People’s display of solidarity

Musings from a hallowed precinct:

Ranil Wijayapala in Madhu

The Statue of ‘Our Lady of Madhu’ stands in resilience as thousands of Catholic devotees worshipped her in this sacred land blessed with her presence for centuries. It seems she was not disturbed by any of the incidents that took place in her surroundings for many years, as it she had become immune to them whether those were meant for good or bad.

Therefore, she stands with determination to bless each and every person arriving there seeking her refuge. So, all those changes taking place in her surroundings and the attempts to move her from this sacred land has become immaterial to her as her objective stands sublime to all.

So she stands peacefully on her high pedestal of this sacred Madhu Shrine Church, her original abode to bless hundreds and thousands of Catholic and non-catholic devotees arriving there seeking her blessings for a peaceful life.

Reflecting her peaceful mind, serenity and peace that had dawned there at the Church premises after a lapse of long years giving peace of mind to all those devotees who had arrived there from all corners of the country for the Madhu feast, the lifelong dream of all catholics in Sri Lanka.

Hundreds of thousands of devotees seeking her blessings were taking their places in the compound of the Church as the officiating priests were preparing for the evening mass amidst a thin drizzle eventually turning into a heavy downpour. But devotees are determined not to miss the evening mass despite the rain and stuck to their locations whilst hundreds and thousands of other devotees erected their camps surrounding the Church premises to stay the night for the final mass on Saturday.

Once the theatre of intense battles, the Madhu Church premises has now returned to its tranquil self as all the guns that rocked this hallowed ground were silenced on May 21, with the full eradication of terrorism from this land, enabling the devotees to stay the night to attend the final day mass of the Madhu feast.

But the recollection of the war still reminds them of the fact that the area is not yet recovered from the scars of the war although the Madhu Shrine has been given a facelift with the supply of electricity and the relaying of Church road with cement blocks.

The shattered roof of the adjoining hall of the Madhu church and the yellow black stripped polythene belts with the danger sign or landmines in the jungle adjoining the shrine reminds the people of those deadly battles fought outside this sacred land signalling them to keep their movements restricted to a limited area.

The craters left by the deadly of landmines also recalled memories of the efforts made by the valiant troops to liberate this sacred land from the clutches of the LTTE terrorists sacrificing their life and limb to uphold the people’s right to access their place of religious worship.

But for those who used to attend the Madhu feast annually, those obstructions were not barriers. They erect their camps and gathered around water tanks set up to facilitate their stay at the Church premises for the final day mass.

Edvin Calistus, from Kochchikade was impressed by the fresh look given to the Church by the Government and the facilities made available to the devotees attending the feast. The big pandal at the entrance to the Madhu road from the Vavuniya - Mannar road pleased him very much.

“The Government has done very much to improve this place. The pandal erected at the entrance to the Madhu road was impressive”, Calistus says commenting on the improvement of the place to facilitate the catholic devotees.

Calistus used to attend the Madhu feast along with pilgrims from Kochchikade as a young lad in 1970s. Even intense battles raged he used to attend the Madhu feast.

“It was after a hectic journey along the dusty roads from Uyilankulam we reached Madhu Church to attend the feast. The booming sound of the gunfire between the Security Forces and the LTTE scared us.

But thereafter we had hassle free travel to Madhu through the Madhu road. Even at the Medawachchiya road block, we did not want to stay. The security arrangements were so excellent”, Calistus said.

Recalling his past experience and comparing it with the present Calistus says that it was with a great relief he heard the news about the liberation of the Madhu Church by the Security Forces on April 25, 2008.

“Today, we are enjoying the benefits of the achievements of our sons in the Security Forces. I am a UNP supporter for generations but I am impressed with the achievements under the leadership of President Mahinda Rajapaksa”, he says.

Bennette Fernando, a friend of Calistus concurred with Calistus. “Things have happened very smoothly. We can feel it very much now”, he added.

The young and old irrespective of their age were busy erecting tents. Some were cooking dinner whilst others were at the nearby Lak Sathosa to buy requirements. Shops are open to fill all their requirements and people are happy with all the facilities available.

Jayanthi who had arrived there from Chilaw invited us for tea. They were so happy with facilities available for their stay for the feast. We were treated to by them.

“The Government has done very much to improve this place. We feel that very much this time. Even the roads leading to the Church has been laid with cement blocks and the entire area has been supplied with electricity and water”, she said.

Sister Freeda from the Rambakulam Convent in Vavuniya was attending the Madhu feast after four years. She was happy that the Church has been given a ground facelift and the improvements to all access roads and the supply of electricity.

But she still worries about her relatives who are still living in welfare villages after being displaced from the Mannar, Kilinochchi and the Mullaitivu district.

“The feast would have been an excellent one this year if they too were allowed to participate. The displaced and even the six priests living there didn’t get a chance to participate at the feast. Otherwise, there would have been a much bigger crowd than this time”, she said.

It was the opinion of many Catholic devotees who attended the feast.

But things have to improve much before the Government allow those displaced civilians to attend the feast.

Among the thousands of Catholic devotees including Government Ministers who had arrived there for the festive mass, there were a few faces that went unnoticed to many. They could not be identified as they were in civilian garb.

Colonel Senerath Bandara, the 572 Brigade Commander along with Colonel Ranjith Abeyratne and Lt. Colonel Kithsiri Liyanage were also among the thousands of devotees who attended the feast. They were men behind the Madhu church liberation operation.

“Except for Colonel Jagath Kodithuwakku all the other Commanding Officers of the 572 Brigade, which played a vital role to liberate the Madhu Church are here today”, Colonel Senerath Bandara says in a jubilant mood.

I observed the same happiness etched in his face on April 25, 2008, the day they liberated the Madhu Church. Today his face was beaming as he spoke to me and photographer Rukmal Gamage at Pandisurichchan the same location where he briefed us the way they liberated the Madhu Church one year and four months ago.

Even for me it was a happy coincidence to meet them at the very same venue after such a long period when the Madhu Church was having its first feast in a peaceful country.

“We feel the joy of this occasion as we take a little pride as the men behind the Madhu liberation. If not for the sacrifices made by our troops, this grand feast of Madhu would only have been a dream”, Colonel Senerath Bandara says.

It was under his command the 7 Sri Lanka Light Infantry battalion commanded by Lt. Colonel Ranjith Abeyratne (now Colonel), 7 Sinha Regiment commanded by Lt. Colonel Kithsiri Liyanage and 10 Sri Lanka Light Infantry commanded by Lt. Colonel. Jagath Kodithuwakku the Madhu shrine was liberated on April 25, 2008.

“It was an operation in which our troops had to make many sacrifices as we had been given instructions not to fire a single bullet into the Church. Today, we see the results of that achievement when people are freely moving in the area”, Colonel Bandara said.

As dusk fell and the vespers mass continued till 9 pm on Friday, hundreds of thousands of devotees flocked at the Madhu Church premises. For some, it was reminiscent of the No Fire Zone in Puthumathalan and Mullaivaikkal as people were staying in their temporary tents cooking their meals.

But there was great difference. The people at the Madhu shrine were happy and enjoying all facilities made available to them by the Government which was missing inside the No Fire Zone.

People retreated to their tents with the hope of attending the final day’s High mass the early hours of Saturday. By 6 am, the entire Church premises was filled with devotees and there was no room for anyone to move as the mass began around 6.30 am.

The Archbishop of Colombo Rt. Rev. Dr. Malcolm Ranjith, former Arch Bishop Rt. Rev. Oswald Gomis and Jaffna Bishop Thomas Saundranayagam conducted the mass as tens of thousands of devotees were participating.

It was Archbishop Dr. Malcolm Ranjith who reminded the gathering that it was the first time after decades the Church feast was being conducted in a peaceful country.

“This is a unique display of solidarity of the people of this country as they have gathered here irrespective any ethnic and religious differences”, he said in his homily at the festive high mass.

“People should rise above all their differences putting aside their selfish feelings to create a society with high moral values where people react with their brains but not by their emotions”, the Archbishop said.

As the four hours mass came to an end devotees started streaming back again to their tents.

“The crowd had exceeded more than 300,000”, a passer-by remarked. But there was no need to count the number as their presence proved the fact that people had come there without any fear.

They packed their belongings and started to move out of the scared ground. But unnoticed to many of them, those who shed their blood and sweat to make this feast a success were observing their departure silently. The Church authorities have prohibited any uniformed Security Forces personnel, except the unarmed Police personnel deployed to handle the crowd, entering the Church.

It was they who shed their sweat to create a safer environment for the devotees by removing mines and booby traps and laying cement blocks on the paths and painting the Church to give a facelift. But they are waiting till the crowds move away to clean the very same place which was out of their bound during their duty hours.

The lines of vehicles started moving fast out of the Madhu shrine premises and are proceeding along the Medawachchiya road. They watch the relief villages in Menik Farm where nearly 300,000 displaced civilians are sheltered.

It was with heavy hearts they pray that those who were living in those relief camps will also be able to participate in the next feast once they are happily resettled in their villages enjoying the true freedom in a country which had attained peace.