Sadly there are no photos of Sri Lanka for you to see at the moment as wonderful as the Maldives are (where I am writing from on a sunny Saturday morning) they have set up their computers so I cannot downlod pictures from my camera. All will be solved when I reach Beth and Dom next week.
So, on with Sri Lanka. As an aside, before I left Kandy, I ventured out on my usual global quest for interesting pain killers, preferably full of codeine. The pharmacist proceeded to try to sell me diclofenac and a PPI!!! (sorry this is a bit of an in joke for the Pfizerites) He couldn't work out what I was so horrified/amused at and finally sold me some rubbish with 8mgs codeine in it. Bloody pharmaceutical advisors get everywhere!!
My driver/guide Upali must get a mention as he was very kind and helpful and told me interesting things as we drove round. Admittedly it mostly consisted of how many people had been killed last night - oh, did I not mention the 2 and a half year ceasefire ended the night after I arrived?! He also was keen on pointing out what bits the British had built when they arrived with a flag and some serious uppity attitude about three hundred years ago ("Hello, chaps! Do you have a flag for this country?? No, well we do, so we'll just pop that there, and if you could carry my bags for me we'll just appropriate that city over there for starters..." etc). I am not usually hugely patriotic abroad as we have usually done something screamingly embarrassing and cruel, but even I was being indignant as all we seemed to have done was build some bloody good roads and the only bridges left standing.
On my last night, I met, quite by chance, the Head of Operations for the European Commission for post conflict and tsunami aid. Quite a large business card, but a top bloke, and we had drinks and dinner together (no, not like that) and I learned more from him than I had the whole week about this sorry country. As I mentioned, ATT have taken up their guns and torches offically again, after 2 years of "peace". The new Prime Minister is very anti-Tamul, in my opinion, and things are not going to improve with him. The Tamuls forcibly stopped their own people voting in the elections, and are determined to get their own separate state in the North, but it will never happen - even though it would be a good solution. As ever, unless you have lived through these situations, my feeling is always that you don't get to have a valid judgement, so I won't make one, except to say that both sides are wrong, and violence will never be the answer. It is interesting that the UK media has never really given the Hindu Tamul side of the story that I have seen, but as Peter says, they are now modelling themselves on the Khymer Rouge, so maybe they don't deserve it.
Anyway, as we all struggle on with our daily politics and power struggles dealing with assholes in our way, spare a thought for Peter, who is trying to find a glimmer of hope and postivity for normal people trying to find a home to live in that won't get burnt down as soon as it is built. Now that the guns have started firing, he can't build houses anymore - there is no point. He really is dealing with assholes, and I hope he and his family stay safe in that hell on earth they call Sri Lanka.
erm...... I posted a comment here last week in defence of Sri Lanka. It was up for a day or so but now seems to have disappeared! Is this censorship by the website's author?! Aileen what did you do with it?! I just wanted to say that I happened to love Sri Lanka.... I honestly meant no offence.... !! Please tell me we're still friends?!?
Posted by: mantha | December 20, 2005 at 09:15 AM
OK. That's weird. It's reappeared. Sorry folks. I blame my browser.
Posted by: mantha | December 20, 2005 at 09:17 AM