| Letters
to the Editor |
|
|||||
|
Plight of children
in the Wanni About 10 to 12 families of doctors and their friends had the opportunity to spend the Vesak weekend at the Madhu camp. The number of refugees in this camp has come down from 36,000 to about 3,000 with the people returning to their original homes. We were able to obtain reasonably accurate information about the health status and the living conditions of the people in the Wanni by conducting medical clinics in four different locations in the region. The farthest clinic was conducted in a dilapidated school building at the seaside village of Vellankulam situated along the A 36 highway midway between Mannar and Pooneryn on the western border of the Kilinochchi district. The approach to Vellankulam through the Wanni jungle tracks provided us the opportunity to see the remote villages of the Wanni. The four of us in the family were able to examine about 250 children and adults. The problems the people face in these areas especially the disease patterns of the children are quite different from what we see in other parts of the country. The main A 36 highway is now a gravel road with no four-wheel motor vehicles on the road except the odd Austin A40 or an Austin Cambridge parked near a garage. The only well maintained structures are the LTTE war heroes' cemeteries. The houses, the schools, the churches are all dilapidated. The tell-tale marks of shelling were evident on the school walls. The schools consist of open roofs and old desks and chairs with broken legs. Until recently a litre of petrol was Rs. 250. People are landlocked, have not been allowed to move out even to Jaffna or Mannar, let alone the south. LTTE customs clearance is an essential requirement for anyone entering or leaving the Wanni. Even if the people need to or could go, transport is a luxury. Bicycles with the entire family loaded on to it are a common mode of travel. Motorcycles were the luxury of a few. We visited happy
children in an orphanage in Kilinochchi. They entertained us with
songs and served us delicious Palu fruit. They were pleading for
some cement to complete the floor of their dormitory and asbestos
sheets for the damaged roofs. Many children were anaemic and chronically malnourished. Night blindness due to Vitamin A deficiency seems common with two cases of keratomalacia, a condition that has caused permanent eye damage due to this deficiency. The mega dose of Vitamin A given to children does not seem to reach these ones. There were retarded children due to cerebral palsy and deaf children with no treatment possible at all. Unlike in the south, young mothers here had three to five children even though family planning services are supposed to be available. There was a 12-year-old child with juvenile hypothyroidism (lack of the thyroid hormone), who is getting retarded as he cannot get adequate hormone replacement therapy. Children do get their routine vaccines; the efficacy of which, however, is questionable as the electricity generation is controlled by the LTTE for a few hours in the night. We had no idea of the vaccine coverage. These vaccines lose their potency unless refrigerated. Bacterial skin infections and dry skin were common skin diseases. Wheezing which is a common paediatric problem in other parts of the country seems to be surprisingly uncommon here, perhaps due to the absence of environmental pollution. Advanced cataracts seem to be a common eye problem in the elderly. The spectrum of childhood diseases I saw reminded me of what I saw in old Kegalle Hospital 37 years ago. There is one small hospital for many a mile managed by an AMP but the drugs are scarce. Nurses are not seen. There is one field midwife in the area. She visits the hospital when there is a delivery. Home deliveries do occur frequently. We were lucky to talk to local LTTE officers who were smartly dressed, getting about on mobikes without number plates. The main Mannar Police Station is situated in Vellankulam, a good 40 kms from the Mannar town we know of. The local Wanni time is half an hour ahead of the Colombo time. This is a superficial overview of the health situation in this area. Further details and accurate information will be useful to plan proper health care strategies needed early. Effective remedial measures are long overdue to these people. These unfortunate
children are the victims of the misdeeds of the elders of Sri Lanka.
They suffer for no fault of their own. We need to do something for
them ; sooner than later, or else it will be too late. Critics
criticised: a review on reviews Every genuine follower of the performing arts in Sri Lanka expects the standards of performers and directors to improve with time. Objective reviews are, without doubt, the best barometer for any performer or director. Though such reviews may not always be palatable, much benefit is derived from weighing the comments impartially. It is a pity that many of the reviews covering drama, music and dance in the recent past have failed to credit serious performers and perceptive audiences with any degree of discernment. Rather, many are buttered sops for "friends and relations". Some reviews are no more than a list of items on the programme, always ensuring the names of the performers appear in print! Others "analyse" the play, author or composer and throw in a few remarks about the local performance for good measure. I remember the drama critic whose reviews and wonderful command of the English language were an excellent exercise for 'A' Level students. Unfortunately, the critic conveyed nothing of value to the poor chaps who had slaved hours to present a play on stage. Perhaps the most frightening prospect for the future of the arts in our country is the review written by persons who know a smattering of the subject they are evaluating: be it music, drama or dance. Here indeed is proof that "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing". With newer technology and greater opportunities to travel, the theatre audience in Sri Lanka has gained from exposure to international arts and become very knowledgeable. Having had such experience, it is hard to suppress a chuckle on reading of the world-class status conferred on some performers, especially when one is fully aware that the performance was no better than mediocre. We can embark on the long road of self-improvement only after we first acknowledge that our artistes are a long way from achieving the laurels that Muralitharan and Susanthika have earned in the field of sport. Financial help for arts, as for sport, from the Government is a dim light on the horizon. Until such time when we can afford the luxuries that such funding will bring, the plea from the world of local theatre to all reviewers and critics should be for objectivity. Constructive comments couched in language that does not hurt or offend will encourage all performing groups ranging from schools to amateur groups. Incidentally, do reviewers need to curry favour when professional performers (sometimes 'imported' after retirement) give performances that are sub-standard - sponsors, sit-down dinners or powerful lobbies notwithstanding? Say your piece for the good of the performing arts please. Let's hear a
drum roll for gutsy reviewers who reserve their accolades for performances
that truly deserve them. Exclusivity, it has been proved, only makes
the reward sweeter! Drugs
without names This is a serious matter and I wrote to the Kandy Hospital Director, urging him to rectify this situation. But todate, nothing has been done. A week ago, I treated a two-year-old child with high fever as he had not improved with certain tablets and capsules dispensed at the Peradeniya Teaching Hospital. The names of the drugs were not stated on the packets and this made matters difficult. Following this incident, I wrote to the Director of the Peradeniya Hospital. Hospital pharmacists
say they are too busy. But it is simply a lame excuse and not acceptable
as places like the Osu Sala in Kandy manage to label all drugs they
sell. Bush-Sharon:
bane of Palestinians Journalists and aid workers were denied access to the Jenin refugee camp to prevent the atrocities from coming to light. However, the news filtered out. Prime Minister
Sharon had the audacity to defy President Bush's peremptory orders
to withdraw his troops from Palestinian towns. It must have been
hard for Mr. Bush to come to terms with that kind of defiance, since
he is the self-proclaimed law enforcement agent of the world. In
the eyes of the Palestinians, the US has always been indifferent
to their plight. Ask any Palestinian what the bane of his life is
and he'll tell you it is Bush and Sharon. Budget omission
hurts public servants Public sector employees and pensioners looked forward to receiving a fair deal, but to no avail. It would be
beneficial if something could be done for both public servants and
pensioners who find it difficult to make ends meet. Cricketing
gentlemen No doubt they
may have felt hurt. But they can find consolation in the fact that
they played gentlemanly cricket, not only on the field but also
in office. Taking the
Tiger to water He should be
reminded of the old saying: "You can take a horse to water,
but cannot make it drink." UNP's double
standards The selection
of heads of local bodies and the calibre of candidates amply demonstrated
this. Bar and wine shop owners, bookmakers and underworld characters
are now members of local bodies representing the so-called new-look
UNP. The party pledged that heads of local councils would be selected
strictly on the preferential votes polled. But what happened in
Kotte and a few other places was far from this pledge.
How to rid EPF of corruption and lethargy The Fund is controlled by the Central Bank while the Labour Commissioner has the responsibility of authorising the release of the money. Annual general meetings are held, but the Board is not accountable to members. Annual statements are late, and we do not know whether the accounts are audited or not. Retired persons are generally sent from pillar to post by officials. One is fortunate if money could be obtained after a few months of waiting. You are sick by then. There is an organised gang that assists the embezzlement of life-time savings of workers. It is reported that over a hundred accounts have been plundered. The EPF management has so far not officially made any announcement about this racket despite newspaper reports. The new Minister of Labour may not be aware of this fraud. The government should change the management structure of the EPF immediately. It should be made an independent statutory body with a board of directors who change every five years. There should be representatives from the Labour Department, the Central Bank and the private sector. Qualified and efficient staff should be recruited, preferably from the private sector. Accounts should be prepared annually and an AGM held each year. An experienced chartered accountant should be appointed as the chief internal auditor. Payments should be made to retiring members within 30 days. An inquiry should also be conducted into large-scale frauds that have allegedly taken place at the EPF. The government must pay immediate compensation to those unfortunate people who have been robbed of their only savings due to the mismanagement of the EPF. The Minister
of Labour should look into this matter and take suitable action.
'Letters
to the Editor' should be brief and to the point.
Address them to: 'Letters to the Editor, The Sunday Times, P.O.Box 1136, Colombo. Or e-mail to steditor@wijeya.lk or stfeat@wijeya.lk Please note that letters cannot be acknowledged or returned. |
||||||
Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers
Ltd. All rights reserved. |
