were the space for pounding paddy; the kitchen area; and the large room where a couple of feet above the ground were the wooden store rooms for that season’s rice harvest – divided according to the somewhat unfair custom of two thirds to owner of paddy fields and one third to the andé cultivator. These areas were cow dunged, so at the beginning of April, I well remember watching women squatting on their haunches and plastering the floor with cowdung mixed with water.

The used kitchen clayware – pitchers, pots, chatties, korahas, nebilis, maddaku were replaced with new ones. New clothes meant visits to Suppiah or Palayakat Stores in Kandy, and the sewing machine of the seamstress school teacher whirled day and night.

That covers the spring cleaning and new clothes of New Year. What about nonagathe period when one is supposed to be inactive? I remember well how this time period was very long when we were children. We had to subsist on biscuits, cheese, and stolen sweets such as kavun, aluwa and unduvel, stored in wicker kurini petti to be first offered to the priests in the local temple and then laden on the Avurudu table. We delighted in this absence of the usual rice and curry meals which were served thrice a day in the Mahagedera with women of the household even pitching into plates of rice at afternoon tea. Alternatives like string hoppers, roti and hoppers were rare even in our home in Kandy. Experimental Western dinners were served by older sisters who followed home science in school.

I suddenly remember the old kettle in my grandmother’s kitchen which was suspended over a cemented three brick hearth on the ground, eternally alight with smouldering dahaiya – dried husks of the paddy seed. That hearth too would surely have been cleaned out and re-ignited to glow day and night for the next twelve months.

The diversions or take-it-easy routines of Aluth Avuruddha? Plenty in the village, noisy too with rabanas beaten and loud merriment emanating from the kamatha where a giant wheel had been constructed by the youth of the village. Riding it was forbidden to us; we could only watch the rickety thing creaking up and down. Our consolation was the rope swing with a plank of wood as a seat strung on a firm branch of the mango tree in the midula.

A punya kalaya comes within the nonagathe period and also after the dawn of the New Year. We went to temple with small offerings of flowers and incense, dressed in our new year plumage.

An important ritual of the New Year is exchange of money. Mother would go to Kandy town to a Hettiya’s shop to do the needful and emerge gleeful since the betel leaf that the verti clad man gave her held a bigger amount than what she offered him. A couple of days later is the auspicious time to anoint one’s head with medicinal oil, have the first bath for the new dawned year and resume jobs, career, work, studies.

Very auspiciously this year a poya too comes within these two weeks and Eid al-fitr at the end of the Ramazan fast. The secular make-up of the country is demonstrated by this coincidental confluence of religious dates and a national occasion this year. May it augur well for the beloved country, after two years of intense suffering due to Covid and our leaders’ stupid mismanagement and also running down the country. Faint glimmers of silver appear in the clouds that bring April showers.



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The heart-friendly health minister

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Dr. Ramesh Pathirana

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.

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A LOVING TRIBUTE TO JESUIT FR. ALOYSIUS PIERIS ON HIS 90th BIRTHDAY

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Fr. Aloysius Pieris, SJ 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 on Nov. 23, 2019.

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.

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A fairy tale, success or debacle

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Ministers S. Iswaran and Malik Samarawickrama signing the joint statement to launch FTA negotiations. (Picture courtesy IPS)

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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