Threats to Dr. Nirmal R. Devasiri of FUTA

We,  the members of the Christian Solidarity Movement,  are distressed by the media reports that Dr. Nirmal R. Devasiri of FUTA has been intimidated by a group of unknown men who have arrived by a jeep at his neighbourhood to inquire his whereabouts, claiming to be from the defense ministry.

Having witnessed the recent events of abduction, disappearances and shooting, this is a clear indication to us that Dr. Nirmal Ranjith's life is in imminent danger.

We have seen enough of blood being shed on our soil and the sufferings of families due to loss of their dear ones. If we continue this kind of behavior, world outside will begin to believe that Sri Lanka has not evolved from a culture of barbarism and that great religions of Asia have had no influence over us.     

The intimidatory  beahviour on the part of those  "unknown" men,  we believe,  indicates an intolerance of  Dr Ranjith's freedom  to express  his opinion, his involvement in the campaign against the privatization of university education and his trade union activities.

The free expression of thoughts and freedom for involvement in trade union activities is a fundamental right guaranteed by the constitution in Sri Lanka and human rights charter of the United Nations.

If the government is moving on the right path, needless to say, it ought to recognize the contribution of the academics of our universities, however unpalatable their ideas might be to some of our politicians. Moreover, it ought to further promote the freedom of thought and expression which are fundamental principles of democracy and good governance. The failure in this regard only indicates the Government's aversion to democracy and good governance.    

Therefore, we who met on the 25^th resolved to kindly request your Excellency as the Executive President of our country to hold an impartial inquiry into this matter as  reported in the media and ensure security to Dr. Nirmal Rajith and respect his role as an academic and his freedom to carry out his duties as a free citizen and as a trade union leader.

Thanking you,

Yours sincerely,

Fr.Sarath Iddamalgoda.

Fr. Sathivel.

Fr. Terrence Fernando.

Fr. Sherard Jayawardene.

Fr. Anton Jayananda

Fr. Bernard Rehart.

Fr. Nandana Saparamadu.

Sr. Helen Fernando.

Sr. Noel Christine Fernando.

Sr. Angela Fernando.

Sr. Deepa Fernando.

Sr. Kathleen Fleming.

Mr. Mahinda Namal.

Mr. Nimal Perera.

Mr. Ralston Weiman.

Ms. Melani Manel Perera.

Mr. Lal Fernando.

Mr. Roshani Fernandopulle

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Fr. Sarath Iddamalgoda

Mobile -  +94 (0) 71 4 315124
siddamal.blogspot.com

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The CSM meeting with the CMRS.

First we wish to thank Fr. Rassiah, the President of the CRMS for granting us this opportunity to meet you all. Our delegation is feeling quite at ease with you because we already observe the presence of some of our members who are regular at our meetings around this table.

Next we would like to introduce ourselves. We are an ecumenical group consisting of several Churches like the Roman Catholic, Anglican and Methodist consisting of Sinhalese and Tamil members, formed in the year 2004. We intend to meet the heads of those Churches too. CSM consists of members from several religious congregations, male and female and also devoted laymen /women.

As a Christian group all of us strongly believe that our Faith demands that we commit ourselves to Justice. Therefore, all the members are committed activists in various fields. The committee of the conveners of the CSM, meet every first Monday and the general membership gathers on special occasions. 

You might wonder why we made this request. 

We decided to meet you because:

• ·         In our view we recognize the Major Superiors’ Conference as a very important counterpart of Church hierarchy.
• ·         As a group of activists we find ourselves in a helpless situation in the present context of the country. The daily challenges we face are too heavy to cope with. As such, we need the guidance and support of the Church leaders.
• ·         In general the church leadership today seems to be lagging behind or shirking its responsibility of being a prophetic Church, at a time when the country expects their intervention most.  So we wish the CMRS to play a more active role in that direction.
• 
  
• In the past we have been engaged in the following activities:
• ·         Organized exposure programs in Wanni for people from the South to help them to know the impact of the war.
• ·         Regular visits were made to the North and East and held discussions with the priests and also with the civil society leaders to study the national issue from their point of view.
• ·         Educated the public by distributing leaflets and holding banners in the towns of Negombo, Kandana, Jaela and collecting donations from them for the displaced and war affected people.
• ·         Prayer services have been held in the Anglican cathedral, Fatima church, and Blessed Sacrement Church in Pettah.
• ·         At every Christmas and Easter we prepared literature intended to explain  the current context in the light of the scriptures.
• ·         Made public statement to the press.
• ·         A live-in seminar was held in Maggona for about 60 persons.
• ·         Organized a public demonstration against the 18^th amendment to the constitution.
• ·         Conducted a public awareness programme on the crisis in the universities, problems of people in Colombo who are threatened with displacement, people in the North and fishermen. 
• ·         Held several educational programs in various places on LLRC

Despite of all these efforts, the political and the economic situation in the country is worsening. But the Sri Lankan Church leaders seem to be complacent and observe a profound silence on these urgent matters which demand the intervention of the Church. For instance, we could not understand the silence of the Church leadership in the case of Bishop Rayappu. 

We feel that silence is not a healthy sign.  The Church cannot renounce its prophetic role. It has to raise its voice against discrimination, corruption at high level and degradation of moral life in our society.

The school system of education is an area where many clergymen and women are already involved but the quality of education is fast deteriorating. It is our suggestion that CMRS engage in a serious and systematic study about the education system in the country and contribute to make it more relevant to the younger generation.  

Another proposal we would like to suggest is to organize a monitoring and fact finding mission related to violation of human rights, using the Church network. 

There are instances when individuals whose lives are threatened contact us seeking a place of refuge. Can the church be of any help to them? We are aware that some you are already involved in this service.

During our reflections we realized that if we have your support in our work, we could do a better service. Further we are aware also that each congregation and the CMRS have Justice Desks or a team to work on Justice issues. As such, we wish to know whether you have an action plan to respond to the urgent issues in the country. Can there be a closer collaboration between us? On our part we are happy to extend to you our cooperation for any work at the grassroots level.

Thank you.

Christian Solidarity Movement

Closure of Sinotex - Factory at Katnayaka - FTZ

Thousands Lost Jobs due to Closure of Factory
What Can We Learn?

Uncertainty about Future

On the 12th of January six young workers of the Synotex factory came to SK centre to discuss the uncertainties they have about their future in the workplace. Among the six young men who were at the meeting, two were married. One was from Moneragala and the other Matara. Others were from Puttalam, Kurunegala, and Kandy. Everyone was from far away migrated from very rural areas.

They had a suspicion and fear that their workplace would be soon closed down. The reasons were that they had lost their overtime on which they depended much for their survival. The other reason was that they were given quite unexpectedly a 10 days of holiday. That disturbed them as to whether the factory would be found sealed and closed when they return from their homes.

Coincidentally, a group of drivers from a travel agency arrived at our centre to discuss with us their problems. Their travel agency provides services to the Cinotex and during the discussion it was mentioned that Sinotex factory has being closed.

That evening Sugath of Sramabimani tried to get in touch with at least a few workers who were then in their homes to inform them of the developments and called them to come to Katunayaka on the 18th Sunday.

On the 15th January notice appeared in the daily papers that the factory has being closed. The reasons given by the management were lack of export orders from foreign market for last nine months particularly from the US due to the economic crisis there.

Four workers met on the 18th Sunday evening. Sramabimani got down a legal adviser on labour matters for the meeting. With his guidance the workers discussed the various aspects of the issue.

Some of the workers have by then received letters from the management that all their dues will be given and they have been informed to be present at the factory to collect their dues.
On several earlier instances, the factories were closed down without giving any of the dues to the workers or respecting any of their rights.

Unjust Procedure

• However the workers came to the understanding that the procedure followed as regards the closure of Sinotex is not regular and cannot be justified for the following reasons.
  
• For instance the management has been contemplating over its future plans for over a period of 9 months. But the workers were given only 4-5 days to leave voluntarily. At a time when finding an alternative job is not at all easy in the present context, the management is very unjust in giving a notice of only 4-5 days to leave their jobs. Thus, the management has knowingly violated the right for security of employment.
  
• Another instance of violation of labour is that the factory was closed down without prior permission from the labour commissioner. In fact at the time of the closure the management has only forwarded an application to the commissioner seeking his permission for closure.
• Since the management knew very well that the workers come from families which are under immense economic hardships and will be very willing to take home a few thousands of rupees and hence will not dare to challenge the procedure adopted by the management even if it is unjust. Also, the management very cleverly by giving a long vacation manipulated workers behavior preventing any them from organizing themselves over the issue.
• Thus the worers being unorganized and without power silently and voluntarily applied to leave their jobs. Thus everything ended last week without any resistance.
• Neither do the workers have freedom of association. What they have as Employees’ Council does not function in the interests of the workers but of the management. Such an organization would not take any measure to educate the rights of the workers.
  

Impact of Closure.

• In this instance altogether 2347 young workers lost their jobs. The workers believe that several more factories are to be closed down. What would be then the future of these young men and women·
• They are now in a real dilemma. On the one hand, the hopes that the young workers had about their future, when they arrived here are now shattered. On the other hand there is no economic programme available in the country side to absorb such a large number of young people and provide them with means of earning a living.
• The only available option for young men and women is joining the military. The women can migrate to the middle-east as house maids. Yet it is a known fact that there are hundreds of women already languishing in jails or stranded subjected to various abuses as slaves in the middle-east and others victimized even before leaving the country and being cheated by the man power agencies.
• What is worst is that there is no authority with whom can they can discuss this problem of their uncertain future with a hope of seeking a solution. There is no one who is responsible for their welfare. On two occasions boarding houses of hundreds of workers went under water during floods. No one with authority came there to provide relief.
• If the management comes to know of anyone trying to form a union his/her job will be at stake. Nor do these young workers have prior experience in trade union activities as they are just out of school. Therefore in such a climate, slavery will continue.
  
  On the one hand, the closure of factories in Sri Lanka it is said is due to two major factors, namely a financial crisis in the US on the one hand and the GSP+ issue according to which the European Union has laid down the human rights record as a precondition to open its market for garments from Sri Lanka.
  

Drinking Water a Major Issue in Gampaha District

I have been participating in a series of meetings held at village level on the issue of drinking water in Katunayaka and Jaela area. At one such meeting held recently an elderly lady commented saying, ‘I have suffered from lack of drinking water over almost 60 years now’.

A young woman worker in the Free Trade Zone at another meeting said, ‘Our neighbours start quarreling when they go to fetch water at the tap on the roadside’.


At a gathering of ‘People without Shelter’ at Liyanagemulla one person very confidently said, ‘I do not have such a problem because there is a good well near the abandoned paddy land on the border of the FTZ’. I as the animator of that meeting posed the question to him, ‘Where do the toilet outlets of the boarding houses in the area are channeled’? Everybody knew that they are channeled to that same marshy land where the well is located. Then suddenly it dawned on him the quality of water he has been drinking.

Two weeks ago at a meeting in Katunayaka, a mother was grieving that she could give only a bucket of water for ablution for her young daughter in the morning who was sitting for the GCE O/L examination.


At another meeting at the Methodist Church at Kurana a mother said, ‘already a number of children who have tried to cross the road to fetch water, have been knocked down by the speeding vehicles’.

Those were grievances expressed by people at various meetings held to motivate the people to pressurize the local government authorities to provide drinking water in the area of Seeduwa Katunayaka Urban Council.

A campaign has now being launched by the Katunayaka Seeduwa unit of the ‘National Alliance for Protection Natural Resources and Human Rights’ in the Gampaha District in collaboration with the ‘Tax Payers Association’ of Seeduwa and Katunayaka.


The administrative area of Jaela Pradeshiya Saba, which too has a very high income from the taxes they collect from the factories located in the Ekala industrial zone is another area in the District of Gampaha where drinking of water is very scarce, due to the pollution of ground water with industrial waste discharged by the factories.

The politicians at every election make promises to provide a proper supply of water service. But these politicians soon forget their promises once voted into power because they have other agendas, the projects which fill their pockets with commissions they receive from the contractors.

The ordinary people have had the illusion that the politicians whom they voted into power would solve their problems. Gradually, people have begun to realize that the politicians make only empty promises. These people who have surrendered all their rights to the politicians and never imagined about their role as citizens, are now disillusioned.

However due to the discussion held they now realize that unless they take appropriate actions themselves as regards this burning issue, they will have to live without water for another decade.

Drinking water is essential for life and as such an urgent need for every living being. The water resources are a lifeline for survival of every living being. Thus even the UN has agreed to halve the number of people without access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015.

However, so many people living in the area of this Urban Council in Seeduwa-Katunayaka and Pradeshiya Saba of Jaela, have for decades survived without or with very little drinking water for their day to day use.

These local authorities, with a high income from the industrial and commercial establishments have the capacity and the provisions to provide drinking water for the general public but unfortunately have failed to do so.

In this context, Sramabimani has undertaken to support ‘National Alliance for Protection of Natural Resources and Human Rights’ of Gampaha District and the Tax Payers Association of Seeduwa and Katunayaka to hold group meetings at the village level and to mobilize the people on the issue of drinking water and pressurise the political authorities to give it top priority. In view of this the communities where meetings were held have now come forward to write mass petitions to the relevant authorities asking them to initiate a major project which could provide drinking water to their people.


Fr. Sarath Iddamalgoda

CSM Visit to Vauniya

1.Purpose of the Visit

The CSM discussed many times as to how best it could respond to the challenges the country is facing at present. Everyone was convinced that what is being done at the moment as a response to the sufferings of the displaced people, is greatly inadequate. Having realized the limitations in our commitment we decided to carry out a campaign to educate the people in the South on the present situation and collect contributions from the public to relieve those in the North of their sufferings.

Therefore our visit was also an expression of our solidarity with the Tamil brothers and sisters suffering in Wanni. During this we donated our collection to the holy family sisters as a sign of our solidarity with those who suffer in the North.

2. The CSM Group.

It was a group of 10 consisting of 4 priests – Frs. Rohan, Sarath, Reginald and Nandana, 2 nuns: Christine, Mildred and 4 lay people: Dhammini, Malkanthi, Fredie and Jesudasan. The journey was started at 4am on Monday hoping to reach Vauniya around 10.45 to attend a meeting of the inter religious meeting at the Buddhist temple but we failed to be on time due to the delays at the check points.

During this visit we met senior priests and nuns, members of local NGOs and international agencies and had long conversations. Below is a short account of data and information that we gathered.

3. Information Gathered.

Displacements.

According to information we received from various sources, people are moving away from the direction of the A9 road towards Paranthan. There are over 315,000 displaced people in Wanni. What is special about these displaced people is that they have to move from one place to another depending on where the bombs fall.

The schools are closed and some schools are occupied by the Army. Though the hospitals are functioning there is a shortage of doctors and other medical staff. The casualties of war are very high from both sides. The LTTE cadres stay with the civilians. There are some priests and religious moving with the civilians. Still the LTTE is in control of the entire area. Although, Vikshopa Madhu and Oddusudan are declared to be “Fire free Zone”, the displaced people for whatever reason do not seem to move towards the West but further towards the East and North.

Security

Due to security reasons no vehicle from the south can go beyond Medawachchiya. Large crowds queue up for all kinds of security check ups, not only the bags but also the bodies of each passenger at Medawachchiya boarder. The security personnel at the check point consisted of army, police, and home guards. Almost none of them could communicate in Tamil with those who were passing through the check points. We observed that some officers were even unkind to the people. They asked lots of questions from the Tamil civilians but unfortunately the latter could not answer in the language of the security personnel. Thus they, some carrying their infants in their arms, the old and the aged had to stand in the queue for hours.

The following is an interesting conversation between a woman constable and an aged Tamil lady as observed by one in our group. The woman police constable asked an aged Tamil lady in the queue, ‘Where are you going’. She answered, “I am going to see my grand son”. Then the WPC asked, “How do you know the birth of your grand son? The old lady said, “My daughter telephoned me”. The WPC asked, “What was the mode of communication”. The old lady said to the WPC, “By telephone”. Then the WPC said “Show me the phone”. The old lady told WPC, “By a land telephone”. At last the police officer became silent and wrote down the land line telephone number.

When this same WPC realized that our group was from the South and we are Sinhalese, she warned one of the group members, “Beyond this point it is very dangerous to go.”
We learned also that these security personnel normally have to work for long hours and are suffering from fatigue and stress.

Although the Vauvniya town looks normal it is so only on the surface according to a very experienced NGO worker. He warned that the reality is not what we on the surface. The most of the people stay indoors after 5 p.m. due to insecurity which prevails in the area. Even the government officers admit that one of the difficulties that people in Vauniya which is a government controlled area, face is the existence of various armed groups. In fact we were told that there are seventeen (17) Para Military groups in operation under various covers.
Some of the groups are operate with the knowledge of the security forces. If the people complain to the Police or the Army about the harassments they suffer in return they are betrayed and have to face the consequences from those same groups. A grenade could be thrown at you or be abducted or even killed.

He said that daily there are cases of disappearances, abductions, killings, threats and extortions reported at his office. He says also that these violations can be avoided if there is a coordinated effort among the heads of various government institutions.

Unfortunately, those who are supposed to maintain law and order often ignore when complaints are made due to various reasons. In the event of disappearances or abductions the person is released when a large sum of money is paid. It is hard to believe that in a government control area such things could happen.

Even if one knows who commit these crimes, he or she cannot make a complaint against such perpetrators. In such a context, the civilians are helpless not knowing what to do or where to go when they are faced with such problems. Some officers told us that they too are in a dilemma because those who bring the complaint tell half of the story out of fear.

A Buddhist monk with whom we had a brief discussion told us that the innocent die daily and also there are casualties from security forces and the LTTE as well. Also, he said that Vauvniya and Mannar are normal as they are now under government control. Soon Wanni too will become normal in the same manner but will take sometime,

Sri Lanka seems to be divided not only as two countries namely North and South but into three. The east as another under Karuna and Pilleyan.

Food Crisis

We heard from a priest who too had to vacate his residence due to heavy shelling and bombing, that a certain amount of food is reaching Vanni but he emphasized that the quantities reaching people are certainly not enough. Once a week the dry rations are being provided by the cooperatives under the control and the supervision of the Government Agent. Though the dry rations such as rice, dhal, kerosine are available to a certain extent people need several other items, for instance milk powder for the children or medicines which are essential items for people but they have no money in their hands to buy them. It is also said the rations given through the cooperatives are really sold to the people. Those who do not have money are deprived of this service provided by the government. It looks as if food become a weapon in the hand of the government?

Since the number of the displaced is too large it is impossible to have an efficient and proper way of distribution of food. Only the ICRC is allowed to monitor this process and no other NGO or INGO.

According to the UN officials the government is controlling the food convoys sent by the UN. Presently a convoy of 29 for a week is allowed to Wanni. That quantity is enough only for 200,000 people.

The government has to decide to allow more food convoys to go to Wanni. At least 50 lorries every three days are required to feed everyone 315,000 adequately. According to UN officials, UN has sufficient stocks available.

A UN official commented that although it was reported in the media that some explosives were found in the UN food convoys denied and said that they have been placed in the lorries by those who arranged them under the government agent’s supervision.

We learned also that the government has instructed the GA’s to sell to the people the food distributed through the cooperatives where as people have no money to buy them. We learned that the food distribution is fully controlled by the government. The UN Representative had said that the government is controlling the food convoys sent by the UN. He said that UN has sufficient stocks available and if the government decides to allow more convoys to go to Wanni on a weekly basis, more food could be sent to the displaced in Wanni. We learned also that the government has instructed the GA’s to sell to the people the food distributed through the cooperatives where as people have no money to buy them.

Health and Medicines

There is a serious lack of medicines. From the month of June until now there are no simple medications like Panadol and especially anti poisonous drugs for snake bites. Already hundreds have died of snake bites. Since people started moving into jungles 422 cases of snake bites have been reported. The number of displaced people is very large the sanitary situation is fast deteriorating. There is no provision of drinking water. Already, Malaria and Diarrhea are spreading very fast due to lack of sanitation facilities. Added to the man made calamities, the weather conditions prevailing now in the area have worsened the situation of the displaced people.

The facilities in the Vauniya hospital have to be improved as it is now catering to the health needs of the Wanni population too.

The dioceses of Mannar and Jaffna and also the O.M.I fathers have collected some money for the displaced in Wanni and distributed among the displaced to buy the essentials. But even the most necessary commodities are very expensive. In Wanni a bag of cement costs Rs.30,000.00.

Travel and Transport.

Only a 5 liters of petrol can be taken to Wanni and inside a liter of petrol mixed with kerosine costs Rs.1500.00. Thus traveling or moving about in the district is really strenuous task.
The electronic items are not allowed to be taken to Wanni. All goods such even bags of rice or fish transported from North to South or South to North have to be being unloaded for check up and reloaded again at the main check point at Medawachchiya.

Refugee camp at Poonthottam.

During our visit we saw a refugee camp at Poonthottam which has been established after the ethnic war in 1990. The refugees are mainly from Jaffna, Killinochchi, Mannar etc. Each family lives in a small house with a kitchen and a room. There are common toilets with minimum facilities. The children attend the schools in the area. They get essential items like sugar, one kilo of rice per month which is not enough. Some in the camp go out to earn little money as labourers. People have been longing for several years for a better future.

Some of the families have been recently resettled in a state land. The GS in the camp told us the remaining families too are to be resettled in the same way but that will take time.

A woman remarked that many groups like ours come and go but nothing happens practically as regards their welfare.

Involvement of the Clergy.

There are several exemplary priests and sisters moving with the displaced people with a strong determination to live with them whatever comes on their way. There are others who regularly visit them. Both Bishops of Jaffna and Mannar have visited their people in the recent past. We spoke to the OMI provincial of Jaffna and the provincial of the Holy Family sisters and also two priests of the Church of South India, travelling to Wanni to meet their members.

We visited the skill development centre established by the JRS. A sister from the South Rev. Laxshmi of R.G.S is in charge of the girls. There are 27 girls from all over North from the displaced families. They undergo six months life skill development programme. These girls have completed their Ordinary Level but since most of them failed in Mathematics they prepare to take it up again.

Sister said that these girls live in constant fear due to their previous experiences. For them a Sinhalese means a “SOLDIER”. Sister related an incident that happened during her absence. The army has once visited the place and the girls have begun to cry and got panic. One of the girls has then given telephone call to Sister and told what happened. Then she has told the Army to leave a place immediately and come if necessary when she is at home.

Also, one of the Para military group stays close to the house and the responsibility is great on the part of Sr. Laxshmi. Many girls expressed themselves about their life in the centre and said that, they at the beginning had fear but slowly they got over it and learned to develop qualities of leadership and their personalities.

When the question about the problems of the Tamils they said the following:

· Their rights are not respected but just violated.
· They are being looked down as a minority.
· Boys and girls are being abducted by unknown groups and killed.
· Parents are frightened to send them out.
· Lack of security and constant fear of bombings and shelling might occur at any moment.
· Due to hartal the schools get regularly closed and that often affects their education.

We met also Sr. Vijaya a holy family nun and young oblate brother who have teamed up to work in the hospital at Vauniya specially to see to the welfare of the patients who are brought there from Wanni. That we felt was an urgent need at the moment because there is no one to help them and no place to go to until they are taken back to Wanni by the IHRC ambulance. The little amount that CSM collected was handed over to Sr. Wjaya to be used for their work.

4. Conclusion

Wherever we went we were cordially welcomed. In spite of all the difficulties the Tamil people encounter daily yet they learn to live hardest way for their survival.

What they need most is peace of mind and security. They want their children’s safety and abductions and killings of their youth be stopped. Their cry is “Allow us to live in peace”. None mentioned to us about a separate state. What we feel is it is self respect, equal treatment with dignity is what they seek.

SCM should meet again and reflect on the experiences of this visit. Definitely we cannot be complacent with what is being done. The campaign has to be continued. More collections also have to be made.

Definitely we will have obstacles as we already faced with the Deputy Minister Sarath Guneratne who accused us that we are misleading the innocent people and bringing disrepute to the soldiers and undermine the military campaign launched by the President.

We perhaps have to encourage more people to go to North to see the situation for themselves.

Fr. Sarath Iddamalgoda

Solidarity with the Displaced in Wanni

Today we were at St. Sebastian's Church at Kandana at 8.30 am. As agreed upon on a previous occasion, the Parish Priest after mass invited us to speak to the faithful on the conditions of the displaced people in Wanni.

Fr. Anton Jayananda explained to the people what the response of the Christian community ought to be at a moment like this. People responded very positively. Handbills were distributed to create awareness in the public on the situation in Wanni.

I should say that the Parsih Priest was very cooperative. We could clearly observe that he was thoroughly convinced that the people's lives in Wanni has to be supported and people's lives should not be misled by the falsehood spread through the media.

I hope those who read the handbill will realize that war can only destroy lives of thousands and only a political solution will save their lives. Unfortunately the political leadership in our country has failed to realize this for 60 long years. How many more years the Tamils will have to wait for a solution.

On the same day a similar collection and distribution of handbills were done in two places in the parish of Hapugoda. Being a Sunday many members of the clergy could not participate in this event. We expect a higher number will join on Friday at Jaela and Saturday in Negombo.

After mass the CSM about 20 activists from Negombo and Jaela walked from the Church premises to Kandana market place and received people's contribution. I was amazed to see the goodwill of the people. One activist reported that one person who came to buy medicines gave away whatever he had. I watching one lady who came to the market (not the super market) putting two thousand note to till. Some very poor contributed 10 or 20 rupee notes very generously. The good will of the people was amazing. When the activists again and again reported that it was the poor who contributed most, Fr. Anton remarked, 'People are generally ready to contribute to a worthy cause and we have to touch their hearts.'

In fact some of the activists were standing with their banners and holding the tills for one hour in the hot sun. I observed among them three mothers holding their babies in their arms and another two were pregnant women. The good will of these people has to be appreciated. At 11 o'clock when about to leave I suggested that they all have a cup of tea. Every body refused and said they can have it at home. Then while I was walking to the bus halt one man was running towards me and I thought he was nearing me to oppose us or abuse us but he offered Rs. 50 for the cause.

Although we expected some negative response from the public, there was only one disheartening incident, where one of the activists was abused by an angry man who disliked our good deed. Otherwise, there was much cooperation from the general public. Altogether about 30 participated in this activity.

Fr. Sarath Iddamalgoda.

Drinking Water in and around Ekala Industrial Zone

The ground water is heavily polluted with poisonous chemicals discharged by the factories. As a result, the wells in the home yards which are their normal source of water, which have been used by them since they first settled down in the area about 30-40 years ago, can not be used any longer. The tube wells constructed more recently as sources of drinking water are also been found polluted. The natural sprouts and streams from which people drew water a few decades ago have disappeared.

About 15 communities in and around the industrial zone at Ekala have been deprived of safe water for drinking or any other domestic purposes such as washing and bathing. The number of people immediately affected is around 50,000. But, it is indirectly affecting many more people when taken into account those people living along the canals and the lagoon. For a example the fishermen are complaining that the fish breeding grounds too are affected due to effluents discharged by the factories.

The source of water supply for a Housing Complex which consists of 2000 houses, is a river situated in close proximity. According to its residents this river is heavily polluted particularly by two factories in its close vicinity. Although the authorities have been informed on several occasions no action has been to prevent the river from being polluted. The inaction on the part of the authorities put the lives of about 2000 families in danger. In another location, people complain that the water they get from their tube wells are of various colours due to the effluents discharged by a paint factory located in its neighbourhood. People in another community complain that their water has a strong ordour and a colour and gives a very bad taste. The water from their wells cannot be used either for cooking meals or prepare tea or drink to quench their thirst.

Manawa Himikum Piyasa make the communities aware of the gravity and the human right aspect of the issue and motivate them to organize themselves at their monthly meetings and to take simple actions such as writing a petition to the local authorities and whenever possible to go on delegation to lobby with the authority. Since last year, the affected communities were brought under an umbrella organization called ‘The Alliance for Protection of Natural Resources and Human Rights’.

As a result of a decision taken at one of those meetings a group of representatives met the Central Environmental Authority in Colombo and made a request to call a meeting on this matter. ‘The Alliance for Protection of Natural Resources and Human Rights’ coordinates the work of lobbying with the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources and the Chairman of the Central Environmental Authority.