DEBATE - RAJMI MANATUNGA:

Towers of hope

Jayantha SENEVIRATHNA

In awful fascination, my friend the history teacher inducted the gleaming metal structure as Hermes, the courier of Zeus. Perhaps, fittingly, for any populace living in sheer isolation, it’s not mere exaggeration. Since then, Hermes, standing on the loftiest point over the mountain, has been on guard connecting quite a lot of villages with the wider world enabling real-time communications.

The messenger god is in, and it’s high time for the blessed to be empowered in a technology with awesome potential. And, deep down the valley, surrounded by steep cliffs, villagers were not hesitant to wander far away from our own shores. Conscious of being connected with a global network, many regularly linked with siblings working somewhere in the Middle East.

Is it sensible to frown on mushrooming telecom towers, and to set off alarm bells? True! It becomes rather factual if you point your finger on urban landscapes or skies full of nylons and pylons. But at the other end of the spectrum, there also remain isolated communities yearning to talk, touch and moving in rhythm. Thus, even the most tentative measure of control must entail equal opportunity.

Since such fears sound rather factual, a visit back to Hermes may throw some light on the issue. Six years ago, when the particular network operator set up Hermes among the lush green vegetation, it was not only a blessing, but also a boon for the masses living in total isolation.

For them, it worked well. Certainly, villagers vowed, Hermes is there to stay. They can’t do without Hermes now.

And, again, it’s so emotional for them. Many remember picking out its wink of red lights whilst connecting into the network. Even at the dead of night, while protecting crops from wild boar, they felt safe with a life-line thrown at home. My friend, the history teacher, showed me a teenage love letter reminding how Hermes winked at the fianc‚e, when she peeped out of a window.

Of course, off the network, it’s not only Silicon Valley that would go mad. And, Hermes has been enjoying the first mover advantage. He was the first to appear, and people got used to him. Since the initial excitement undergone had been tremendous, the brand penetrated deep into the users’ mind. Now, it’s engraved in their memories forever. Naturally, birds that are late not only go without worms, but also become a big nuisance to people they plague incessantly.

As competition picks up with increasing momentum, numerous network operators rush in to prey on. Three more massive metal structures loom in the distance now. As a result, in place of the grassy trail up for Hermes, a wide gravel road branches up for several destinations.

It’s too much for a terrain full of pristine waters, habitats and forests. At the outset, it was a story of gods, but it’s all about spooks and ghosts now. Though terrifying and seemingly unconquerable, these steep cliffs are adorned with ferns, mosses, lichens and lovely flowers. But owing to congestion, there are bruises, irritations, and barren patches all over. Making things worse, deep cuts into steep hillsides and mountains cause mini-landslides during rainy seasons.

So far, no one dared to touch the semicircular rim surrounding the valley. It’s rather high and gravel roads wind down into villages scattered over the valley. Even seasoned sightseers get astonished by the rate at which these roads burrow down into the valley. But brand managers are not the fainthearted. Either horizontal or vertical, nylons boast of their pylons from the steepest of cliffs.

The population, settlement, and economic patterns within the valley have been greatly influenced by these communication technologies facilitating movement and communication all over. The revolution has swept many social values before them. But it’s somewhere between progress and moving back.

Closing such isolated societies from the outside world suggests time-travelling back into history. We live in a world that is changing fast, and we have the right to live with the change in a world governed by equal opportunities.

It’s not just a story about heavy environmental threats. Telecom towers beam frequencies that penetrate all the nooks and corners over the world. Scientists fear that these frequencies may cause damage to the human brain, central nervous system, and blood circulation. Some even link particular tumours and cancer to mobile phones. Medical professionals suspect that habitual mobile phone usage causes headache, tiredness and irritation around earlobes.

A recent editorial in the ‘New Scientist’ revealed that such claims are still a long way from conclusion, but the threat is still open. Even in small amounts, cell phones emit radiation. But as our hard-hearted brand managers on steep cliffs, research and technology personnel are also not half-hearted. When scientists are out to establish that radiation from mobiles had a damaging effect on the brain, they are working hard on technologies eliminating such exposure. You can wear a hands-free set, with the earpiece and microphone round you neck.

When high-voltage power lines were proposed in the past, possible links between childhood leukemia and exposure to electro magnetic fields had been on discussion. But it’s a common place to see people constructing houses closer to massive pylons in congested urban locations.

The issue is still controversial, but some scientists argue that the association between electro magnetic field exposure and leukemia is weak. So, we think that exposure just moderately elevated the risk of leukemia. Hence it’s clear that the problem lies with unimaginative regulators.

Extremely creative, telecom research personnel are out with a hands-free set, when scientists complain small amounts of radiation. Sleepy, sluggish and lackadaisical, regulators seem foolishly content only on taxing mobile users. They are paid by the masses, and the government can start off by just asking them to learn the meaning of regulation referring the mini-oxford dictionary.

Telecommunication towers brought change for isolated communities. For many, out in the dark in this information age, it was more or less a story of speed and distance. This year, the village youth hadn’t been waiting for the postman for their GCE results, let alone the all powerful principal voicing their results in solemn. Though many downplay this sudden surge of communication, it is the cure too.

As societies have been freeing themselves from the shackles of feudalism, slavery, and segregation with the forces of civilization, humans, the only species gifted with thinking and reasoning skills, have increasingly been learning themselves on how to live with adversities posing on in different guises. Humans have never been ignorant to throw out the baby with the bathwater so far.

We never dream of a world with an optimum number of telecom towers, or a world without pornography. Certainly, we are not insane. As sensible citizens, many yearn to adventure out and to see things for themselves. Knowledge sheds light on a destination, and perception makes us well-disciplined.

Even nestlings show confidence and courage in their first flight, ornithologists observe. After energy, telecommunications is the world’s second largest industry. Currently, corporate social responsibility is a major concern, and multinational corporate giants are well aware of the risks of environmental and health hazards.

Citizens still believe that regulation is still limited to wine and dine with the corporate leaders. And, it’s time to ask the culprit to optimise their pylons and nylons in the best order. “To know what is right and not to do it is the worst cowardice,” Confucius once remarked.