Our island was called Lanka in pre King Vijaya times. Valmiki’s immortal Ramayanaya had King Ravana ruling the land from the city of Lankapura. That was almost four thousand years ago. The Arab traders termed it Jaziratul-Yaqut, island of rubies. Some called it Serandip, some Ceilan, from which the Portuguese picked Ceilao and the European map-makers coined Ceylon. Many were the names from the many that came, and they all were collective in their comment in the description of this land. Bar none, everyone agreed and noted in their chronicles that this island was indeed the complete Paradise.
We never gained it. Let us be honest about that part. We simply inherited. The Gods from their celestial dome, in their infinite kindness, gifted this Paradise to us, the beautiful island of Lanka, to the people of Sri Lanka .
The privilege of being born and belonging to such a place can only be rightfully expressed if one can take the turmoil out and look through the veils of disharmony that obscure what lies beyond. The purity of the land, still remains, so much unspoiled. The occupant of Paradise, still smiles, in spite of the battering he had received from the time we were reborn after the colonials left. Mother Lanka dawdles, whilst her sons and daughters drowse in ignorance, somewhat a prelude to the disasters ahead.
Ruben walks daily carrying his Malu Kada following the footsteps of his father and grand-father. His son Saman tags along, apprenticing the trade, helps to weigh the fish, cleans the broad blade knife as his father barters with the housewives, haggling for the bargain. They leave, father and son, with the little boy shouting Malu Malu straining his tender vocal chords. The fishmonger to be, on his first lessons. No change.
Podi Hami prays every day. That is all she can do. She and her son Sirisena, did try every possible means and failed. No they could not get a letter for employment. Wrong party, not our people, that is what the man said. Not that Podi Hami had any inclination of what happened in the parliament or who sat aloft. She merely crossed the ballot papers.
There was always too much controversy in the news and people spoke in such different tones about their leaders that Podi Hami had long given up in her little mind to seek the truth. That was impossible. She merely voted and got branded. Now she sees young Sirisena, a posthumous corporal, beret and braid, in black and white, immortalised in a cheap framed photograph, hanging on the nail infested bedroom wall, boring his eyes at her, a sad and constant memory of a war where mainly the poor make the payments.
A Porsche glitters inside a show room at the Bambalapitiya junction. A young boy pushes his crippled father, looking at the cars. The old man sits crumpled, folded along with his worldly belongings, in a rickety old chair that rolls on warped wheels. Donated by the Lions, says the back. A blind man and his woman share their lunch, seated on the pavement on Dickman’s Road. Someone had been generous. The woman, withered and wasted, raises a buth kata to her toothless mouth and hears the world with sightless eyes, whilst the husband waits his turn, scratching his mottled skin of burnt black – Citizens of Paradise.
The sun goes down and the pavements become the bedchambers for the super poor who pray for the rains to hold till morning.
These are no fairy tales of my redundant imagination. They are the stories of Paradise. The day-to-day events that play sad and silent along the cacophony of achievement. Do not tell me they are isolated, oh no, not by a long shot. They are the unheard, the ignored and the expendable debts of the displaced denizens of Paradise. The stentorians are there, loud and clear, announcing to the world and beyond, the inflated paths of progress, with rainbow visions for the morrow, splashing milk and honey stories. But, isn’t there a big question mark? Isn’t there some straining needed to seek the truth?
I am not talking of devolution and separations, politics do not interest me. I am like Podi Hami, totally confused between right and wrong and where lies the light. I am writing of the core, the very basics that humans search for, Uncle Sam’s stuff, the pursuit of happiness type, the very essence that Paradise should be made of, which I think, is sadly missing at present.
They leave Paradise by the thousands. Why? That is a good question. Look around and you will see the answer. They move out to pursue their happiness elsewhere. Not by choice, but by reasons of sheer necessity. The Sri Lankan Diaspora is everywhere, from the chilly summits of Northern Canada to the dry lands of Tasmania. From sushi land to Swaziland. From the deserts of Dhahran to the lush green valleys of New Zealand. You see them with their little Sri Lankan clubs, clinging on dearly to memories of a homeland, torn between a new life and what they left behind.
It is a love they cannot shed, a romance gone rotten, and they gather and lament, speak in sad nostalgic tones and save miserly to visit and spend a week or two in their much loved and beloved Paradise.
Why do these inheritors leave Paradise? Something must have gone wrong in the system. The exodus only began after we were reborn. Hence, the blame is not with the colonials and their House of Commons. It is ours and ours alone, lying firmly in the Pontius hands of the custodians who were chosen to charter our future, and seemingly have failed in their delivery.
Is it not a fact that there is a mass cry for employment outside. The mason and the maid lead, followed by the waiter, the janitor and the bartender. Name him, and he is there, looking for agents to send him to some far away Valhalla . The banker too, and the medicine man, fill passport forms, standing side by side with the young urban professional and the academic erudite. All looking across the sea, from the shores of Paradise.
There are some consolations too, one cannot be totally paranoid. The factory jobs are there for the tradeless. Foreign Marks and local Spencer make the mint and scope the cream and the poor Paradisians eat the peanut. Still, it is something to keep the kitchen fires burning. The rest of the no skills pawn their souls to go abroad. Local Dick Whitingtons charging into the unknown, exploited at every toll gate (there are many) and slave in alien homes in the Middle East and Asia, sending their carefully hoarded pitiful dirams and dollars to their loved ones, whilst counting agonising days to return home.
Sixty four years have gone by from the day of independence. The blameless blame, the nameless suffer, the shameless go on, ramroding their way to erode and annihilate Paradise. No need to further elaborate, the reasons are obvious. Some things happen to be best left unsaid. Let me be the coward and let discretion become the better part of my limited attempts at journalism.
Call me a fool if it pleases you and I will accept it. But let me trickle some sanity to your thoughts. Just to kindle an interest. Totally non political. I cannot and do not separate the villain from the venerated, the line is too thin and the facts are wildly scattered. The truth certainly is in masquerade. The Lankan Paradise is not lost, not yet. It is certainly misplaced. That much can be clearly seen, lest one be blind. What happens in the end to things that are misplaced? They never get found and as time goes by; it surely will become something permanently missing.
Ours is a Paradise misplaced. Let us all valiantly search, it is not too late. Let us collectively find ourselves and our land, before it vanishes beyond the limit, and becomes a Paradise Lost.

By Faraz Shauketaly

Kelanithissa power station, Nihal Wickremesuriya and Champika Ranavaka and Norochcholai thermal power plant

Sri Lanka’s Power Minister’s quest to show case his capabilities in turning around the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has had disastrous results. The CEB have had little option but to make immediate provisions to  secure 100 MW of Emergency Power. The quaintness of the English language has been used however to make this announcement less dramatic: the CEB now call this “Supplementary Power”. In Romeo and Juliet, they said, “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet’ except that at the CEB emergency power by any other name would cost the same astronomical amounts. A Senior government personality described the agent of a leading power supplier as a “Bloodsucker” – in describing the conundrum that the country finds itself thanks to the so-called diesel mafia. The latest saga that has afflicted the CEB is the need to plan for 100 MW of Supplementary power – just in case the water in the reservoirs do not reach adequate levels. The CEB’s General Manager Nihal Wickramasuriya wrote candidly to the Secretary, Ministry of Power & Energy: the estimated cost of this ‘stand-by’ arrangement was likely to cost anything between Rs 12,770,000,000 (12.7 Billion) and Rs 8,000,000,000. In Dollar terms between USD 110 Million and USD 69 Million. Money, which the Treasury can ill afford.  For a Minister who has been focused on monetary figures there appears to have been no consideration given to purchasing the 100 MW outright and having it as a stand-by measure. The cost of doing that would be in the region of USD 40 Million – and it would be permanently available whenever the CEB wanted it, rather than the 12 months this particular tender envisages.
The CEB comprises some of the most educated personnel in this country. The engineers at the CEB are much sought after in many countries overseas for their expertise and knowledge and are well known for their ‘hands-on’ experience. In the  backdrop of that serious questions have been raised as to the commitment and stratagems employed by these very same professionals.
Not once have these professionals at the CEB ever mooted the cause for the planning of an in-house Emergency Power Unit. Owned, Managed, Serviced and paid for by the CEB. Not once. If one considers that since 1996 when the scourge of the CEB – emergency power – was introduced to Sri Lanka, on average, an amazing sum of Rs 3 Billion per year was expended on Emergency power – with over 40% of that going towards“capacity charges” – i.e. the cost of having the power units ready in case it was needed. Taking into account the escalated global oil prices since 2007, Sri Lanka is estimated to have spent a staggering Rs 22,500,000,000 (Rs 22.5 Billion) on Emergency or Stand-by power over the past 15 years. Of this, Sri Lanka is estimated to have spent at least USD 6 Million each year simply on ‘Capacity charge’ fees alone. Rocket science is perhaps not needed to work out that had the CEB initiated its own in-house ‘Emergency power’ unit, the CEB’s miserable financial woes would have been far more manageable.
Whilst the Unions and others at the CEB have protested vehemently on a variety of issues including lobbying hard and fast for the removal of senior figures like for instance Vidya Amarapala the former Chairman of the CEB, not a whimper or a protest of any sort emanated from these same employees on the high cost of emergency Power to which the CEB have resorted to regularly over the past 15 years.  Many question the logic of the CEB staff asking for a salary hike of a staggering 45% when their performance has been so dismal.
Despite the much hyped operational ‘profit’ of Rs 5 Billion in 2010, in actual fact the CEB’s cumulative losses were only reduced by RS 16 Billion. Minister Champika Ranawaka however, chose to highlight and celebrate the Rs 5 Billion operational profit. The CEB have become used to living in the negative with the Treasury dutifully doling out vast sums of monies to prop up an ailing but essential service corporation. In any other organisation any salary increase would have been thrown out of the window without a second thought based on the dismal financial performance of the CEB. As our table shows, the CEB domestic rates are at least 6 times higher than in neighbouring South India. Tamil Nadu has a lower per capita GDP of USD 1,620 whilst Sri Lanka is on USD 2,830 (est for 2011, World Bank).  Of course, the fact is that Tamil Nadu has an installed capacity of over 10,000 MW of power – making the per unit cost very much cheaper than Sri Lanka.

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Compare the high cost of power in Sri Lanka:
319 Domestic Units consumed in Sri Lanka:         Rs 7,581.40
319 Domestic Units consumed in Chennai, India        Rs 2,016.25 (without subsidy)
319 Domestic Units consumed in Chennai, India        Rs 1,255.00 (with Gov’t subsidy)
The Indian amount was converted to Sri Lanka Rupees at Rs 2.5; Figures shown in SL Rupees.

Jaffna Power: Tailor-made for existing suppliers
The recent decision of the CEB to call for tenders for the supply of electricity in the North has met with howls of protests from a number of the Independent Power Producers in Sri Lanka. Many question the blatantly short lead times given to prospective tenderers to submit their offers, charging that the CEB would certainly not get the most attractive and competitive offer because of this. The tender was called during the traditional holiday period of Christmas and New Year when many in the West would be on vacation. It was also highlighted that the CEB called for a very specific machine configuration of 3 x 8MW and 6 x $ MW. This configuration narrows down considerably the companies able to provide such a configuration. MAN and Wartsila would be two of the companies able to supply this configuration. Wartsila and Agrekko are both represented in this country by the same agent.
Our industry sources were firmly of the opinion that the Jaffna tender would be awarded to Wartsila on the basis of the tender specifications and the short response time permitted.
At the time that this government addressedthe power problems of the North, many were grateful that two companies – Agrekko and Northern Power – considered being involved in Jaffna especially within the theatre of the armed unrest there. At that time, the high prices were considered acceptable due to the inevitable and inherent risks in the North.
However, with the war now over, industry sources asked us “not to hold your breath” in the hope that prices would be
lowered even though the risk assessment in the North is now considerably reduced. “A reduction of the risk does not necessarily mean that the prices charged by Agrekko will be reduced”, says an insider at the CEB speaking on conditions of anonymity.
The Sunday Leader spoke to Minister Ranawaka on exactly why the CEB have waited for quite so long to establish that Northern Power simply cannot deliver the 36 MW they contracted for and why if they were not able to deliver on that amount, penalty clauses were not being invoked. Minister Ranawak told us that ‘there is no permanent PPA with Northern Power therefore the issue of penalty clauses do not arise”. In short no matter what the excuse as power is needed Agrekko have been relied upon to supply the difference, which as the Minister himself admitted to the Sunday Leader, “there is a big difference between what Agrekko per unit is compared to Northern Power”.
A consultant electrical engineer with vast field experience told us that the CEB may well have been better advised to call for a machine configuration of 10 x 2.5 MW machines as there was plenty of space available in Chunakam and that in the case of a shutdown the possibility of losing power would be reduced to just the 2.5 MW – instead of say 8 MW.
Northern Power for their part reiterated that they are capable of generating their full contracted amount but that the antiquated and overloaded CEB equipment is unable to receive their full output.
Minister Ranawaka confirmed that a committee headed by Prof KKW Perera had looked into this issue and was close to renegotiating the contract with Northern Power to reflect the reality rather than the theoretical ability to supply more than they were able to – for whatever the reasons.

Why Sri Lanka needs 100 Mw now?

“The question that needs to be asked now is not whether or not Sri Lanka needs a stand-by arrangement of 100 MW now, but rather why we have ended in this mire now” says a senior CEB Engineer.  The CEB having called for tenders for the 100 MW of Emergency power, are in the process of evaluating the offers now. It is notable that for all the poor hydro conditions, Minister John Seneviratne did not seek to resort to Emergency power – choosing instead to heed the advice of the CEB and prudently manage the available hydro resources. Indeed this is also the view point of a number of CEB Engineers now in terms of generation management. Our tables that we carry today demonstrate that with the available thermal power, the country’s daily requirements can be met with recourse to Hydro power for the peaks in demand.
The Acting Chairman of the CEB and Minister Ranawaka have both confirmed that the need for Emergency power is on the advice of the CEB General Manager Nihal Wickramasuriya and his team. The Minister told the Sunday Leader “the Ministry does not interfere”. Union sources at the CEB said that if one was to believe that “you may as well believe that there are snow covered ski slopes in Nuwera Eliya just because the temperature dropped a little bit.” The Acting Chairman of CEB Pasan Gunasena explained that emergency power was recommended after a scientific study, and had cited several reasons in support of this decision.
The present Minister of Power and Energy, Patali Champika Ranawaka proclaimed at the opening ceremony of the Norochcholai Coal Plant last March that he had put permanent stop to power cuts and the term “power cuts” would be history. Within three months of this, Minister Champika has to retract: the CEB was forced to impose unannounced power cuts in June-July 2011 after more than 10 years. The Minister’s efforts to downplay these power cuts as mere technical problems brought about by several non functioning thermal plants did not appease the public nor the Unions who knew otherwise. Minister Ranawaka’s latest attempt to purchase enormously expensive emergency power, which his General Manager Nihal Wickramasuriya has estimated to cost the tax payers of this country around Rs. 13 billion, does not bode well for Sri Lanka’s beleaguered consumers who pay the region’s highest per unit rate for electricity. The General manager candidly admitted to the Sunday Leader that it was inevitable that there would be a need to increase the tarrif yet again in due course or that the Treasury would have to dig deeper into its treasure trove.
Data published by CEB’s System Control Centre, thermal plants owned by CEB at  Kelanitissa and Sapugaskanda have the capability to produce about 8½  million units per day.
The Lak Vijaya Coal Plant at Norochcholai if operated at its full capacity can produce an extra  6 million units each day. In other words, CEB’s thermal plants can generate around 13½ million units of electricity daily, without the expensive small gas turbines.
There are several Independent Power Producers (IPPs) supplying to the National Grid under long term power purchase agreements. As seen in the table given, these privately-owned power plants can pump in more than 16 million units every day. Published cost data show that some of these plants are significantly cheaper compared to some of CEB-owned plants – in spite of repeated claims by Minister Ranawaka that they are very expensive.
Certainly as Sri Lanka struggles to get its economy on the move, ill thought out strategy and with a pedantic Minister, who is easily led on the grandiose road rather than the road of reality, will undoubtedly slow the economic progress that Sri Lanka yearns for. For a country that can justifiably boast of its high literacy rate and its war victory, it does seem that it is rather a pity that impartial advise and strategy is not adhered to in such a key industry. The future for Sri Lanka’s electricity industry is far from bright.
faraz@thesundayleader.lk

Has the UNP ever been held accountable for crimes against humanity?

There is a tendency  to isolate  issues and incidents, and to treat them as separate projects, which does harm to the need to hold the State, the various regimes and all parties accountable for all crimes and violations connected with extra-legal killings, abductions and enforced disappearances. It is only then that we can work towards achieving a united  Sri Lanka governed by a democratic State. The blood and tears of the past have to be wiped clean, if we are to plant the seeds of a new future.  I shall take the recent “protest” meeting that was conducted by the “Freedom Platform” inside the auditorium of the J. R. Jayawardene Center which focused on the assassination of Lasantha Wickrematunge.
The daylight assassination of Lasantha within a high security zone and the brazen cover up by the regime is certainly to be held up as a concentration of the whole issue of accountability. This is reinforced by the fact that any and all witnesses and evidence proving culpability have been silenced and buried, and none indicted – even after three years. While it is important to keep the issue of Lasantha’s assassination and the abject and willful lack of accountability on the burner, it is important to place this issue in the context of the whole range of such abuses and violations. Lasantha himself would have wanted it this way. After all, he was killed because of his exemplary courage and determination in exposing such gross abuses and violations by whomever, without regard to party affiliation or official position, or on whichever side of the barricade they were.
It is also pitiful that Ranil Wickremesinghe should be given the platform to speak against the assassination of Lasantha and the cover up. This gives the UNP the opportunity to wash its hands off grotesque violations such as those which occurred on “Black July”, which included the government-sponsored massacre of 53 Tamil political prisoners kept in maximum custody, and the acts of  wholesale murder, looting and arson committed against innocent Tamil civilians. Has the UNP ever accounted for these crimes, and asked for forgiveness as a way of bringing reconciliation? Mahinda Rajapaksa would be very happy and comfortable if Ranil is to take up the case of Lasantha or any other, since Ranil could be trusted to deflect and bury the whole issue – partners in crime as they are!
At the same time, isolating the issue takes the focus away from the murder of Joseph Pararajasingham, Nadarajah Raviraj, Sivaram, 17 humanitarian aid workers, five Tamil students  and others, and the abduction of Prageeth Eknaligoda, Lalith Weeraraj, Kugan and many others. The “protest’ meeting could have been held under the theme: “In the name of all those killed, abducted and disappeared and to hold all accountable in the eyes of the world”. But, then Ranil would not have been able to mount the platform.
The whole war crimes issue also falls into the same game by limiting the issue to crimes committed by both sides during the final stage of the war.  What about the horrendous crimes committed by both sides during the war? What about the killing of Bhikkus at Arantalawa, the massacre at the Sri Maha Bodiya, the killing of 600 policemen who had been ordered to surrender? These are violations of international humanitarian and human rights law. Whatever the cause of liberation, they are crimes against humanity. What about the repeated, government-sponsored anti-Tamil pogroms beginning in 1958, including Black July, the rigging of the Jaffna DDC election and the subsequent burning of the Jaffna library, which may constitute a form of cultural genocide?  What about the carpet bombing of Tamil areas, as in Sampur and Iranamadu? What about the razing of burial grounds? What about the inhuman torture carried out in detention camps, the targeting of kovils and schools?
The war crimes issue has its own merit. But it should not cover up the train of horrendous crimes committed during the war, and the whole process of violent subjugation and suppression of the Tamil nation that led to the war.
Has the Mahinda Rajapakse regime accounted for any of these crimes against humanity, and asked for forgiveness? It is only when there is a fundamental and comprehensive process of accountability that there can be a democratic transformation of the State leading to  genuine reconciliation, and we can greet the new dawn of freedom and democracy.

Musthaq Mahmud Bhai: Shocked and Frightened Picture by Chanaka Ratnaweera – mediacolombo

A Colombo businessman has alleged that Nowzer Fowzie, a Western Council Provincial Councillor threatened to shoot him but was thwarted by the presence of a Policeman. The incident happened last Friday – incredibly the 13th for those into numerology – in the morning. Sources close to Nowzer Fowzie however, deny that the incident ever took place. Nowzer Fowzie has denied the events stating that there is absolutely nothing factual about the complaint made.
Musthaq Bhai, 48, a Colombo businessman with interests in the catering industry, claimed that while he was riding his bicycle in the proximity of the 80-Club early on Friday morning, a black coloured Montero drove up along side him, cut across and stopped. Not pleased with being cut off and as he nearly fell off his bike,  Musthaq says he berated the poor driving skills of the driver, even though he could not see him, as the vehicle’s windows were ‘blacked’ out. According to the statement given to the Police by Musthaq, the passenger side window was lowered and it was then that Mushaq realised the driver was his friend, Nowzer Fowzie. He allegedly was abusive and when Musthaq kindly retaliated, Nowzer Fowzie allegedly told him “I will kill you” and proceeded to point a pistol at the businessman. “I was frightened and started shouting out aloud. Luckily for me Policeman Yahya, 49977 who was crossing the road, heard my cries and ran towards the Montero. Just as he did so, Nowzer sped off,” Musthaq Bhai told the Sunday Leader. Musthaq then went to the Cinnamon Gardens Police nearby and made his statement. Constable Yahya also made a statement. However the Constable was unable to positively identify the vehicle as that being registered to the Fowzies’.
We asked Musthaq Bhai why it was that he got the registration number of the vehicle wrong: “If you have ever had a pistol pointed at you, you too would be quite excited. Whilst fear had consumed my whole body, I managed to get most of the number plate which positively identified Nowzer. It may not convince the Sunday Leader but I think you will find that a reasonable Court will find it remarkable that I was able to retain that information in my mind.”
It was also noted by sources connected to the Fowzies’ that the Policeman had got the number plate wrong. The Fowzies are generally known to have a memorable set of numbers which have Islamic connotations, making it easy to remember.
Police Spokesperson SP Anura Rohana, confirmed that a complaint had been lodged with the Cinnamon Gardens Police and that statements had been recorded. The matter was passed on to the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) and the facts have been reported to the Colombo Magistrate. SP Rohana confirmed that further investigations are proceeding at the time of going to press. Musthaaq Bhai was at the centre of an alleged blackmail threat some months ago when a person from Beruwela was arrested on a complaint made by him. In that incident the caller had allegedly demanded Rs 5 Million from Musthaq. The money was never paid, a complaint was made and the caller was remanded for two days during the last Islamic Ramadhan period. The case against the caller is ongoing.
Legal sources expressed surprise that the matter had been referred to the CCD especially because the complainant had got little evidence against Nowzer Fowzie and suggested that this incident between the two men would have more to do with a business arrangement gone wrong than anything else. This appeared to be confirmed by Musthaq Bhai himself. He told The Sunday Leader that he had sold a property on Dickman’s Road to Nowzer Fowzie for Rs. 45 Million. He had given Nowzer a period of six months to settle. However he alleged that Fowzie had settled him very much later and readily acknowledged that this incident was part of a long standing dispute between the two men. Musthaq Bhai denied claims being made that he was ‘willing to reach a settlement’ asking what kind of settlement was possible when someone had “pulled a gun on me”. Musthaq Bhai confirmed that there has been an ongoing disagreement with Nowzer Fowzie which involved bi-lateral use of language that is best not described. However Nowzer Fowzie for his part refused to be drawn on this entire incident saying through a spokesperson only that “this claim is fully denied and we have little interest in this matter beyond that.”(faraz@thesundayleader.lk)

Artist’s Impression of Lotus Tower, Basil Rajapaksa addresses the gathering. and Corner stones laid by dignitaries

The inaugural ceremony of the commencement of the construction of the Colombo Lotus Tower, a concept of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, was held at D R Wijewardena Mawatha, Colombo 10 last Friday under the patronage of Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa.
A sod cutting ceremony to mark the preparation of the site for the construction of the Colombo Lotus Tower, was held earlier under the patronage of Lalith Weeratunga, Chairman of the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) and Secretary to the President.
The government information department said that the total height of the tower is 350 metres. It is destined to be a striking city symbol and an important landmark by being the tallest Tower in South Asia. It will be a free -standing tower with a four-storey high podium; a concrete tower shaft of moderate diameter; eight storied tower head; and a steel framed antennae mast surmounted at the top.
The Tower will provide for Telecommunication and Leisure activities, and will facilitate the relaying of at least 50 separate broadcasting and telecasting services; provide facilities for about 20 service providers in telecommunication; and relaying of defence signals, and in addition indirectly contribute to the riddance and removal of high power TV & FM antennas innumerably located at various buildings in the Colombo City.
Apart from facilities related to multi – functional telecommunication activities, the tower podium will also accommodate a telecommunication museum, food courts; administrative offices; exhibition spaces and corresponding amenities.
The Tower shaft will be a hollow concrete cylinder accommodating high-speed lifts and stairs for vertical circulations, and ducts for various types of building services.
The Tower head will comprise of eight floor levels accommodating an Observation Deck; Revolving Restaurant; Banquet Hall for 1000 guests; and, two floors of super luxury hotel accommodation along with facilities for building services, which will include fire detection, fire fighting, overhead storage tanks and telecommunication instruments/ equipment etc.
The tower mast, surmounted on the tower head will provide a base for antennas of service providers in telecommunication, telecasting, broadcasting, and defence related transmissions etc. The Antennas will be installed at a height of between 250 and 350 meters above ground level, and they will cater to a range of different frequencies.
The project has been approved by the Cabinet of Ministers, the government information department said.
(Pix by: Udesh Gunarathna – President’s Media)

The church and the Buddhist shrine, with the school in the background. AND A close up of the Buddhist shrine

On October 3, 2011, this newspaper published the article “Presbyterian Girls’ School Accused Of Racial Intolerance,” in which several sources had alleged that the Principal of the Presbyterian Girls’ School, Maradana, Mrs. Padmini Jayawickreme, was being racially intolerant. Sources claimed that the Principal had replaced the Christian Church with a Buddhist shrine, and was unfair in her conduct towards the Islam teacher who chose to wear an abaya.
To quote the article: “The Sunday Leader also learns that although it is against Islam for Muslims to prostrate before anyone but the Muslim God, the teachers at school insist that the Muslim students prostrate before them, as part of the Buddhist Culture.” The issue went as far as complaints being lodged with the Human Rights Commission and it was then taken before the education authorities. The complaint stated that the fundamental rights of students were violated and that their education was in jeopardy by the careless conduct of the Principal who left the students without a competent religion teacher.
Following the article, both the Principal and the Islam teacher were transferred from the school. The Islam teacher (not named to protect her identity) said,  “While we were both transferred, the Principal has not been assigned a school yet. I was transferred to a Muslim school, but I did not really get a solution to the problem because wearing an abaya at a Muslim school is not an issue. Right now however, the students of Presbyterian Girls’ School do not have an Islam teacher. This needs to be looked into.”
New accusations have also come to light with the former secretary of the School Development Committee (SDC) or the Pasala Nagasiteema, Naim Samahon speaking up about the issues the school had faced under the Principal.
According to Samahon, Padmini Jayawickreme served as Principal for two years and three months. “After some time, she forced all the children to attend the monthly Buddhist sermons. Added to that, all children except those in the Tamil medium had to prostrate before certain teachers and herself,” he said.

Pic : 1 / Pic: 2 - Scanned version of the complaint filed with the Human Rights Commission claiming that Mrs. Padmini Jayawickrema had violated the rights of the Islam teacher by not allowing her to wear the abaya. It has been witnessed by 20 parents. AND A parent has submitted an affidavit stating that his daughter was not allowed to wear trousers to school, despite it being a Muslim tradition.

“When we questioned her, she said that it was not for religious purposes that all children had to attend the Buddhist sermons, but they were ‘awareness’ programmes,” he said.
The story however gets murkier. Samahon claims that despite not having approval from the SDC (which according to an Education Ministry circular, must be obtained before making any expenditure) she made living quarters for herself within the school premises. He added that after she became Principal, there was a drastic hike in the school electricity bill – from Rs. 132, 867 in 2009, it rose to Rs. 216, 171 in 2010.
“We have a suspicion that this was because her son and two daughters slept in the computer room and used the air conditioning. Otherwise the electricity bill cannot be so high,” he said.
In addition, she also put off the annual SDC meeting which was supposed to be held in March. “Because of this the right to elect office bearers was infringed upon,” he said.
Stomping on fundamental rights

Samahon provided a copy of the complaint lodged with the Human Rights Commission. According to this, the Principal has been accused of :
1.    Denying entrance to the school to the Islam teacher because she wore an abaya
2.    The opportunity for students to enjoy free education while following their individual beliefs
3.    Two other Islam teachers were removed from school, also for wearing the abaya, denying Muslim students in the Tamil section the opportunity to learn Islam.
4.    Causing parents to protest because the Muslim students were forced to attend the monthly Buddhist sermons against their will.
5.    The Principal’s young son, who was training the band and conducting computer training was loitering around school with his friends, which is a threat to the children’s safety.
6.    The School Development Committee meeting which is supposed to take place in March was put off and as a result office bearers were not elected.

In addition, the HRC document has been witnessed by 20 parents who also gave oral testimonies swearing that the above incidents took place. The document further asks for the right of every student to follow their religious beliefs and that their right to education is granted.
The Affidavit

Samahon also provided an affidavit given by a parent (name  withheld to protect identity) who claimed that his daughter was not allowed to wear trousers, as per Muslim tradition after a girl reaches puberty. Other Muslim students too were subjected to this and the Principal and the class teacher of the student continuously harassed the girl about this, asking the parents to sign a letter saying that they agreed to send the girl to school without the trousers. The parents however refused, and in the affidavit said that they feel this is an attempt to destroy their religious observances. Currently the girl goes to school in trousers but takes them off inside the premises. In addition, other children too, are under a lot of mental stress, the affidavit states, and that it is difficult for them to continue studying under such conditions. The parent also added that they felt the school discipline and safety has been lacking, and that the school should provide the child with safety and education.
The affidavit was approved and signed by K. Jayasiri, Justice of Peace, All Island.
Former Principal Padmini Jayawickreme could not be traced and contacted by the time this story went to print. Several attempts to contact officials at the Ministry of Education also ended in failure as most officials were attending a ceremony in Jaffna.

By Nirmala Kannangara

S.B. Dissanayake, Bandula Gunawardena and Mohan Lal Grero

Sri Lanka must surely boast the largest number of education ministers although none of them have discharged their duties as expected but contributed to an all time mock-up of the system.
The recent A/L result fiasco, the public outcry against the government and its education ministers have taken center stage for messing up the future of children.
Typically none of the five ministers have come forward to take  responsibility but instead have passed the buck on to certain government officials. In addition the country’s entire higher education system too is in the doldrums.
From the time Higher Education Minister S.B. Dissanayake took office university unrest has worsened. Universities are closed for a good part of each semester.
Considering all these factors questions have now been raised as to why a small country like ours need so many education ministers.
In the central government alone there are five ministers for education- Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena and his Deputy Minister Vijith Wijayamuni Soyza, Higher Education Minister S.B. Dissanayake and his Deputy Minister Nandimithra Ekanayake and Mohan Lal Grero as the Monitoring Education MP.
In addition all the nine provinces have their own Education Ministers and their deputies and Monitoring Provincial Council Members. What their duties are and whether they have fulfilled them is the multi million rupee question – which is costing this country and her future generation dearly.
Eyebrows are being raised as to why such a number of ministers are maintained with public money when they have failed even to regularize a proper mechanism for grade one admission.
From grade one to grade twelve each year the debacles remain endless. Closure of schools, lack of teachers in remote schools, grade one admission mess, delay in printing government text books or delay in distributing uniform materials, errors in school text books, disclosure of grade five scholarship exam papers, errors in O/L exam papers and the latest being the A/L result fiasco.

The question is who is responsible?

With regard to the A/L fiasco, according to the government the preliminary investigations have revealed that it was the data entry operators that have messed up the results but nothing to do with the relevant ministers. Sri Lanka is the only country that puts the blame on officials when it comes to any irregularity but grabs credit to the government for any achievements.
There were protests all over the country demanding the review of the A/L results as there were instances that students have received results for different subjects for which they have not sat at the examination.
“This is the state of this wonder of Asia. The vision for the future which is the emerging wonder of Sri Lanka as stated in the bankrupt Mahinda Chinthanaya,” said an angry teacher from one of Sri Lanka’s premier boys schools Royal College Colombo.
Meanwhile, many universities have been shut indefinitely after university students protested against the formation of private universities in the country.
Despite the arrests of student leaders last year, and the pending trials, college unrest has returned on a large scale causing major disruption in the country’s higher education system
Amongst the abuse meted out against the students are – virginity tests that were carried out forcefully on female students by the head of the Sri Jayawardenapura University, providing security to some universities by a private security firm owned by a certain high official in the Defence Ministry and deploying army and police to thwart student protests.
“Protesting students had been evicted from the Sri Jayawardenapura university last week by a court order following a monument of a killed student being destroyed by the army although they (army) deny the claim,” a university student said.
Meanwhile these university students claim that the government is interfering in their work and accused the Higher Education Minister who too was a union leader in his days at the Peradeniya University for trying to privatize the country’s higher education system.
“This is why all these suppressions are meted out against us. The primary and secondary schools are now in the process of closing down systematically. That was why the President clearly stated in his budget speech that selected 1000 schools in the country would be re-organized. If so what will happen to the other 8662 schools in the country. Nearly 300 schools have already closed down and it is estimated that there are 1528 schools in the country with less than 100 students in each school. Sufficient infrastructure has to be provided to these schools together with the required number of teachers. Without concentrating to these lapses they are trying to privatize the entire education system,” a student of Jayawardenapura University told The Sunday Leader on condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile adding worst to the higher education system in the country the Executive Committee of the Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA), at its meeting held on January 6, has decided to resort to trade union action to urge the government and the higher educational authorities to uphold the commitments made to the academics in the country.
As its first move, all members of the unions affiliated to the FUTA will hold a token strike on Tuesday January 17.
According to the FUTA the government deliberately failed to uphold the promise given to them when they had the discussion with President Mahinda Rajapaksa in 2011.
“The three month long trade union action launched by the FUTA last year was temporarily suspended following the agreements reached between the FUTA and the government through the direct intervention of the President. Since then the FUTA worked tirelessly with University Grants Commission (UGC) and the Higher Education Ministry to reach the goals but however, the higher educational authorities consistently failed to uphold the assurances given to the university academics,” The FUTA said.
The FUTA wishes to summarize the foremost amongst the commitments that were promised by the governmental authorities.
“We demanded FUTA representation at decision-making processes pertaining to the
education and higher education- which was one of the key demands to which the
authorities agreed. However we have reliably understands that Quality Assurance Accreditation and Qualification Framework Bill commonly known as the Non-State University Bill which has already received the cabinet approval will be presented to the Parliament this month without a proper dialogue of Vice Chancellors, Rectors, Deans, Heads of Academic Departments, Senate and Council members and academic staff of the universities. As a result the academic staff have deeply disturbed and puzzled over the secrecy behind the purported bill which is against the agreement,” President FUTA said.
FUTA also stressed the need of proving enough of money on higher education.
“A recent World Bank report shows that Sri Lanka spends only 1 .9% of the GDP on education although it has to be increased up to 6% of the GDP, the lowest in the region, while other middle income countries spend on average 4.6% of their GDP. To fulfill Sri Lanka’s aspirations of becoming a knowledge hub, FUTA recommended that this has to be increased; however this recommendation too has been neglected,” alleged the FUTA
.
Meanwhile they alleged that the right of the Universities to spend even the small amounts of money allocated for the education of the students has been taken away.
“Even the pittance provided for higher education has been snatched away in order to pay for costly government sponsored projects such as imposing ultra-expensive security firms while the standard tender procedures of hiring and outsourcing have been deliberately avoided,” FUTA President Prof. Nirmal Ranjith said.
The implementations of the salary scheme in compliance with the Jiffry-Malik proposals of 2008 too have failed by the government according to Prof. Ranjith.
“Though the authorities agreed to consider the above proposal, there has been no genuine
interest in implementing the proposals while no attempts have been made to address the salary issue of the university teachers from the previous budget,” he said.

FUTA Spokesperson, Dr. Mahim Mendis told The Sunday Leader that the proposed trade union actions followed by the token strike  would be extremely serious.
“Leave alone our salaries why could not the government allocate at least 6% from the gross domestic product (GDP). When the government has allocated much more funds to other unimportant sectors, the allocation for the higher education is far more less than the other countries in the region. This is the reason why the country’s tertiary literacy level is below 7% although the primary literacy level is said to be 90%,” claimed Dr. Mendis.
Dr. Mendis said that their salaries too have to be increased on par with the Central Bank salary scales.
“We wanted the government to increase our salaries step by step to reach the Central Bank salary scale. It is the university academics that produce the experts for the national development in the country. As a result of this step-motherly treatment to university lecturers, the brain drain will get accelerated and that was why our universities have failed to retain PhD holders but surviving mainly with the BA and MA holders,” said Dr. Mendis.
According to Dr. Mendis, there are not more than 25- 30% PhD holders in each university academic staff and accuses the government for its failure to retain them due to poor salary structures.
“University Dons with PhD leave the country in search of greener pasture as they are not paid well. How could a country produce intellectuals without a proper education given to the university students by PhD holders? In Sri Lanka the university students are taught by BA and MA holders who are qualified to lecture primary and secondary education,” alleged Dr. Mendis.
When contacted, Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena  said that he was able to streamline the country’s education system and has new plans to upgrade the schools in the country specially the remote schools.
However he got annoyed when asked as to what happened to the A/L examination fiasco and who was at fault.
Deputy Education Minister Vijith Wijayamuni Soyza after an ‘official’ foreign tour was not available for a comment as his mobile phone was switched off since his arrival to the country.
Higher Education Minister Nandimithra Ekanayake was away in UK for a world education forum from January 9 to 11 but his ministry officials told The Sunday Leader that he will be back only after January 15. Education Monitoring MP Mohan Lal Grero too was out of the country and not available for comment.

SriLankan Airlines Air Craft and Mihin Lanka Air Craft

As Sri Lanka looks to become a commercial and tourist hub of Asia, its Civil Aviation unit is viewed as an integral cog. A shortage of qualified pilots and politicisation of the training has plagued an industry which has already faced road blocks during the 30 year civil war.
Recently it was reported that several pilots from Mihin Lanka had sat for the entrance examination at SriLankan Airlines. These pilots had failed the exams, despite having supposedly passed the entrance exam for Mihin Lanka. Questions have now been raised over the safety standards at the private airline company.
A highly placed source at Mihin Lanka speaking to The Sunday Leader, on condition of anonymity, explained that had these pilots failed the exams, it would have been due to the politics that exist between the two companies rather than the pilots’ poor training. He explained that many of the pilots who fly for Mihin Lanka are considered to be failures by SriLankan airlines, an impression he strongly disagreed with.
Asked about the comparison of training the two companies exert upon their newly recruited pilots, he responded that, ‘after having received their commercial pilot’s license they undergo the industry norm of 40 days training’. He added that certain airline companies may take longer, but explained that SriLankan airlines take 3 months.
When confronted with allegations that Mihin Lanka pilots are former Air Force pilots who have bypassed the commercial pilot exams and gone straight into training, he said, ‘This is not entirely true, the pilots have taken the safety exams but many of them already have their pilot’s license courtesy of their time in the Air Force’.
An airline captain involved in the training of pilots for both Mihin and Sri Lankan, who also requested anonymity, stated that ‘the training at both airlines is of international standards’. He further explained that if a pilot fails it is not an indictment on the training. Asked about the pilots from Mihin Lanka that failed the examination for Sri Lankan recently, he responded that their failing is not an indictment on the training. ‘They may have had a bad day when taking the exam; they had made it through the rest of the training which shows that they are capable pilots,’ he said.
With Sri Lankan Airlines looking to expand its fleet by 30 aircraft in the next few years, concerns are rising over how the country will fill the vacant seats in the cockpits.  Civil Aviation Minister Priyankara Jayaratne told media that along with the increase in the number of airplanes, they will also be seeing double the number of passengers travelling on the national carrier by 2015. The fleet will be updated with state-of-the- art aeroplanes, a worrying development considering many of the new pilots are being rushed through the system.
The Sunday Leader has reliably learnt that flying schools such as Skyline Aviation have been told to give the former Air Force pilots their commercial pilot licenses. When Skyline Aviation was contacted, they denied this saying only that many of their students are former Air Force pilots.
If Air Force pilots are being given their commercial licenses without the proper testing, this is a grave cause for concern. The current syllabus studied by  Air Force pilots is out-dated; furthermore their training is not for commercial passenger carriers.
Along with the training the pilots are also expected to sit a number of other tests ranging from air-law to technical examinations. According to the Airline Pilots Guild of Sri Lanka, many of the tests required for a commercial pilot’s license are being held at two different venues. The former Air Force pilots are being allowed to take their tests at China Bay in Trincomalee while the civilians sit their exams at the Civil Aviation Authority.
The issues facing civil aviation in Sri Lanka have gone further with the Civil Aviation Authority being flooded with Air Force personnel. This is to not only to account for the rising jobless rate within the Air Force but also to ensure their pilots are pushed through any bureaucratic red tape and simple safety measures.
Sumith Fernando, a spokesperson for Mihin Lanka, denied that their pilots were unqualified. He explained that ‘many of our pilots are former pilots of the Air Force and have the required three hundred hours of flying to receive a commercial license’.  He further added that the training carried out by Mihin Lanka’s pilots is of international standards. Fernando denied any knowledge of any Mihin Lanka pilots failing the entrance examination for SriLankan, adding that several of their former pilots are now flying for prominent Asian airlines including Malaysian Airlines.
Sri Lanka’s civil aviation had faced many obstacles in the past 30 years due to the civil war. Most commercial airline companies found it difficult to operate in the country and chose not to, while many pilots were forced to fly for the Air Force if they wished to fly. With the Air Force having taken control of most of the civilian air-fields, maintenance has fallen by the wayside. It is estimated that currently there are over 16 air-fields in Sri Lanka, of which only four are being properly operated. In Sigiriya a former airfield taken over by the Air Force during the war was destroyed when the commander decided to cut a drain across the runway.
Twitter – dinoukc

• Miscreants target highway users

By Maryam Azwer

Graphics by Mohamed Nishan

People  using the Southern Expressway have, of late, had reason to worry about stones being flung at their vehicles, particularly at night.
A week ago, on Thursday night (January 5), a car in which former MP Baddegama Samitha Thero was traveling was damaged when rocks were thrown at it.
Even more shockingly, on Saturday night (January 7) a car which had just exited the Expressway at Baddegama was attacked  by knife-wielding men. Although the driver and passengers managed to escape unharmed, the experience was horrifying enough to shed some doubt on how much safety the highway users can be guaranteed at night.
Complaints have been made, and the police  say they are conducting investigations, although no arrests have been made.
When contacted, Police Spokesperson SP Ajith Rohana said that residents  on both sides of the highway were suspected of being behind the stone throwing. “Inquiries are being conducted, though we believe that it is not an organised gang harassing these people on the Southern Expressway,” he said. He also noted that there was a separate Expressway Police Division, looking into all discipline related issues, as well as a highway patrol. Despite this, there has been a certain amount of apprehension expressed in recent times, particularly  following these incidents of violence, both major and minor.

Assault at Baddegama

The victims of last Saturday’s assault at  Baddegama, for instance, have expressed disappointment in what they claim was a lack of concern on the part of the police.
One  of the women who was in the car at the time, requesting anonymity, explained in detail the sequence of events that took place. “We were traveling  to Hikkaduwa, so we took the exit at Baddegama. Two of our friends were in a car ahead, and there were five of us in our car,” she said.
“To get to Hikkaduwa from the highway exit we had to take the Baddegama  road, which is a badly lit, narrow road. The other car went ahead and was not to be seen. Then, we came across two logs in the middle of the road. My husband, who was driving, tried to maneuver it around the logs, on the right, where there was a gap. Suddenly, two men with huge knives appeared out of the bushes on the right, and tried to wrench open the doors,” she recounted.
Around this time, two more men had appeared from the left, also armed, one with a sickle. According to this witness’ account, the men were young, and were bare-chested. “They were wearing some kind of black bands on their heads, but their faces were uncovered. They beat on the glass, but it didn’t break. By then my  husband managed to drive around the logs and we drove away. I was in shock,” she said.
Her husband expressed the same sentiments. “This happened just 500-750 metres from the exit, and around a kilometre away from the Baddegama police station,” he said, adding “What is strange is that there was just about a minute’s gap between our car and the one ahead of us, and they had not come across any logs. We believe this was well organized. They would not have targeted the other car because they were right behind a van,” he said.
Following their narrow escape, they  had informed the highway patrol on the hotline, 1969, and approached the Baddegama Police, he explained. Although an official complaint was not lodged, the police were informed of what had happened. “There were fingerprints on our car, but the police were not interested in looking into it,” he said. They had returned to the police station, on their way back to Colombo, and the police had apparently acknowledged that there had been logs on the road, but no further progress was made at that point.

Who is doing this, and why?

Last Thursday morning, (January 12) The Sunday Leader made a trip along the Southern Expressway, exiting at Baddegama. The ride was smooth and uneventful, and the village of Baddegama, by day, seemed peaceful. While conversing with some  of the villagers, there was nothing to indicate ill-feeling towards the highway in their midst.
Ranjani Bandara, owner of a small shop close to the highway exit, smiled when speaking of the highway. “I think it is a good thing,” she said. Her voice took a serious tone however, when the subject of Saturday’s attack was brought up. “Yes, we did hear about that, but I do not know who would  want to do something like that,” she said.
OIC Baddegama Police, Harith Halwita, meanwhile said “I do not think  people have any problems with the highway,” adding that he had been away on training and had returned  only that day, but had been informed of Saturday’s incident. “There had been logs on the road, but the people were unharmed. The police here went to the scene, but we do not know who was behind it yet,” he said.
Previously, incidents of alleged stone throwing were reported from Elpitiya and Kurundugahahetekma. A visit to these areas and a chat with some of the villagers provided little insight as to who was behind the assaults on highway users, and why they did this. Quite a few, however, said they suspected mischievous children, or people drinking at night, of flinging things at passing vehicles.
“After the highway opened, the Elpitiya police received complaints,” said Elpitiya Headquarters Inspector, B. D .L .L. Budagoda. “It became a big problem, and later we found a group of children, between the ages of ten and fifteen, had been  throwing a fruit (godapara gedi) at vehicles. They even threw a dead dog on to the Expressway. We brought them to the police station and warned them against it,” he said. Alikehena is one area in Elpitya where things are believed to be thrown from. P. A. Asanka, a resident of the area, said “It is hard to determine who is doing this. I think some people around here drink at night and throw things at the vehicles,” he said. Like many others, Asanka said he did not think people had anything against the Expressway.
This was not the opinion shared by a much older man who lived by the other side of the highway, however. “I personally do not benefit from this highway. It is not for poor people like us,” said Martin Wijeratne, whose house had been demolished to make way for the highway. His family had been compensated, and a new house has been partially built, but their well had dried up, he said.
Standing by the fence, beyond which the  highway stretched out below, he watched as a luxury bus, with photos of a smiling President and Transport Minister on the rear windshield, sped towards Colombo. “For me, this highway is just like when a plane flies overhead. I just stay here and watch. It is not as if people like me can afford to use it, anyway,” Wijeratne said with a sigh.

Lasantha with his daughter Ahimsa as a baby

“I had the most amazing relationship with my dad; he was one of my best friends and he was one of the few people I trusted completely. Not a day goes by that I do not think of him. It breaks my heart that my little brother will grow up without a father. But I believe he is watching over us.They say it gets better with time but it has not got any easier.”

These past few years I have had time to think about my father’s passing and try my best to deal with it. I find it so hard to move on and accept what happened. As an adult, I have realised now that nothing in life is permanent nor is it how you want it to be. Instead, I try to look for meaning and lessons behind all these experiences.
I believe that death is not the end of life; it is merely the end of the body we inhabit in this life, but our spirit will remain.
I had the most amazing relationship with my dad; he was one of my best friends and he was one of the few people I trusted completely. Losing him, in such a violent manner, has been the most painful and traumatic experience in my life; what also hurts is that I can no longer confide in my dad who supported me in all my decisions, dreams, ambitions and desires even if they were not always what he agreed with or wanted for me. That alone shows how unconditional his love was.
I have friends who unfortunately are not close to their fathers and that saddens me because I would give an arm to have a few moments more with my dad. Usually children grow up with the notion that their dad is their hero. I feel so proud to know that my dad is literally a hero and that he is not only a hero and role model to me but also to so many others who have been inspired by him.
Growing up I did not have the same liberal political, philosophical and ideological views and beliefs I  now have, but I have learnt through, mostly my father’s wisdom, that all beings on earth deserve the same rights and respect and no one should have the authority to condemn or frown upon another, based on class, creed, gender or sexual orientation.
Despite my father’s personal faith, what impressed me most was that he never blindly agreed with everything and impartially stood up for what was right and took a stand against discrimination in all forms. He was always a voice for those who were oppressed.
It pains me every time I think my father will not be there to walk me down the aisle or be there when I need advice or rejoice with me when I succeed in something. That is something I find hardest to accept. I believe my father could have achieved and done so much more if only his life had not been so cruelly taken. I have so many unanswered questions. Not a day goes by that I do not think of him. It breaks my heart that my little brother will grow up without a father. But I believe he is watching over us.
They say it gets better with time but it has not got any easier. I miss him everyday, and today especially, I share the pain of loss with my mother and my two brothers who loved him so much.