Features
Recalling the glorious Caribbean
Excerpted from Memories that linger: My journey through the world of disability
by Padmani Mendis
I have visited the islands of the Caribbean on many occasions primarily to introduce Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) and for field evaluations carried out in St. Lucia and Jamaica. On other occasions, to introduce the concept and the strategy to decision makers – as in Barbados, Grenada and the Bahamas. These islands in the Caribbean were perhaps best known to us in Sri Lanka as the West Indies. The song sung by Harry Belafonte had of course made one of them, namely Jamaica, known the world over as his “Island In The Sun“.
The West Indies, one might say, was like India, a creation of the British as an approach in granting independence. In India, the British brought together princely states to form one country and in spite of the vastness, succeeded. But with these small islands, the same tactic failed. Within a few years each of the 10 countries that formed the federation became independent. The name West Indies however stuck and the countries share some things in common – like their cricket team. This has not changed, and we still know them best for their skills in the game of cricket as well as for their enjoyment of the game.
They had perhaps, inherited their interest in cricket through their link with the British, having been conquered by those colonials and then, like us, been part of the great British Empire. I cannot say however that the skill and the enjoyment of the game of cricket were inherited from the British.
The skill looks inborn and the enjoyment inherent. Both were of a singularly and uniquely Caribbean nature. No international player can match the cricket played by Walcott, Weekes and Worrell, or more recently by Brian Lara at the wicket. No bowler has yet come on par with “those two little pals of mine, Ramadhin and Valentine”.
I first went to the West Indies with this cricket calypso ringing in my years:
Cricket luvverly Cricket,
At Lord’s where I saw it;
Yardley tried his best,
But Godard won the test,
With those two little pals of mine,
Ramadhin and Valentine
.‘Lord Beginner’ 1950
The people of the West Indies had their own style of music and of dance. And they broke into song and dance at the slightest provocation, as it were. Both descending no doubt from their mixed African and Spanish heritage.
For the people of the Caribbean were of an exceptionally mixed race. I saw this at once when I first met them. Their skin was of all hues of brown, black and white – and sometimes the white face even had that pink tint in it. Their hair similarly ranged from being frizzled to straight and all waves of in between. But one feature I missed – I never saw any native blondes, or red heads for that matter. They varied in body-build from the African to the Caucasian.
I recall the first time I walked into a bank in Barbados. It was new and spotlessly clean. With a distinct air of discipline about it. The radio was on and it was playing – calypso music of course. And to that infectious rhythm, the staff all dressed alike in light and dark shades of blue, each in their seats and focused on their work, were moving smoothly to the rhythm of it. It mattered not whether it was unconsciously or subconsciously. It was just such a delightful scene.
Jamaica
On my first visit to Jamaica I was surprised to meet an old friend, Marjorie Forrester, Director of the School of Physiotherapy.
I was happy to meet Marjorie on this first brief visit to Jamaica. She and I had come to know each other in London. We had followed together the Two-year Diploma Course in the Teaching of Physiotherapy some 20 years earlier. While I was at Guy’s Hospital in London, she was in Nottingham. But we met during our four semesters at the Polytechnic of North London and had become friends. Even on this visit, she invited me to her home so I could meet her husband Huntley. He was a very active leader in the Disability Movement in the Caribbean, and one who was full of fun with many jokes he shared generously.
I was a frequent visitor to their home on subsequent visits to Jamaica. In her home Marjorie arranged for me to meet many friends of Huntley’s, all with experience of disability. So we enjoyed healthy discussion and debate. And they needed some persuasion to accept CBR. But persuaded they were.
But one evening at Marjorie’s turned out to be rather embarrassing. Marjorie wanted me to meet someone who was doing some work also in disability and also as a Consultant for the WHO. She was from Canada. She specialised in sexual concerns in people who had paraplegia and other such paralyses.
She was very much against the idea of CBR which she believed to be giving a very poor quality of rehabilitation to poor people in poor countries. She challenged me with this her belief. And I was foolish enough to take her on. An unnecessarily heated argument ensued for which I later apologised profusely to Marjorie and Huntley. But what was done was done. Defending CBR was not new to me. But getting so worked up about it was. I knew I should have had better control of myself.
But worse was to come, as Marjorie informed me later. Marjorie had driven her to the airport the next day. On the way she wanted Marjorie to stop at the General Hospital in Kingston. There she went to the Physiotherapy Department, called all the therapists together and asked them to look out. She warned them that Padmani Mendis had come with some low-quality care and they would all soon be out of a job.
As I said earlier, criticisms by specialised professionals was not new. I did face this occasionally. I was happy when soon, as a profession, they would accept CBR when their global professional body, the World Confederation of Physical Therapy, stopped resisting, and finally did recognise it.
Where to Stay in Lucea, Jamaica
After introducing the project in St. Lucia, I realised that CBR development in so many islands of the West Indies would need guidance and support from someone like me for quite some time. I suggested to Dr. Hindley-Smith and Dr. Harold Drayton that it may be prudent to find me a counterpart from within the region rather than get me down each time from far away Sri Lanka. It should be a professional who could work with me when I went next to Jamaica. She or he should have the capacity to continue the tasks that I was presently doing.
So when I went to Jamaica the second time, I was joined by Geraldine Maison, later Maison-Halls. She was a physiotherapist and one with a charming personality. We got on famously with each other and were of immense mutual help. Geraldine thereafter did work in CBR for many years, both as a staff member of WHO, Geneva and in her own country, Guyana.
When we went to Lucea in Jamaica the question was where we would stay. We could have found a home prepared to keep us as paying guests in this small town. But no, someone from the health centre had a better suggestion, “How about Miss Katie?” We were told that Miss Katie was an elderly Jamaican who lived on her sugar plantation. A message was sent to Miss Katie to ask if she would have us. Geraldine and I moved in with Miss Katie that evening.
Miss Katie’s sugar plantation was not an active one. It was not profitable to grow sugar any more, she told us later. The sugar land was overgrown and was taken over by masses of grass. The uneven dirt roadway was just about clear enough for us to drive through. Then suddenly we came upon this caricature-like two-storied wooden house, appearing to be almost as if it were crumbling from age. And in this we found Miss Katie – a warm, generous and motherly “old lady”.
I had to use those words “old lady”. The word “elderly” was too cold to describe Miss Katie’s warmth – a warmth that oozed through her every pore. And her majesty. This small-made lady on the verge of bending in two – majesty, no other word but that.
And so Geraldine and I had a wonderful stay in Lucea. It was a 20-mile drive each way from our work but what was that? I will tell you more about it soon. Miss Katie had not known any guests for quite some time. She derived so much pleasure from just fussing over us and feeding us. In her garden Miss Katie had a chillie plant bearing green chillies that soon turned red. Every evening by my dinner plate I would find on a little silver tray one of her precious home-grown chillies. She knew that coming from Sri Lanka I appreciated that added taste in my food.
A car to drive
When I was at the WHO office on my first day in Kingston, a logistical problem that was difficult to solve was my transport. It was clear that the WHO had to provide me with a chauffeur-driven vehicle to take me to Lucea and back, a distance of over 200 miles taking over four hours of driving. And the chauffeur had to stay on to drive me around Lucea too. I waived immediately the requirement of a chauffeur. I could drive myself. But I did require a car.
Listening in to the discussion was a professional from Denmark employed on a WHO project in Jamaica. He had just been given for his use a new Toyota saloon purchased by his project. We had conversed previously and I had told him about my experience working as a physiotherapist in Denmark and how much I had enjoyed it. With that, we had accepted each other. We would not meet again because he was going away the next day and was not expected back for two months.
After much discussion and even then with a great deal of reluctance, the young man from Denmark had no choice but to offer me the use of his brand-new vehicle for the duration of my stay. But he laid down a condition. The vehicle could only be driven by me. I had to make a solemn promise that I would not let anyone else drive this precious thing. It was an easy promise to make, because I could not see any reason to have to break it.
So in this little beauty, Geraldine and I drove between Kingston and Lucea when we had to. And 20 miles there and back from Miss Katie daily. The 20-mile stretch was a winding beach road. The beach was made of a continuity of little coves and the scenery from the road was too beautiful to describe in words. Although we had beautiful beaches back in my own country all round our coastline, these were different.
These coves made the coastline small and intimate. Ours was a smooth coastline with wide, sandy beaches. Geraldine and I kept our sea-bathing attire in the car. And every evening after work we would stop by a different cove and stay in its calm sea until dusk had almost fallen. Then home to Miss Katie. This was indeed the life.
Problems with the Car
Our peaceful life was disturbed by two incidents with the car. One day while we were travelling along a narrow stretch of road, I came too close to another car. The wing mirror on Geraldine’s side was smashed to pieces. My thoughts flew to my Danish colleague. What had I done to his new car? What could I do now? Miss Katie had the answer. She had friends in Kingston. We went down there as soon as we could. Helped by Miss Katie’s contacts the car agency got down a wing-mirror for me from a neighbouring island. I had it fitted. Everything was now as good as new.
I faced the second incident when Dr. Hindley-Smith came to spend a few days with us to see how the work was progressing in Jamaica. One evening after we had come back to Miss Katie’s, he said to me, “Padmani, could you give me the keys of the car? I think I will go down to the beach for a dip”. Oh my goodness, what could I say. He was the boss. He was The WHO. How could I not give him the keys?
So I replied in as friendly a manner as I could, “It’s alright Dr. Hindley-Smith, let me drive you down”. And this offer and its rejection went on to and fro for so long that one of us had to put a stop to it. And since that had to be me, I had to tell him of the promise I had made to that hulk of a Viking. The Englishman went not just a darker shade of pink, but quite red with anger. But that was that. I was never asked for the keys again. Promises, promises.
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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