Farewell to an eminent scribe

Laskhmi DE SILVA

The grey overhanging of clouds seemed to be like a sad face of a person who could not cry. Miss Eva Ranaweera the writer and editor of national and international fame was on her last journey at the General Cemetery Kanatte yesterday.

She was the only Sri Lankan journalist to have interviewed the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Fidel Castro. She was a member of the Afro-Asian solidarity movement. Eva had a large heart. She would go out of her way to help people in need.

Among the eminent journalists present at the funeral there were several she had helped when they started their careers. She was the inspiration to several writers who were encouraged by her to write and achieve excellence in their careers.

She was the first editor of the women's newspaper Vanitha Viththi and for twenty years she was the editor of Voice of Women and an indefatigable defender of women's rights. She was not a facile writer or advocate for women's rights but a philanthropic female who practically helped women in distress.

Her kindness was of immeasurable proportions and it extended to all humanity and even to animals.

Her passing away was a great loss to Sri Lanka as she loved this country and its people deeply.