Stop On The A9 And Meet The People, Locals Plead
Colombo Express on the A9
By Udara Soysa
Southern travellers to the North should travel beyond the A-9 road and travel further into Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi districts to see the real plight of northern people, IDP returnees in the North told The Sunday Leader.
“People from the South go to the North on pleasure trips. They board the bus from Colombo and keep going to Jaffna. They do not want to see the reality in the North,” Prabhakaran Ramaligham, 48, from Kilinochchi complained.
“They stop to see war monuments in areas like Elephant Pass. But why do they not stop to see what happens east and west of the A9?” he questioned. Ramaligham, a former school teacher in Kilinochchi told The Sunday Leader that speeding buses, cars and vans of southerners on the A9 road gives images of the ‘Sinhalese’ being insensitive and brash.
“They speed along the A9 as if our suffering does not exist. There are two hells to the east and west to the A-9. But the cruisers on the A9 are indifferent to our plight. It would be a gesture of goodwill and reconciliation if people in the South come and see our situation,” he pointed out.
Father Joseph of the Church of South India – Jaffna Dioceses, Kilinochchi told The Sunday Leader that he had not seen many from the South coming to visit IDP returnees in Kilinochchi.
“There is a lot to be done – and a North-South proper interaction would be conducive to peace in the country,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Resettlement, V. Muralitharan told The Sunday Leader that only 28,000 people remain in Manik Farm while all others have left the camps.
“The mine situation is the biggest obstacle for resettlement,” he told The Sunday Leader.
People in the South suffers too
This is not a case of ‘tit for tat’ Nimal. The north has experienced a war. It is a living testament to death, pain & suffering that has affected most families in some way, as people try to cope with living without – their loved ones, limbs, memories. Now does this sound like the south to you???
You reap what you sow , so if one has to suffer its all because of his or her past doings, so bad luck Mr Ramalingam you have go through it, be strong and face it
THIS IS A VERY GOOD SUGGESTION BY SUNDAY LEADER.
WE SHOULD ORGANIZE “SHRAMADHANA ” PROGRAMS IN THE NORTH TO HELP OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN NEED.
ALL SRI LANKANS SHOULD START DOING THIS IN THEIR NEXT TRIP TO JAFFNA .
THE MEDIA SHOULD DO THEIR PART IN PROMOTING THIS IDEA WITH THE HELP OF THE SECURITY FORCES AND WE’LL BE GLAD TO JOINING IN
THANK YOU SUNDAY LEADER FOR COMING FORWARD
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Therer is enough shramadana done by the forces who are stationed in those areas.
For these Tamils they are exploiting their plight.
They only opened their mouths to eat only during Prabakaran’s time & now want the Southerners to stop by.
Their plight was due to their own diasspora & Erik Solheim’s Norway funding Velu & the LTTE to obtain eelam & better life for them.
Why don’t they ask the very people what they promised and in their failure to deliever to assist them.
Why blame the Southerner & the GOSL.
Udara Soysa, you can take a SL Team along with secret funds received from UNP to do some sharmadana. You can accumilate some ‘ping’ and become a NGO during your next birth to live off dollars.
I fully agree with Mr. Ramaligham and Father Joseph. People of the South must rise to the occassion. We msut do all we can for our brothers and sister of the North. Sure, the South has a lot of problems. However, the north has far severe challenges. Media has a big role to play. Focus on the plight of the North.
The diaspora is in full control of this pathetic situation. We will marshall our resources and powers to bring this country and its racist government down. That is a PROMISE.