humanity is my fraternity”
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By D.B.S.JEYARAJ
The tsunami crisis has also helped the LTTE to galvanize the
Tamil expatriates into supporting its rehabilitation efforts. People
abroad are donating enormous amounts of money in a highly
emotional state. The tiger media is projecting a viewpoint that the
"Sinhala" state is obstructing and neglecting rehabilitation of
Tamil areas and that the Tamil people have no choice other than
to rally behind the tigers. Tamil solidarity is essential. The virtual
black out of happenings in the Tamil areas during the early days
after the tragedy contributed greatly to this collective Tamil
feeling. Some are reminded of the post - July 1983 state of mind.
A campaign is afoot to accuse Colombo of neglecting Tamil
areas. This is hotly denied. While Tamilselvan says that no food
was sent to their areas Colombo has released figures that more
food has been sent to the North than the South. More
importantly the Sinhala people spontaneously came to the aid of
their Tamil and Muslim brethren. Nevertheless an anti -
government resentment as opposed to a pro - Sinhala people
sentiment is growing among the Tamil people.
Kumaratunga's ill - advised decision to give the security forces
full control over relief work as opposed to civilian authority can
only increase Tamil alienation and support for the LTTE.
Attempts to prevent Kofi Annan from visiting affected Tamil
areas has angered Tamils to a great extent. The "Sinhala" state
seems to be playing politics even in the aftermath of a massive
tragedy it is felt. Even if Annan Could not go to a tiger area why
could he not have visited a Tamil affected area in the North -
East is the troubling question. [Contd.]
By Ajith Samaranayake
The destruction caused by the Tsunami wave has therefore had
a chastening effect on the Sri Lankan sensibility. It has brutally
underlined the fissures of a fragmented and fractured
society-divisions of race, religion and class-even while signalling
the need to close them by holding out the grim truth that all of us
are the same in death.
It is an invitation to the political parties to sink their differences, a
reminder to the rich that it is the poor who always suffer the most
both from natural disasters as well as man-made inequalities
and iniquities. Above all it is a warning that the degradation of
the natural environment in the rapacious pursuit of profit can
have the most terrible consequences.
[VOA News]
The Washington Post reports from northern Sri Lanka that the
Tigers should get most of the credit for quickly restoring order,
at least in the town of Mullaittivu, which lost 3,000 of its 5,300
residents to the tsunami.
The report says by Monday afternoon, just eight days after the
devastating tsunami hit Sri Lanka, most of the corpses had been
burned and the ground sprayed with disinfectant. It says
Mullaittivu's streets had been cleared and utility poles were
being re-erected.
Possible But Challenging [VOA News]
Walter Andersen, the associate director of South Asia Studies at
Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C. says, "This is an
area that has had difficulties working out cooperative
arrangements." He and his family were on a beach in Sri Lanka
when the tsunami struck, but they managed to run to safety. He
says long-term political cooperation is needed between
countries and between factions. "That is a problem, in much of
the region, that you have domestic turmoil and violence and
groups that are fighting secessionist movements in Indonesia
and Sri Lanka and elsewhere. You are going to have to work out
something with them if this system is going to be effective,
otherwise it will break down," he said.
[VOA News]
Rizwan's brother-in-law, Azwan Khalid, is helping collect items to
ship from the United States to Sri Lanka. He says people in the
Washington, D.C. area have been generous in their donations.
Azwan continued, “I know a lot of Sri Lankan doctors here in the
U.S. right now who will be leaving for Sri Lanka. Even my brother
over there, who is working in the city of Colombo as a doctor,
has left his normal practice and he has gone to the eastern
seaboard to help those people who are really badly affected."
[VOA News]
Bhante Uparatana is the chief monk and he says people called
him immediately after the tragedy asking what they could do to
help. "This is a Sri Lankan Buddhist community here and we
were all talking about how to help.
Pulitzer Prize winning author Annie Dillard offers a commentary
on the unimaginable number of lives claimed by last week's
tsunami. She asks how can we remind ourselves that the
thousands of victims were individuals with lives and loved ones
and not just faceless statistics.
National Public Radio
Official:
After visiting a Tamil town in the northeast that was destroyed by
the tidal wave, Carol Bellamy, executive director of UNICEF, said
Monday that the TRO's "well-coordinated relief arrangements put
in place within so short a time are all really commendable."
Rehabilitation Organization (TRO)
From Tamil Press by S. Selvakumar
Throughout the week all Tamil dailies concentrated on the
foreign funds for Sri Lankan tsunami victims and on rehabilitation
and reconstruction. In the latter part wide publicity was given to
the arrival of foreign dignitaries to the country to inspect the
devastation.
The Thinakkural on Monday led with a story quoting President
Kumaratunga's willingness to co-operate with LTTE leader
Prabhakaran in the rehabilitation work in the North-east devasted
by the tsunami.
The Sudaroli creamed in its headline that India was angered by
the arrival of US troops in Sri Lanka but this story was refuted by
the Indian High Commission later in the week. In another front
page story the paper said President Kumaratunga has sidelined
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse from the tsunami relief efforts
and added that she had advised the premier to concentrate on
relief efforts only in the Hambantota District.
The Thinakaran in its lead story quoted Education Ministry
Secretary, Tara de Mel and said separate committees would be
appointed to oversee the work at each refugee camp in the
country. International organisations and countries should render
direct assistance to the Northeast, the TNA has requested, the
Virakesari said in a front page story.
The Tamil month of Margazhi is sacred because Lord Kishna
says in the Gita that he is Margazhi among the twelve months.
During this month no marriages or homams are performed. The
Vedas (four in number) are recited in temples to propitiate Lord
Narayana. This tradition, carried on from olden days, is called
"Adyayana utsavam." After the azhwars, who gave to us the
Divyaprabandham in chaste godly Tamil. It was Thirumangai
Azhwar (also known as Kaliyan) who was residing in Dasavathara
sannidhi north of Srirangam temple and the last among the
twelve Alwars, wanted Lord Ranganatha to listen to
"Thiruvaimozhi" of Sri Nammazhwar alias Satogopan during this
month along with the Vedic recital. For this purpose he went to
Azhwar Thirunagar to bring the idol of Satagopan to Srirangam
and prayed to Lord Ranganatha to listen to Tiruvaimozhi along
with the Vedas. His desire was accomplished.
ROLA, THE young musician from Lebanon, was stunned. "How
did you do it?" she kept asking. Moments earlier she had
requested Vani Jairam to teach her a few lines of a Hindi song.
"Yes, provided you teach me one in your language," had been
the singer's reply. Rola obliged — it was her own composition in
Arabic, and Vani as is her wont, could sing it almost at once —
with melody, diction, intonation, stress and rhythm intact. It was
not for nothing that Vani was acknowledged as a prodigy, who at
the age of two could recognise ragas with ease and at four could
sing them with élan. The three-time National Best Singer
awardee was recently honoured with the Kamukara Award for her
`outstanding contribution to film music in general and in all the
four South Indian languages in particular.' Veterans like Adoor
Gopalakrishnan and M. S. Viswanathan have been recipients of
the prestigious award instituted in the name of Malayalam singer
Kamukara Purushottaman, by the Kamukara Foundation.
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