Features
My Brief Career at Christ Church, Oxford
by Vijaya Chandrasoma
Christ Church has, through the ages, been a political college, having produced 13 British prime ministers, the highest number by any college in Oxford and Cambridge. They included Sir Alec Douglas-Home (1963-64), Sir Anthony Eden (1955-57) and two of the most famous prime ministers of the 19th century, Sir Robert Peel (1834-35 and 1842-46) and Sir William Gladstone (1892-94, 1886, 1880-85, 1868-74). Christ Church was also the alma mater of our own prime minister, Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike (1956-59).
I started my career at Christ Church in October, 1960.
Freshmen are usually accommodated in the College quads at the House, as Christ Church is popularly known at Oxford. Eight of us freshmen were shunted to a boarding house near the Oxford railway station, appropriately named the Railway Annex. The digs were most ordinary, about a mile from the College, eight single rooms with common bathrooms, a dining room where a regular English breakfast was served; and a living area with a black and white television set, quite a luxury in those days. There was a regular bus service to Carfax, the city center, very close to Christ Church, but the first purchase for most us was a bike.
I got a transfer to Peckwater quad at the start of the Hilary term in January. Peck is one of the most prestigious quadrangles in Oxford. I shared a large, oak-paneled study with a fireplace, leading to two single rooms, which had obviously been monks’ cells in the middle ages. They had undergone few changes since. The only fixtures were a bed, a chest of drawers and a sink. Our rooms were on the third floor, with the bathrooms in the basement. So we had to make the trek down three floors in the heart of the Winter to attend to our ablutions. Unlike the common bathtubs we had got used to in our digs in London, the bathrooms at the House had showers with hot water, a luxury in those times; although hot water was not always a given. I had been compelled on many an evening to shower in icy cold water.
We had a scout who acted as our own personal assistant, who woke us up, made our beds, cleaned our rooms, looked after us when we were suffering with any ailments, mainly hangovers, attended to our laundry and generally made life very comfortable for us.
During the first week at the House, we met the Masters of the Honours degree subjects we had selected, mine being Philosophy, Politics and Economics. Sir Roy Harrod, famed English economist, held the fellowship in economics and modern history at Christ Church. He was a senior adviser to Sir Harold Macmillan, the British Prime Minister at that time. He gave us the usual pep talk, ending with the hardly traditional advice that we should ignore the university lectures, but concentrate on the weekly tutorials we had with graduate students, which he said was all that was necessary to get through our first year.
I cannot explain what caused my abject failure at Christ Church. I had always been a good student, but at Christ Church, I didn’t attend a lecture, cut most of the tutorials and hardly picked up a book. Universities in England in those days had no Counselors, so I went from day to day, bad to worse, until I failed Prelims. Twice. I couldn’t confide my predicament to my parents who were in Colombo, as I knew how disappointed they would have been. There was really no one I could have asked for advice while I was digging my academic grave. That’s not strictly true. The graduate student who was taking my weekly tutorials in Logic visited me halfway through my second term, and asked me why I hadn’t showed any interest in pursuing my studies. I dodged the question, and he went away, no doubt satisfied that he had made an effort to help me. Which he did, to no avail.
I am certain that things have changed now, but in those days, universities had no Student Counselors to help us with our problems, no facility for changing the course of the career path we had decided upon on admission, no taking a year off “to find ourselves”. British Universities did not coddle their students. You either finished the degree that you had originally selected in the mandatory number of years, or you didn’t; you either did your work or you got the hell out. It was as simple, as rigid as that. Ironically, the exact sentiment as expressed in the motto of my old alma mater, Royal College: Disce Aut Discede – Learn or Depart.
I was rusticated, which is slightly better than being sent down. I would have been able to resume my studies at the House had I passed Prelims in the future. Which I didn’t even attempt.
As one of the 26 Colleges that made up the University at that time (there are 45 today), Christ Church was breathtaking in its history and its architecture. The House boasted a number of nationally and architecturally significant buildings, including Tom Tower, the Christ Church Chapel and Tom Clock, designed by one of the most acclaimed architects in British history, Sir Christopher Wren. Tom Clock deputized as the National Clock when Big Ben of Westminster Abbey in London was out of commission.
I did most everything else during my brief stint at the House. I have many wonderful memories of the sports in which I participated. I was a member of the Christ Church boat which competed and finished second in the 1961 Torpids, held at the end of the Hilary term. The training for this test was pretty rigorous. We had to run to the boathouse through the Christ Church Meadows, do about half-an-hour of warm-up exercises and then row four miles along the Isis, a tributary of the Thames, with our coach following us on a bike on the pathway alongside the river screaming instructions and insults at us.
There’s a funny story about the problems we faced when the hot water gave way in our showers at Peck. The bow (the guy at the back end of the boat) of the Christ Church crew was a friend, who also had his digs at Peck. I confided in him the torture I had to endure on some evenings, when, after four hours of rowing, the hot water had run out in our bathrooms, and I was compelled to shower in icy-cold water. He looked at me in puzzlement and said,
“I don’t know what you are talking about, old chap. I have my showers every Saturday morning, and there is plenty of hot water during the weekends”. We rowed at least four miles, ran perhaps a half a mile from our boathouse in the Meadows to the House, five evenings a week. And he showered once a week!
Oxford was not much better on the food stakes. Except for the first term which I spent at the Railway Annex, which provided breakfast, all our meals were in the Great Hall. Historically impressive surroundings, terrible food. Lots of bacon and eggs, baked beans, transparent slices of beef, bread and potatoes, so many potatoes. Hardly a suitable diet for a Sri Lankan raised on rice, stringhoppers and spicy curries. I would have killed for an occasional pol sambol! There were no cooking facilities whatsoever in our rooms, so like in London, I fell on the last resort of Indian food. I patronized an Indian restaurant at the Turl called, if memory serves, the Taj Mahal. The owner/manager offered me all I can eat Masala Chicken for seven shillings and sixpence, about 40 new pence after the Brits went metric in 1971. Or about six rupees in Sri Lankan currency, at the then rate of Rs. 13.33 to one sterling pound. Given my appetite, I feel the Indian owner of the restaurant fed me out of kindness, certainly not for profit.
We were allowed 45 pounds sterling per month (Ceylon Rs. 600) by the Exchange Controller in those days, which was sufficient for all expenses, tuition fees, books, room and board. The cost of this type of education at either Cambridge or Oxford these days would be in excess of 2,500 sterling pounds a month!
I was on the Christ Church tennis team and we played various colleges with mixed results in the Summer. The only game that I remember was the match we played against the lady’s team of the Oxford University Lawn Tennis Club. We got trounced by some very attractive ladies.
We also had a “social” cricket team called the Warrigals, named after what I later learned was a wild, untamed horse, of which I was a member. We played informal one-day (not 50-over, that format hadn’t yet been invented) matches against other colleges at Oxford, and even a couple at Cambridge. The Christ Church cricket grounds were famous, being the alternative used for First Class matches when the University Parks were, for any reason, not available. The Christ Church ground was the venue used when the touring Australians played the University in 1961.
The Warrigals organized a memorable ten-day tour of Kent villages in the Summer of 1961, playing on village pitches and sleeping over at village pubs. We had a wonderful time. I used to be a mediocre off spin bowler, who neither spun nor turned the ball. But one freak ball I bowled caught a rough patch, probably hit a stone and turned a mile from outside the off stump to just clip the leg bail. The few spectators, inebriated enough to cheer anyone, shouted “Goonesena, Goonesena” when I took this wicket. To be even drunkenly compared to the most accomplished Ceylonese spin bowler in England of that time was a heady moment for me, even though my swarthy skin-color played no little part in the comparison.
I was the star of the College badminton team because no one else played the game. I also led a pretty busy social life, partying, drinking and gambling with the best, activities hardly conducive to a successful academic career.
Perhaps I can claim a Sri Lankan, if not a world, record of being offered places at three of the finest universities in the world, Oxford, Cambridge and St. Andrews, and ending my academic career without a first degree. My father said that I would regret this failure for the rest of my life, and he was right. I do, to this day.
More than anything, I regret I did not give my parents the pride of their son graduating from the most prestigious university in the world. Especially as I know now exactly how much that wonderful feeling means to parents. Pride that all my children have filled my heart with. Pride that no one can take away from me.
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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