Features
CONFESSIONS OF A GLOBAL GYPSY DIFFERENT ROLES – Part 9
By Dr. Chandana (Chandi) Jayawardena DPhil
President – Chandi J. Associates Inc. Consulting, Canada
Founder & Administrator – Global Hospitality Forum
chandij@sympatico.ca
Romantic Neighbour
Our second year at the Ceylon Hotel School (CHS) commenced with a pleasant surprise. The manager’s position at Samudra Hotel changed frequently and his/her living quarters adjoined the CHS hostel. The new hotel manager was a lady with five children around our age. Three of them were very pretty girls. Prior to our new neighbours moving in, CHS students were dressed casually when at the hostel. Sarongs, shorts with no shirts or even less, was normal. With the exception of a handful of the well-behaved and studious, we were a noisy and disorderly bunch.
That changed overnight, when we saw the three daughters of the new manager looking curiously at our hostel from their front garden. We were disappointed to hear that the elder girl had a fiancé, but happy to note that the other two did not have boyfriends, yet.
Fairly quickly our attire after school changed to more fashionable clothes. Basically, our general grooming improved to impress our new and pretty teenage neighbors. Most of us, in addition to regular shaves and well-styled hair, commenced using expensive after shave colognes. Even those who did not have such luxuries started smelling good by simply using richer students’ supplies without their knowledge. We gradually commenced locking our good shirts in our individual wardrobes as some of the playboy types simply helped themselves to impress the girls in the evenings.
One of my batchmates developed a serious relationship with one of the girls and used to have long whispering conversations from either side of the partition separating the hostel and the manager’s living quarters. For another batchmate who was less experienced with girls, it was love at first sight. He really liked the youngest girl and dated her for a short period. He was heartbroken when she ended the relationship. I was able to successfully convince one of those girls to be a dance partner at the next Graduation Ball held in 1973.
Ragging Leader
A year after I joined CHS, my batch mates and I surpassed that Fresher F***er (FF) stage. We felt the difference in our second year at CHS. We were now respectfully addressed as Lord Veterans, by the poor 28 Fresher FFs in the CHS batch one year below us. Those day only boys were allowed to the three-year management programme and had to undergo the usual ragging week. I was an ’unofficial’ rag leader determined to bring some creative group fun activities rather than individual harassments similar to what we underwent a year earlier. I was also influenced by a batchmate, Saibu, who carried his anger for a long time based on one incident during the ragging the previous year. When he told me this story, I had to try hard to look serious without laughing aloud!
During the 1971 rag, a Lord Veteran had Saibu to climb a large tree facing the Galle Road, that provided shade to the warden’s house. After Saibu was up the tree, he had been ordered to remove all his clothes and throw them to the ground. Then the Lord Veteran had hidden the clothes and gone away to a class at the Alliance Française around mid-afternoon, conveniently forgetting poor naked Saibu up the tree. Covering his private parts with large leaves while holding a branch to ensure that he did not fall, he was up there for three long hours until sunset as he could not get down before dark as the warden’s wife and young daughters were seated on their front lawn having a pleasant, long, laughing chat while sipping tea and eating chocolate cake. I told Saibu, “Machang, other than the long wait up the tree, you were OK, right?”. Saibu responded angrily, “What nonsense. That bloody tree was festered with black ants, who kept biting my arse for hours!” After a pause, he added, “One day I want to kill that bastard Mahawaduge!”
Choreographer
In spite of our good intentions some of the ragging activities were fun only for us but scary for the FFs. One such activity was a fake mass circumcision ceremony which I choregraphed with dim lighting, haunting music and chopping knife sounds etc. All FFs were lined up in a corridor and they were told that they should enter the dark room in the corner of CHS hostel one at a time, when ordered to do so. A scary-looking large chopping knife, a big chopping block and a small bucket were carried to that dark room ceremonially to commence the ritual. Owing to certain qualifications, Saibu was undisputedly chosen as the ‘Master of the Mass Circumcision Ceremony’ (MMCC).
Then I ushered the first FF in the line who was shivering in fear into the mysterious looking dark room. Once I brought him into the room, all my batch mates sitting on bunk beds and chairs around the dark room made a howling cannibalistic noise. At that point, the first FF begged me to let him go home and he told me that he wants to quit CHS. I then whispered into his ear, “FF Abeysundara, don’t worry. This whole event is a joke. All I want you to do is when Lord Veteran Neil Maurice makes a big chopping noise, cover your fingers with this red paint, run pass all your batchmates and scream as if you are in deep pain.” He understood and played his part perfectly. Whilst he ran covering his private parts with red paint covered fingers, screaming, “Budu Ammo (Holy Mother), my penis was cut off!”, some of the FFs waiting in line fainted.
Assistant Barber
The third-year and second-year students partied daily during the ragging week. In 1972, when CHS Principal Sterner returned from his summer vacation in West Germany, we noticed that he had cut his hair very short in keeping with then popular ‘Crew Cut’ style. We called it ‘The Sterner Cut’. One evening during the ragging week, my batch mate and friend Neil Maurice told me that during the summer break he learnt hairdressing. He needed to practice his newly acquired skill to perfect it. To support my friend’s ambition, I lined up all 28 freshers FFs from the new batch and told them that in consideration of their good behaviour, they would be rewarded with a free haircut by an expert.
Neil did a lousy job with the first haircut. Consuming a couple of shots of Gal Oya arrack prior to the haircutting practice was not a good idea. Having cut off too much on one side of the head of the first FF in line, Neil tried to balance it by cutting more on the other side. At that point, I told Neil, “Machang, this chap now looks like Herr Sterner.” Neil was motivated. The bottom line was that after three hours of aggressive mass hair cutting, we had 28 heads looking l
ike Herr Sterner’s. Next morning, Fresher FFs marched to CHS to be greeted by Herr Sterner. Baffled by seeing near bald first-year students, the principal asked, “What happened!?”. We said in unison, “Sterner Cut, Sir!”. He did not comment and was not amused. At that moment we realised that we had crossed the line and overdone our ragging. Later that day, someone influential had complained in Parliament that there were human right violations committed by the second-year students of CHS.
Friend
We quickly organised the end-of-rag celebration booze party at the hostel and became friends with all FFs. I became life-long friends with most of those colleagues in the batch junior to me, particularly because they were closer to my age than my own batch mates. Forty-nine years later all their CHS buddies still address some of these FFs by the funny nicknames given to them during the CHS rag in 1972. These nicknames include, Arthur Aiyya, Johnny Weeraya, Boothaya, Chabba and Herr Hartmann (as this FF, Saman looked like the cartoon character in our German language text book). Now when we occasionally meet, we have a good laugh about our ragging era, pranks and mischief at the CHS. Ragging was a bad thing and I am happy that ragging stopped at CHS in 1973.
Dr. Chandana (Chandi) Jayawardena
has been an Executive Chef, Food & Beverage Director, Hotel GM, MD, VP, President, Chairman, Professor, Dean, Leadership Coach and Consultant. He has published 21 text books. This weekly column narrates ‘fun’ stories from his 50-year career in South Asia, the Middle East, Europe, South America, the Caribbean and North America, and his travels to 98 countries and assignments in 44 countries.
Fast Forward to 2021 – My Post-Pandemic Roles
After 50 years in the Hospitality and Tourism Industry, I am pleased to get more opportunities to serve the industry. My work in 2021 focusses on far more serious 
functions compared to my roles in 1972. My primary focus now is to help rebuild the industry. Since the beginning of the year 2020 the tourism and hospitality industry has been struggling in an unprecedented manner, facing its biggest global challenge in 100 years. A few examples of my current work are:
Webinar Moderator/Panellist
Two weeks ago, on May 24, 2021 I was happy to present at the first of a series of webinars organized by the International Institute of Knowledge Management (TIIKM). The theme of this webinar series is, “Future of Tourism & Hospitality Management – Post Pandemic”. The full video clip of the webinar is now posted on the TIIKM Facebook page.
Conference Chair
On November 4 and 5, 2021, I will co-chair the Eighth International Conference on Hospitality and Tourism (ICOHT), with Professor Suranga De Silva of the University of Colombo. This annual conference brings together tourism and hospitality industry leaders, educators, researchers and scholars from around the world. This year we are focusing on learning from the best practices around the world in rebuilding. The theme for the conference this year will be: “Post-Pandemic Tourism & Hospitality”. It will be held in Colombo.
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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