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| Thursday, 3 October 2002 |
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Letters | |
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The disabled - silent sufferers of humanity! The disabled in our society are the 'Silent Sufferers of Humanity'. So far no government has given them any legitimate rights of handling and solving their own affairs. The experience, knowledge and competence very many of them possess are allowed to go waste as they are prevented even from active participation in any national development programs. They are in fact forcibly denied of any opportunities of regular participation in all spheres of life, including in the electronic media. In fact as it had been highlighted, they have "no rights to any rightful thing". In the denial of even the essential basic external structural facilities in our living environments, they thus are "made more dependent than independent". Hence they are also so detrimentally made to be seen as "a burden to the society". Much fuss is made from time to time in the form of policy-formulations, conferences, meetings and workshops, all run and chaired by the 'able-bodied' people. But at the end of all pomp and pageantry, what significant results have we so far seen? - Nothing. What significant problems the disabled face in this country, has yet been solved well and truly even after years? - Nothing! What per cent of gainful employment opportunities have been afforded to the disabled on the merit they possess and by whom and where? - Almost nil! What places in the society has been made accessible to the wheelchair users? - Sadly no where!! What hotels and leisure centres can proudly say that they have the basic facilities and provide opportunities for recreation and holidaying for the wheelchair users? - Hardly any! No one can continue to fool all the people always!! COL. BANDULA DE SILVA (rtd), Nawalapitiya ------ I agree with the letter "Panadura bus accident an eye opener" (DN Sep. 5). The way certain individuals drive motor vehicles is simply insane. They violate speed limits, disregard signals, use their mobile telephones whilst driving etc. Even the way some vehicles are parked reveals the disrespect to the road users, especially the pedestrians. Both the drivers and the relevant authorities should be held responsible for the accidents due to recklessness. I am of the view that the relevant officials should adopt tougher rules and regulations in this regard. As and when necessary, in addition to the fines imposed etc. the relevant authorities should consider detaining the offenders for a couple of hours depending on the veracity of the violation and keep them in a detention room that would provide all the information about safe driving etc. This might certainly discourage people from violations. Many violators will not be bothered about paying fines etc. Even confiscating their driving licence will not be a deterrent to them. However, the detention for a couple of hours will torment them especially if it is done during working hours. SARATH HEWAGAMA, Colombo 5 ------ Pensions for service-men's widows and orphans Well over 2 years ago the President ordered that even those Service-Men who had not made provision for Pensions for their Widows and Orphans had done such singular Service for their Country during their period of Service, that their Widows and Orphans SHOULD BENEFIT after the death of their husbands/fathers. There are not so many, apparently whose husbands/fathers had not made provision for. Most widows and orphans had been looked after by their respective husbands and fathers who had contributed to the W&OP Fund of each Service (Army, Navy, Air Force, Police). Others who have been identified under the Presidential decree, and have produced the proofs required by the Pensions Department, including the green light from the Service concerned (it has not been easy at times to get original documents after 25-40 years) who have helped enormously, have come up against a blank wall as far as the Pensions Department is concerned. Even after the documentary proof required has been found acceptable, no pension has been paid (due from June/July 2000, one believes). I doubt the President in her kindness and compassion displayed in this matter, was aware of the amount of red tape and official indifference these women and children would have to cope with. The latest one hears is that the entire list of names etc of the beneficiaries has to be published in the newspapers in case there are false claimants to be identified! In case some women and children are falsely claiming to be the wives and children of the departed Service-men! A stark insult to a wife's or child's integrity and dignity - but does the Director of Pensions and his coterie care about the sheer humiliation heaped upon these women and children who are due for this pension by Presidential decree? It is time the orders of the President are executed. MAUREEN SENEVIRATNE, Colombo 5. ------ Sri Lankans are famous for the herd mentality - like cattle. When someone with a little loud voice says "Lets' do it" - everyone follows route without thinking or considering the consequences. The commonest occurrence on this, is the doctors' strike - at the drop of the hat, one person decides to strike - and all, so called elite of the society, follows suite without a murmur. Surely it's time for those of this once-noble-profession to realize that there are better ways of negotiating. Striking is the lowest, meanest, most horrible method of negotiation - especially so, in the case of doctors. Due to the fault of some pig-headed bureaucrats, the poor patients are taken to the altar and sacrificed figuratively and literally. Then comes the negotiation, then the matter is settled and then everybody returns to work as if nothing happened. Surely, we being at the beginning of the 21st century, with a Government of some intellectuals, if not all, there MUST be a better way of doing things. It has been suggested again and again that we should have a Negotiating Board from the Public Administration. The doctors must realize that they need not follow their decision-makers of GMOA blindly. This is not solidarity, but stupidity. Many follow the orders fearing that when something happens to them the GMOA will not be there. I was one of the two doctors who refused to strike when the GMOA pulled out even the essential services for a dispute over salary issue. My conscience did not allow me to, so I was blacklegged. To date I have not regretted this decision. Dr. Mrs. Mareena Thaha Reffai, Dehiwela ----- In a recent article in your columns mention was made about the contributions made by the locally moulded gentry at Cabinet level, which were reported to be due to their innovative thinking. It must, however, be noted that to put such schemes into operation there were the products of the then elite CCS which was made up of book-learned and far thinking individuals with high academic qualifications obtained both here and abroad. The then Ministers had full trust in their able lieutenants who were their Permanent Secretaries or Departmental Heads. The setting up of the University of Ceylon was the joint effort of D. S. Senanayake and Sir Ivor Jennings, who knew that he was dealing not with an ignoramus (Ref. Story of three Prime Ministers by J. L. Fernando). To the best of my knowledge the Peoples' Bank was the brain child of Philip Gunawardena. What is the State of the several Gam Udawas and some other programmes innovated by the locally moulded and costing millions of Rupees each year without the advice of the Intelligentsia. The Mahaveli Development project was originally spanned over 30 years taking into consideration ecological factors, but the accelerated programme over 6 years failed to take cognizance of the environmental hazards consequent to denudation without reforestation which was taken care of by the environmentalists in the original 30 year programme. The present day hyper-inflation also started during the accelerated Mahaveli era. Who is responsible for all these maladies? The locally groomed, foreign groomed or both? M. T. M. DE SILVA, Moratuwa. ----- Man on earth yearns for peace, whether it's for the world, country, village, home or individual. All man's effort aims at peace - peace with the other, peace with the self. In short, life without peace is hell on earth. For a moment let us focus our attention on nature. The plant that grows in a peaceful environment is assured full growth. The birds that sing peacefully today, away from all harm, will surely sing in the future too. So it is with man, too. Peace today and peace for the future should be the destiny of man for that is the great intention of the Supreme Creator of the universe. However, looking back at historic rivalry between nations, discord between these families of men contributed to hellfire on earth. In times of war man lived an inhuman life. History repeats itself. Today the mass media, specially television, has brought to our doorstep the result of man's failure to achieve peace in the world: Rwanda, Bosnia, Chechnya, even our own dear motherland. Sri Lanka, land of Dharamadeepa, the land of tolerance, bled with disharmony and disunity. The greater march forward begun with independence has slowed down to the pace of a tortoise. Suddenly we are on a downward trend economically, socially and even religiously. Our generation has tasted the bitterness of a peaceless society. We shouldn't let our children, the next generation, suffer the same fate? Our leaders already have comprehended the basic truth for the development of a country. Today all efforts of our nation in spite of the cultural, ethnic and religious differences have focused on one vision, peace for the country. Let us not keep on harping a discordant: no peace, no future and cursing darkness; rather let us light a candle. The candle burns itself. So that we may enjoy light. So it should be with us. Let me contribute my share to sing the song. "We have peace, we have a future." If man wants to live a happy human life in the future, peace weather it be individual, family or global, is an essential element. May I conclude with the words of lord Jesus Christ, "Blessed are the peace makers for they shall own the land." Ajith Perera, Wennappuwa.
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