After a 15 year career in the Army:

Future beckons women soldiers

Ruwanthi Abeyakoon

Most women dream of leading peaceful lives with their families. But these courageous women decided to sacrifice their youth to protect the motherland. Serving in the Army is not an easy task for a woman. After going through all the hardships and serving the country for 15 years they have to bid farewell to their careers and go back to society as ordinary women.

"A woman who is in the Forces undergoes many difficulties. They have experience of death. Sometimes they lose their husbands who are also in the Forces. They experience terror of the conflict and witness unbearable experiences that haunt them throughout their lives," said President of the Ex Services Army Women's Corps Association, Captain Victoria Lakshmi.

She said women have to retire from the Army after 15 years, which will leave them without any contacts. " After 15 years of sacrifice they have to go to society as a normal woman. Sometimes when they return to their villages they are ridiculed.

Most of them are young. Even though they can work come stay at home while some find employment," said Lakshmi, she is now employed at the People's Bank Card Centre.

"Through our Association we identify their talents. They are supported to rebuild their lives as ordinary women. Those who are trapped in their houses are brought out and persuaded to take up self-employment.

There are many who have started businesses in small ways," Lakshmi explained. While some complete their services, a few have sacrificed their lives on behalf of their brothers and sisters.

"Nineteen women in the Women Corps have silently sacrificed their lives. After their death they are forgotten. Only their immediate family members feel the loss. Their children suffer the most. Some of the women have lost their husbands who were also in the Forces. These women do not want sympathy.

Their only hope is to be remembered for the services rendered. It is the duty of the nation to respect them and show attention and to make them feel that their lost ones are heroes and they are not forgotten," she said.

The Sri Lanka Army Women's Corps Association has organised an event to take the Army women who have lost their family members to Mailapitiya Ranaviru Park where their loved ones are in a deep slumber.

"Though they cannot see them, they believe the spirits of their loved ones are alive and the wind that sweep across the sacred land of heroes bring back their memories. This is organised in line with the International Women's Day" she added.

"On February 16 we will have this commemoration. Lt. General Denis Perera initiated this and army officers and Army Commander Lt. General Sarath Fonseka will support us.

There will be religious observances. It will show that the soldiers are honoured. I invite the retired Army personnel to join hands in carrying out this type of good work. We will also open a new branch in Kandy," Lakshmi said.

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Health is wealth

Dr. Jeevani Hasantha Wickramatunga

LIFESTYLE: "Do you want to be happy?

You can be!

We sometimes miss the great joys in life by snatching too eagerly at the false and glittering froth.

Anyone can earn happiness, we must search our own hearts, for it comes from within, through our own efforts and beliefs."

We all have one life. And it is relatively a very short period that we can live in this world. This is called the 'life-span' of a person. Each person dies of a different cause and at a different age.

Most people in our society seem to have no idea or interest to turn this short life into a very useful, happy and enjoyable period.

Nobody leads an ideal life as we are all human beings and human being is perfect in any way. Each of us is unique. We have our shortcomings, inadequacies, bad qualities and bad habits.

But we can improve by re-educating ourselves while gaining a sound knowledge of ourselves.

If we follow some simple and very basic rules regularly, without any effort we can enjoy a full life and face death bravely.

Mankind has found various religions, therapies, exercises, hobbies and games to improve their life styles. Most of the people in the developed countries, such as America, Japan, Russia, Britain are increasingly interested in good health habits to prolong their lives.

Good health is not a gift of a fortunate few blessed by heredity, but a birth right of all creatures. It is much, much more than just the absence of disease.

It is a positive, vibrant state of being which heals the mind and emotions as well as the body and enables us to live long, fully active, highly productive lives.

Changes in one's way of eating can be just the beginning of a transformation of one's entire life, but you cannot reach the above goals with anger or competitiveness or greed.

A calm, unified mind is the key to radiant health, not merely because it makes us immune to psychosomatic ailments but also for inner security, which helps us to make wise decisions in our daily life.

The following chapters are to guide the readers by providing knowledge of various methods to change attitudes which could be useful for improving their lives, to be a winner. Changing your attitudes, is a major step, for attitudes towards life control your whole out-look.

Meditation is also a way of suggestion to purify yourself of filthy thoughts and thereby improve your moral values.

A wise person is always balanced. He always maintains his balance and rhythm in life with utmost importance by using the middle path or moderation.

Health and happiness always go together, too.

Worldly success contributes to one's happiness immensely. Though we all have our shortcomings and weaknesses when dealing with people in a society, improving your bad qualities toward perfection is commendable.

And then.... you can be proud of your life!

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Rheumatoid Arthritis part 3

How does it develop?

Dr. Kaleel Cassim, MBBS, MD (Medicine) Consultant Rheumatologist, Sri Jayawardenepura General Hospital

The start of the disease

In most people rheumatoid arthritis starts quite slowly. A few joints - often the fingers, wrists or the balls of the feet - become uncomfortable and may swell, often intermittently. You may feel stiff when you wake up in the morning. Many people only seek help from the rheumatologist when the symptoms become more severe or more frequent.

In about 1 in 5 people with rheumatoid arthritis(20%) the disease develops very rapidly. There may be a sudden onset of pain and swelling in a lot of joints, with severe morning stiffness and great difficulty doing everyday tasks. Along with pain and swelling in the joints you may feel tired, depressed or irritable, even with mild arthritis. You may also feel frightened about the future, and angry - 'Why has this happened to me?'.

At the moment there is no answer to that question, but this article should help you understand what is going on.

When should I go to the rheumatologist?

It is very important that treatment for rheumatoid arthritis is started as soon as possible. This means it is essential that you see a rheumatologist as soon as possible if you have any symptoms which might be caused by rheumatoid arthritis, such as pain and swelling in the joints and stiffness in the mornings.

It may not be rheumatoid arthritis as there are many other causes of joint pain, but it is important to diagnose arthritis as soon as possible.

The more we learn about the disease, the more we realize that early diagnosis and early treatment are very important if it is to be managed effectively.

How will it progress?

This is the single question that most people want answered. For each individual the answer is 'We don't know'. Some people, maybe as man as 1 in 5(20%),always have very mild rheumatoid arthritis which causes few problems.

Most people follow a pattern of flare-ups of the disease with periods of months or even years between each flare-up when there is little inflammation.

This does not mean there are no problems between flare-ups, as some damage is done to the joints every time they are inflamed. These people will have some problems with their joints and may have to modify their activities a little, but overall they will lead normal lives.

A few people, no more than 1 in 20 (5%),will have rheumatoid arthritis which becomes progressively worse, often quite quickly. These are also people who tend to have inflammation in other parts of the body as well as their joints.

To be continued