Cancer of bribery and corruption

Christie FERNANDO -Chilaw special correspondent

Bribery and corruption is widespread and it has become rampant and unrestrained. People who are lured to go in search of greener pastures are not foolish or seemingly imprudent.

They know the risks involved and the hazards they have to encounter. Just think of the hundreds and thousands of gullible people who have gone and are doing well in foreign climes. They get all the certificates and documents from relevant quarters and often bogus certificates are issued, and they go sailing or by air.

When I worked as an English Inspector abroad, I went with my Chief Inspector to examine an English class in a far away school. For the term examination held in that country, the teacher had distributed the question papers and brazenly displayed the answers on the black-board for the pupils to copy. When questioned, he cogently and persuasively answered, I am only helping them.

This teacher could not teach English but he was getting a fatter salary than the Chief Inspector! Enquiringly, I asked for his credentials. He said that in his country, he could get any type of certificate if he could palm out a good sum of money. He had paid a tidy amount to get an M.A. degree. And he was through and came into the country by swindling the authorities in the ministry! He said an individual could obtain any type of certificate for money.

Spurious certificates

And there was this person who obtained a B.A. from a university in a certain country and he had come out of the campus and called a rickshaw-man to take him home. As he sat down cosily, he had elatedly and proudly boasted about himself and quipped: "I have obtained a B.A. from this particular university." And the rickshaw-driver promptly quipped: "I got my M.A. from the same university!". The same man went home and alighted from the rickshaw and met his wife and gave her the hire and turned and kissed the rickshaw man!

The same episode happens in our country; there are people who give spurious certificates for money. See the hundreds of gullible people who grab jobs and go abroad as asylum-seekers and they are reliably well-settled. They are well treated at the other end! I heard from several quarters that they have called back the home-people that they are faring well. So why catch them, people ask me. But the bribe-takers have a hey-day and come home to collect the balance-money that was promised. Ordinary chaps who do toddy tapping and fishermen etc, have also gone overseas and they are well off and suitable posts and billets found for them, it is alleged. Now, I came to know that circuitous routes have been discovered to go to Australia. They initially charged a nominal sum of a few hundred thousand rupees. But now I gathered that they charge enormous sums of money.

Unscrupulous brokers

I read with interest the article written by Tilak S. Fernando on Thursday, August 9 Daily News. Just imagine the doctors, engineers etc who are thriving well in other countries; the ordinary guys who left the country on the sly are earning fat salaries. Discernibly, they don't want to come back home because they have cars and bought houses and are well off. Well-informed sources say that several lacks of money are exorbitantly charged now to procure special jobs. Before embarking on an expedition, they have to initially pay a sum of money and the balance is obtained by the hirers after they reach the destination. This is done by unscrupulous brokers and intermediaries. By acting as decoys, the transgressors can be brought to book. However, this is evidently being done en masse to earn a fast buck.

Corruption is there when you take a bribe. But this is a commonplace occurrence. Some miscreants are accustomed to taking bribes as an inducement or commonly called 'hush money' to fix an assignment.

It is visibly not a difficult proposition if you choose to dole out a large sum of money. Money is everything for those ill-bred men who act boorishly and uncouthly, and the world goes on nonetheless!