Another humane decision

The decision taken by the Government to release all elderly persons over 60 years of age currently residing in welfare camps in Vavuniya to the care of relatives or to live independently is most welcome move and a humane act.

This is particularly so given their vulnerability to sickness and ailments associated with age and deteriorating physical and mental condition.

There is no doubt a large number of elderly persons among the 35,000 or so IDPs residing in these welfare centres and the Government agencies alone would be hard pressed to give each and everyone of them their personal attention given the enormity of the problem at hand.

According to a front page report in an English daily yesterday quoting the Government Agent for Vavuniya those without relatives or guardians will be taken to special homes set up by the Government. No one will be removed from the camps against their will.

Already 60 such elderly persons have been released to their next of kin and 73 others in one camp have been identified for release.

This is a clear demonstration to the outside world that the Government is desirous of not just providing food and shelter and other basic necessities to these unfortunate people who had braved the LTTE guns to flee to the Government controlled areas but that it is also keen to see the aged and feeble among them unite with their families and relatives elsewhere and revert back to their normal lives.

The Government has also reunited several family members who had gone missing from each other during the passage from the LTTE held areas and plans are under way to launch an online program to gather such information about the IDPs.

All this can hardly be accorded with visions of a concentration camp which certain Western Media were endeavouring to promote on the Government’s treatment of the civilians fleeing the horrors of the LTTE.

There can be little doubt that conditions in these welfare centres are not the most perfect. But the Government make its maximum effort to afford as normal an existence that could obtain under the given circumstances. It has even gone to the extent of affording temporary schooling to IDP children within these camps and taken steps to refer students of the Jaffna University back to their campuses with all expenses paid. Even visiting UN Under Secretary General Sir John Holmes had only praise for the Government for its efforts in this regard.

Far from the bleak picture been painted by vested interests, all this goes to show the Government’s genuine commitment to rehabilitate these hapless beings and integrate them into the general mainstream of life as soon as possible.

In this regard it would be ideal if the Government takes follow up action by inquiring into the welfare of these aged persons who may go to live with their relatives or homes set up by the Government action to ensure the welfare. What these hapless people need is a humane touch which had been missing in their lives all these years.

Indian success at Oscars

Sri Lanka as a nation no doubt will raise a toast to India for her mind boggling success at the 81st Oscars, filmdom’s blue riband, where it swept the board with 8 gold awards bagging the Oscar for the best film in the process.

British Director Danny Boyle’s ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ with a predominantly Indian cast,crew and location completely upset Hollywood traditions and stunned the world of cinema by this stupendous achievement unrivalled in the annals of world’s premier film awards night.

It is certainly a feather in the cap for Asian cinema. Most of all the unprecedented Hollywood success would now elevate Indian cinema in the eyes of the world and help it shrug off the ‘pot boiler image’ associated with Bollywood cinema.

The film also clinched a double Oscar for best original score and best song statuette won by ‘Slumdog’ composer A. R. Rahaman at the glittering spectacle watched by millions across the world.

This achievement shows that India has moved into the big league on the global cinematic stage that could act as catalyst for the Asian cinema as a whole.

True, there have been occasional forays into the Hollywood bastion before by the Asian countries, and Indians have won Oscars thrice before. But certainly yesterday was a defining moment for the country and the sub continent as a whole for its monumental achievement of conquering the ultimate at world cinema’s citadel, pulling down the edifice of white dominance in world cinema.

Hopefully it will continue with the trend and prove to be an inspiration to countries like Sri

Lanka, which abounds in talent, to one day conquer the stars.