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Former Senior Advisor WHO Dr. Terence Perera in an interview with the
Daily News on Human Rights Treaties on health said that in spite of the
absence of right to health included in our Constitution Sri Lanka has
done well on ensuring health for the people.
He said, “I read recently several news items in our newspapers
pertaining to the absence of right to health as a basic human right in
our Constitution, resulting in drawbacks to people’s health.
If one defines population health in terms of the usual health
indictors such as, infant and maternal mortality, expectation of life,
then Sri Lanka, has done well as regards people’s health in spite of the
absence of the right to health included in our Constitution.
Many international treaties on human rights include statements on
citizens’ right to health. In theory, countries that ratify these
treaties should have healthier populations than those that don’t, but it
is hard to find measurable differences, according to a recent analysis
of data, published in the medical journal The Lancet.
(Lancet 2009; 373: 1987-92) In one analysis of 170 countries,
ratification of six treaties with a health element was not associated
with any consistent improvement in health indicators such as infant and
maternal deaths, prevalence of HIV, or life expectancy. The data has
come from a widely available international sources including the World
Health Organization, the United Nations, and non-governmental
organizations specializing in civil liberties and human rights.
The authors think a likely explanation is that ratifying human rights
treaties doesn’t necessarily improve nation’s health - not because the
treaties don’t matter, but because they don’t work without external
monitoring, accountability and a legal system with funds and freedom to
challenge the State.”
It is heartening to hear that President Mahinda Rajapaksa, himself
has taken up the task of ameliorating the English standard under a
realistic innovative program.
I dare to say that standard of English rapidly deteriorated with the
doing away with English medium and neglecting teaching of English at
schools. This situation arose in consequence of evil policies of some
politicos and narrow-minded officialdom in the sphere of education in
our country decades ago. People were not opposed to giving its due place
to Sinhala, but deprival of learning an international langauge for Sri
Lankans was disadvantageous.
When we were schooling in mid ’50s to ’60s, even after the
elimination of English medium, we were able to study English in good
grammar books like ‘High School English Composition’ and ‘English with a
Smile’ authored by Wren and Martin and W. H. Samaranayake.
Samaranayake, then principal of St. Bernedette College, Polgahawela,
was a genius of English grammar whose textbooks were very instrumental
in teaching and learning English stage by stage. In addition, we were
also advised to use handbooks like ‘Direct Method’ and ‘First Aid in
English’ as guidance. Unfortunately, those books were replaced with very
complicated boring set of books which were too dull for our students to
grasp the subject.
Furthermore, all English teachers in good old days were well versed
in the subject and thoroughly knew the methods of teaching. Even the
students those who failed the subject in examinations were able to speak
and write correct English.
It is lamentable that at present about 80 percent of English teachers
serving in the country are not properly qualified and equipped to teach
the subject. These teachers too were not fortunate to learn English to
suffice for their job due to poor teaching standard in schools. Only few
non-government institutions in the city and some provincial towns
maintain a good level.
Let bygones be bygones and hope President’s magnanimous innovation
augurs well for our future generations.
I would like to put forward some guidelines which will, in my view,
be helpful in improving the standard of English in Sri Lanka.
1. Introduce good textbooks for students
2. Put up libraries and langauge centres at convenient places.
3. Invite English educated persons living in respective areas to
assist in English teaching programs. (Service of retired teachers and
elders with adequate knowledge of the language can be solicited for the
purpose)
4. Start a separate educative English Channel in TV
5. Encourage students of secondary level to speak and write English
at their schools.
6. Close down mushroom tuition classes (boutiques) conducted by bogus
tutors.
R. D. P. GUNAWARDENA - Kalutara
I appreciated highly the Rupavahini’s latest production ‘A dance and
indigenous song competition - Rangabhisheka’ and the way it was
presented to viewers, enabling them to get a clear understanding about
finer points of traditional dance and songs with illustrations from the
participants’ performances in the program.
This is the first time I saw on a TV channel that Sinhala dances, for
study and entertainment. Remarks presented by the board of judges were
very much useful not only for the contestants but also for the whole
nation to acquire knowledge about indigenous dance forms and their
traditional values.
Finally, I thank all the people concerned, for taking this brave step
towards the uplift and preservation of traditional arts at a time when
our culture is at stake.
Upali R. Gunawardena
Apropos of the article on the above topic appearing in the DN on July
6, some of the assertions of the author appear untenable. For instance,
the statement that the Bhikku Sangha is the oldest organization in the
world sounds a tall claim.
It is well-known that the Hinduism has the most ancient order of
monks in the world as proclaimed by none other than Swami Vivekananda in
his famous address to the World’s Parliament of Religions held in
Chicagoon on September 11, 1893.
The author’s view that it would be a heinous crime to create schism
within the Sangha also does not hold good in the situation obtaining in
Sri Lanka where there are several fraternities such as Malwatte Chapter,
Asgiriya Chapter, Ramanya Nikaya etc. The claim of continuity in the
Sangha is not unique to Sinhala Sangha only. The Sankara Mutt in India
for Hinduism, the Pope for Roman Catholism in Vatican etc. are
maintaining continuity and perpetual order. It would have been better if
the author had adhered to historical accuracy in consistence with
Buddhist traditions rather than making dogmatic claims.
C. RUDRA - Wattala
I like to share with readers some advice given in a recent Readers
Digest which I happen to come across accidentally.
It starts by saying why children need to lighten their load.
Physiotherapist advice that the weight of a backpack should not exceed
10 percent of a person’s body weight. The risk? Spinal problems, pain
and muscular sperms. And neck posture like a chicken.
A recent study in a popular school of 240 children aged 11 to 12
found them lugging between 5 and 12 kilos-up to three times more than
advised. Half admitted the bag gave them lower back pain and too thirds
had fatigue.
Ask your school principal to provide lockers or racks in each
classroom.
School backpacks are generally of bad design, warns Dr. Angus Gray an
Orthopaedic Surgeon in Sydney Australia. They don’t stay close to the
body. Bush - walking backpacks in contrast have internal frame and a
broad cushioned waistband, so that the pelvis carries the load. Also go
for design with an adjustable hip strap. The 10 percent rule applying to
adults too. Bag manufactures please note.
ASHOKA NANAYAKKARA Boralesgamuwa
Ethics and teledramas
A teledrama now televised in one of the local channels portrays the
character of a mother who encourages her son’s paramour over the legal
wife. The son’s marriage was organized enabling him to marry a girl to
suit their family status although even at the time of marriage, the son
had a love affair with another girl.
They live in the same house and mother ill-treats her
daughter-in-law, so that she will desert her son enabling him to live
with the paramour peacefully.
These types of plots in stories are a shame to the conventional type
of living of the Lankans. These vulgar romances are really looked down
in the civilized society and it is a matter for shame of the director to
have selected a plot of this nature to enliven his teledrama. The best
part is the backdrop to the story is a so-called Walavva where the
so-called supremacy reigns.
It is hightime that teledramas go before the Public Performance Board
for approval so that ignoble, uncultured and coarse teledramas of this
calibre will not be exhibited to the Sri Lankan public who watch the
television shows as a family unit sitting together.
The ignominious part of the drama is that the role of Walavve Kumari
is acted by one of the most respected ladies in the small theatre.
J. N.Nugegoda
Sri Lanka is at a moment of national awareness. A time of
realization. A time at which the country will awake from its long
slumber, a great awaking of the rural masses. The ancient tanks created
by the kings of the historic period, for the systematic collection of
the rain water for irrigation, for domestic use, for recharging the
ground, etc. will all be restored and the fields extending as far as the
eye can see will be productive again.
The Eastern seaboard, the Wellassa that was subjected to extreme
focused destruction under the British colonial scorched earth
subjugation of the region saw every tree, every field, every tank, every
village destroyed and every male killed. Unfortunately, the British
effort was supported even at that time, by persons who were willing to
sell the country at the alter of personal profit.
The flowering of the Wellassa Region, the hundred thousand tanks,
took place at a time when the hill country was still a thick black
impenetrable forest, the protected ‘Deviyange Rata’, rich in
biodiversity, heavy with pure water, flowing streams, torrential
waterfalls and flowing rivers. For two hundred years, the verdant hill
country forests were raped, decimated and devoured by a monster referred
to as the tea and rubber industry. The disfranchised villagers were
converted to the poorest of the poor and thousands of elephants were
killed and driven down into the plains.
The indiscriminate felling of the trees of the virgin forests to
plant crops for export led to the elimination of millions acres of prime
forests and these forests’ inability to retain the precipitating rain
water within its ecosystem created heavy erosion and conditions
conducive to landslides on the hill sides. The fast flowing streams and
rivers created flood conditions at the lower reaches of the peneplain
and in the valleys.
No systematic development of the ancient tank systems will ever be
sustainable unless the high land forests are reconstituted and the
ecosystem replanted immediately. This should be undertaken as a national
priority. If we don’t have the highland forests to trap the rainwater in
the forest root systems, there will be no water in the streams and the
rivers. There will be no water to work the generators in the hydro
electricity schemes, no water for irrigation, no water for drinking and
no water to create the special environment the tourists enjoy.
Eventually without water there will be no life.
The reforesting of the highlands forest areas should be undertaken on
a war footing as the next more important act or all will be lost. The
uncultivable land in the steep higher reaches over 2500 ft should be
taken over and subjected to reforestation. If we could achieve this
immediately, the sustained security of the scarce water resource would
be assured.
Ashley de Voz
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