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Appreciations
He stood for peace
Rev. Sam D. Horshington
Teacher, priest and friend
There's the verbal wreath I send
Scrolling a memorial never to fade
Deep impinged by the impression you've made
Upon our boyhood days and more mature years
Encouraging the timid spirit by squashing fears
Together we fell on the muddy field drenched with rain
Together teacher and pupil rose again.

Illustrating the power of determination in real life
To vanquish man's evil passion for war, violence and strife
Simple truths you simply taught, 60 years ago
Remain fresh in our hearts today deep within.
When shipwrecked often in life - long after our days in school
Your soothing words quell the soul's rebellious tide into a placid pool
Like unto the Good Shepherd's still waters and green pasture
And our cup overflows with loving Christian rapture

Such was your spirit, courage and dare
Posted amid endless gunfire and scare
As bullet-ridden Jaffna's Archdeacon
You set alight Christ's peaceful beacon
For nine long, nerve-wracking years
Standing steadfast casting away fears
You fought the good fight
For peace with all your loving might..
Today the best way to revere and remember
You and Sri Lanka's noble sons together
Is to abhor war and be forever
One nation, one Sri Lanka
Kingsley Jesudian

Visionary Islamic scholar
Sheikh Yoosoof Hajiar
Al Haj P. M.M. Yoosoof, 74, former Ameer of Jamath -E- Islami in Sri Lanka and founder president of the Organization to Support the Islamic Revolution in Iran (OSIRI), a renowned and respected Islamic scholar who had spent most of his life in Islamic academic and da'wah work, passed away after a brief illness at a private hospital in Colombo, on April 13.Inna Lillahi Wa Inna Ilaihi Rajioon.

Sheikh Yoosoof Hajiar, as he was popularly known, stood as a colossus among thinkers, scholars and Islamic workers.

The strength of Sheik Yoosoof Hajiar's personality and wisdom won him many an admirer in the country of his birth and elsewhere. Humility and selflessness were his signatures. He was unstinting in friendliness, sharing and compassion.
In 1978, during his tenure as the Ameer of Jamath-E-Islami in Sri Lanka, while the nascent Islamic Revolution led by Imam Ayatollah Khomeini was in the making in the streets of Tehran, Sheikh Yoosoof Hajiar and his inner circle of friends at the Jamath had the foresight and wisdom to recognize and appreciate this greatest event in the Islamic world and embrace it wholeheartedly without any inhibitions.

His active involvement in the propagation of the message of the Islamic Revolution, brought him in contact with the leaders of the Islamic Revolution. The relationship, thus cultivated, made him meet the architect of the Islamic Revolution, Khomeini at Jamaran, North Tehran, in early days of 1980.

Even when some of his erstwhile supporters slowly decamped, he stood firm in continuing to support-what he considered as a question of belief and disbelief - against all odds.

He remained steadfast in his support for the most remarkable spiritual event which occurred in his lifetime and held it very dear until his last breath. His demise has indeed created a big void in the Islamic movement of Sri Lanka.

We at the Islamic Services Organization, extend our condolences to his bereaved family, and pray to Almighty God to grant them the power of patience in their hour of grief. May Allah grant him the highest position of the Janaath Ul Firdouse.
Z. M. Seyed Mohamed
Secretary, Islamic Services Organisation

Justice will be done
H. D. Amaradasa
You passed away on January 14 without giving us a chance to bid farewell. We are still trying to recover from the shock.

You were a loving husband and devoted father. Most of all you were an honest, dedicated teacher. You always believed that a teacher should be honest and dedicated. You followed it to the letter without any selfish motive. You did everything for the betterment of the students and the school. You used to say that at least one percent would be grateful.

That one percent was with you, when you were pushed into a mire. You really died that fateful day nearly five years ago.

I will never forget your face on that day. Tears were streaming down and you looked at me with shock and disbelief.

You tried to find out who and why they did this to you. But you left this ungrateful world before you found the answers.

We have a mission to find out the culprits who destroyed your worthy life. We will do our utmost to see that justice is done to you.

The house is empty without you. Your death has left a void that can never be filled.
May you never meet these heartless, ungrateful people in your journey through Sansara.
Latha Perera

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