Tourism industry laid-off worker sells ‘kos’ to feed family
Asela Laksiri sells a ‘Kos Iruwa’.
Many people from various sectors including tourism have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, some losing their jobs and others getting a reduced wage. In a bid to survive, those who have lost jobs will do anything to sustain themselves and their family.
One such individual is Asela Laksiri from Kudahakapola, Ja-Ela. He said: “I did my A Levels with four subjects including two credit passes and the subjects included, Commerce and Finance, Accounts, Economics and Logic and just after my studies I got an appointment in a tourist hotel in Moratuwa starting with a basic salary of around Rs.30,000 and with other perks and tips from tourists the monthly remuneration would be around Rs.45,000 to 50,000 per month.”
He said that the coronavirus which struck the world and Sri Lanka resulted in lockdowns and restricting any movement with his family being hit very badly, and adding to the misery was that he lost his job.
“My wife and I could go on without food for days and even weeks, but can any parent bear his two kids weeping for food?” Mr. Laksiri asked.
Since he was not accustomed to begging, he went in search of any handy house work. Once or twice he got some work and earned marginal amounts, but this was insufficient to feed his family.
He then borrowed a dilapidated bicycle and with a plastic manure gunny bag on the pillion went to nearby houses where there were jackfruit trees. Though he could not climb trees he managed to pluck two or three large jack fruits.
A large jackfruit would weigh around 10 kilos and that could be split into several pieces, but customarily cut into four vertical pieces (called ‘iru’) one piece would be weighing around 2 – 3 kilos. Such a large piece of ‘Kos Iruwa’ at the normal market price would cost around Rs.200.
One day, he walked about four miles pushing the cycle with the load of ‘Kos Iruwa’ on the pillion and came to the town around 10 am and knocked on the gate of a house. When the lady of the house came out, he pleaded: “Anney nona, kos kellak hari pehi gediyak hari gannawada, nonata ping eithiwai, mage chute denna anndanawa badaginne.”
How much is a piece of jackfruit, the lady asked. “Anney Nona keeyakhari denna,” Mr. Laksiri said. The lady’s heart melted. She said ‘no, no’ and asked to state a reasonable price and the man said that if she could give him Rs.100 that would be more than enough. She bought another small ‘pehi gediya’ and altogether paid Rs. 340 to the delight of the man, whose eyes were already wet with tears rolling down his cheek soaking his facemask.
At his residence in Kudahakapola, the Business Times inquired about his newly-created business these days. He said that it was mixed as some days he did not get anything, some days some customers at below price and on some days they paid a reasonable price.
But he declared that above all there were very generous and kind hearted people who ventured to pay much extra. So he was able to barely manage.
With this experience of sustaining his family and poverty staring in his face, Mr. Laksiri appears to be a changed man and said that mostly it was the people themselves who looked after each other, specially the poor, with the generosity of some showing a cooperative attitude and a sense of looking after those in need.