Advice to Youth; environment; one in a thousand

A video clip of part of a conversation of local radio commentators with probably the DJ joining in during a music session, had them with good humour thrashing Meghan – the wickedly whining Duchess of Essex – on her recent Oprah Winfrey interview. They very rightly said that in Sri Lanka folk invariably comment on the skin colour of a newborn – “kaluda sududa?” and no one takes the slightest offence. People go further macabrely, Cass adds, commenting on the laid-out dead – “Myee how dark she looked. Aney, poor thing!” The final punch line of the video was the best: “Meghan had better beware of tunnels”! That was great. Cassandra now adds her own set of warnings to peoples of this fair isle of ours:

To young bucks: do not play rugby, aim at captaincy or cock a snook at those who think they are special and superior to all else.

To journos: For goodness sake, if you value your life, do not go into investigative journalism about certain families.

To the outspoken: Hold your tongue Stupid! You may land in prison for life just for one statement you make which really harms no one, except that you are of the wrong political colour and too free with your accusations.

To those who abhor corruption: pretend to be all of the three proverbial monkeys. Honesty is the worst policy. This applies especially to environmentalists now.

Misinterpretation of a single word

Cass needs to elaborate on a phrase in her last Friday’s ramblings. She had a sharp critic laugh maliciously at her (unintended) imputation that the ‘Good Morning Britain’ show anchor Piers Morgan of ITV, had a love affair with Meghan Markle during her single days. Cass wrote ‘Morgan is supposed to have had a relationship with Meghan and she had dropped him…’

It was a friendship that Cass meant and the fallout was that Morgan took offence at not being invited for the Windsor Chapel wedding to which Meghan had invited her many friends. So, he continued to thrash her on his morning talk show. ‘Relationship’ as written in the original Cry of Cassandra was not meant to be a love one, but a platonic friendship. ‘Relationship’ need not mean only sexual love; it has its many connotations.

The environment – topic of present times

‘The Environment’ is the A1 topic at the moment and widely discussed in the press, social media and talk shows. Rightly so too. There has never been such a rape of forests and over-exploitation of resources like sand, as of now. And very fortunately the young ’uns have rallied round. They have done it peacefully: planting trees; marching in protest and hoisting a huge banner-picture to awaken the somnambulant to the great danger the country faces: further depletion of its forest cover from the meager 17% of now. And how has the government taken it? The knee-jerk reaction of the President himself has been very disappointing, to say the least, and administrators have come forth in dissent to override the earnest youth. Threats have been issued and the mounted frieze in Viharamahadevi Park ordered to be brought down, in spite of official, written permission having been obtained by the young protestors from Municipal authorities. It was a completely peaceful gesture of awareness creation and timely warning. The large mounted picture was no threat to plant, animal or human, so why did the Municipal Commissioner and others see red and order it brought down? High ups work in mysterious ways.

The environment was the topic thrown forth for discussion by Shameer Rasooldeen to four environmental experts on Monday 22 March at the MTV Channel I Face the Nation panel discussion. Dr Sevvandi Jayakody – Director/Environment Foundation Ltd; Dr Ajanta Perera – scientist, activist; and Attorneys–at-Law Jagath Gunawardena and Ravindranath Dabare –Director/ Centre for Environmental Justice; took up the challenge very forcefully, convincingly and knowledgeably and in one voice pronounced our environment, and within it invaluable ecosystems, were in the height of danger from what is being perpetrated now by unscrupulous violators of law and decency. Destruction goes on apace though protests are loud and justified; the perpetrators of crimes seem to be winning. Like in the case of 19-year Baghya, who spoke of the destruction of a part of the Sinharaja forest before her very eyes, the messenger is targeted and threatened while miscreants and criminals go free to continue their rape and pillage. Another consensual fact expressed by the panel members is that the youth of the country have awoken to the danger of the undercover destruction of our natural environment and illicit exploitation of natural resources. Consensus was that they should be encouraged in their sincere crusade and not stymied or worse, marked for punishment, as they are now.

Attorney-at-law Dabare explained his theory: humans spend nine months in the environment of the mother’s womb given all nourishment and sustenance. When they are born, it is to the womb of the Environment, which again sustains them and gives them what they need. So how destroy it?

Dr Ajanta Perera was loud and clear in her condemnation of rackets of tree cutting etc going on with the patronage of VVIPs and lesser officials. She clearly explained the terms

economic development and environmental development. It had to be sustainable development without disturbing Nature. An ecosystem once harmed cannot be rejuvenated, she emphasised. A consensual and very clear opinion was that no reservoirs should, and could, be built within the Sinharaja Forest as announced by Minister Chamal Rajapaksa recently. No one can touch a heritage site without it being downgraded. Harming it is an act of robbery against future generations of Sri Lankans. Laws must be abided by and law breakers punished. Also, all MPs, top politicians and administrators should be made aware of environmental issues and world opinion and take note of dire warnings of the likely destruction of our Earth. Nature now is over-exploited without the correct action of protecting it, which is the bounden duty of a government.

Honest three-wheeler owner/driver

Readers of Cassandra have been introduced to the charioteer who spins Cass around Colombo on errands. She detailed in a previous Cassandra Cry how he redid his three-wheeler and made it a showpiece only to have it confiscated by the police disbelieving him and evidence that it was 30 years old. It lay ten days in the police station waiting to be sent to the RMV office. Ten days more in that office and what did this mean in rice and sambal terms? Tuan’s earnings were curtailed and his family suffered. Finally, a fine of Rs 50,000 was clamped on the poor man; a sure case of he who fell off a tree gored by a buffalo!

He phoned Cass on Saturday last to say a woman had travelled in his three-wheeler far out of Colombo, and getting down – nikan para meda – had left one of the two bags she carried. He discovered the bag tucked at the back of his vehicle only when he returned to Colombo. He has dropped Cass at Crescat Apartments, where she has friends, so since the woman with the two bags got in at the halt opposite the building, he requested Cass to find out if her friends had heard of a bag-losing-employee in one of the apartments. Entrusted mission was not carried out – very careless of Cass. Then on Monday he says he would hand over the bag with a pair of specs, clothes, umbrella and Rs 10,000 to the police. He did not see any boutiques or houses where the woman had alighted so no going again to the place to question people over there. Going to Vision Care to check on details of the sale of the specs seemed to be too far-fetched. At the mention of his decision on Monday 22, feeling very guilty at her remiss, Cass asked him to hold it until she phoned her Crescat friend. Merciful! Unbelievable coincidence!

The bag belonged to my friend’s house maid. Tuan was well compensated, but money alone or appreciation is insufficient to acknowledge the extent of honesty and concern. So, my friend insisted I make this tale known wider.

A very happy note to end this day’s conversation with you. There are honest persons in this fine island of ours; maybe in the proportion of one to twenty rascals, but getting better in proportion as we descend the money and clout levels. And this Muslim knew full well the woman who got in was Sinhalese. There really is no racial disharmony among the ordinary Menikas, Daisies, Naliahs and Mohammeds of (so far) Free Sri Lanka.

It’s the unscrupulous, power hungry, always eyeing the next election politicians who create the trouble, added to by thugs and now a small fraction of the Sangha. However, those in yellow robes exposing environmental abuse seem to be sincere and motivated by concern for the country.