North Needs The Help Of The South & Expatriates To Rehabilitate And Develop

On my recent visit to Jaffna along the A9, it was obvious that development and progress had virtually come to a standstill after 27 years of the recent conflict. My last visit to Jaffna was in 1981, when I taught for a month in the University of Jaffna, Medical Faculty, as an honorary Lecture. This I did from time to time at the Universities of Colombo and Peradeniya after I left Sri Lanka in 1971.

Then the peninsula was booming with business and productivity, largely of primary produce such as rice, chillies, onions, vegetables, fruits, meat and sea food. The people were happy, active and enterprising. Looking at the infrastucture since then, such as houses, shops, buildings, transport and roads, little seems to have changed in terms of development.

Scars of the war and devastation from Vavuniya to Jaffna, a notable presence of the armed forces, the absence of the railway line and closure of the A9 have all contributed to the decay of this once beautiful and prosperous land. It is virtually in ruins. The people seemed depressed and fearful, although the conflict is over.

Electricity, water, street lights and transport are found and temples, churches, schools, offices, banks, markets and businesses still seem to be operational. Schools have reopened and the Government (GOSL) aims to have all children back in school in all areas of the North by April 2010.

The Jaffna Tamil is known to be resilient, hardworking, persevering and enterprising given the right encouragement and initiatives. The GOSL must ensure that they be given equal opportunity enjoyed by all other communities in Sri Lanka. Those who have migrated abroad hold high positions in all walks of life, proof of their capabilities. Furthermore they are highly respected as peace loving citizens. No doubt, Jaffna will bounce back again given equal opportunity, education and training. I urge all Tamil Expatriates to come forward now and help the Tamil cause with their expertise and investments. Many a home in the North is vacant or destroyed. Kilinochchi is a ghost town with roofless houses and buildings in ruins. Come back and help your unfortunate kith and kin. This I ask of all Tamils irrespective of caste, creed or politics.

Sadly most of the North is still occupied by the armed forces in high security zones and this has been an impediment to progress and development in the peninsula.

The people feel threatened and insecure even though the war has ended. The Tamil ethnic problem still remains a burning question and needs to be solved as soon as possible without further procrastination. At least, the 13th amendment should be implemented without delay.

Successive governments and politicians have done very little to address the real concerns and grievances of the Tamil people, which are deeply rooted since independence. The East has been partly liberated and redevelopment and resettlement has begun due the efforts of the present government. A similar resurgence needs to be initiated in the North to win the confidence and hearts of the people.

We expatriate Tamils appeal to the Government to give the North some autonomy. The President is in the best position to do this at this point of time for national reconciliation and development of the North, which he has on his agenda. This is the hour to show his statesmanship and leadership.

The IDPs have not been fully resettled yet. There are still about 100,000 in camps, while others are on the road. The A9 has pockets of camps alternated by army bunkers. They still live in tiny huts with hot tin or plastic roofs out in the scorching sun, which is inhuman and contrary to our religious philosophies, especially Buddhism. Many IDPs are innocent civilians caught in the conflict. True enough there are stretches of A9 and land earmarked for demining and these mines will be eventually removed to make it safe for settlers.

Over 11,000 former LTTE cadres are now held in 18 State rehabilitation centres. Many are teenagers and children who surrendered in the final stages of the war. A recent visitor to one of the camps says they look healthy, relaxed and fed. But anxiety remains about their release and resettlement. The children should be returned to their families as early as possible.

The IDPs need to be provided with proper housing, at least, with cadjan sheds, walls and elevated floors, like the bunkers. These people have suffered long enough and need to be urgently relocated and rehabilitated and given a livelihood. There are lots of unclaimed land and dilapidated, bullet-ridden, houses and stray cattle. Each family could be given a plot of land close to the water tanks and lakes to grow their food and fodder and make a living. GOSL has given small grants to some families for resettlement which is clearly insufficient, since things are very expensive now in Sri Lanka and transport costs have escalated.

Paranthan cement factory should be reopened soon. Clearly the country needs foreign aid to rebuild the North.

Fortunately the medical facilities in the Cheddikulam IDP camps have been commendable through the efforts of the Disaster Management Unit of the Health Ministry. They were mostly Sri Lankans and NGOs who gave their best under trying circumstances, a noble effort all around. If not for their expertise there would have been epidemics in the camps during the rainy season. I was associated with their work, as IDP aid coordinator.

We applied for a grant from the Australian and Victorian Governments to set up an Orthopaedic rehab unit in Vavuniya hospital. Nothing has been received yet. An ambulance destined for Vavuniya through the efforts of the Rotarians in our Council in Melbourne was redirected to Jaffna by the Ministry, where it was most needed.

Those IDPs with homes should be encouraged to go back. Those with relatives and friends in other parts of the island must be encouraged to seek their assistance in resettlement and GOSL should facilitate. Those with relatives abroad are in a better position to help financially. The banks are now operating and each family needs to be sponsored by a relative or friend on humanitarian grounds. Those expatriates with house and property should go back and resettle some of these IDPs as caretakers for mutual development and benefit.

The upcountry Tamils should also assist inviting these IDPs to the estates. They are a good human resource and labour that could be utilized gainfully in more salubrious climes. Integrating these people in the East with the Sinhalese and Muslims is another option.

These IDPs and cadres (once screened) have to be given vocational and technical training and I am confident that the Ministries of vocational training and technical education in Colombo with Australian connections and with a wide variety of expert tradesmen and instructors could take this on board and help the technical colleges in the North. Vocational training is most important, including hospitality and tourism. I was amazed to see the large number of Sinhalese tourists in Jaffna during the independence week end. Another aspect for development is sports. Cricket and soccer should be encouraged by sending coaches and arranging interschool matches between the North and South.

Expertise with livestock and dairy farming can be readily obtained from the Ministry of Livestock, NLDP and the VRI in Gannoruwa. Short practical courses for students, veterinarians and field officers are regularly conducted in Gannorowa, Trincomalee, Anuradhapura and Pollonnaruwa. Dr. Nimal Chandrasiri, additional Director, a colleague of mine, and others in the Ministry of Livestock are very willing to help the North. There are short courses in artificial insemination, diagnostic laboratory techniques and value adding to dairy produce that are particularly useful. Breeding and cross breeding of cattle and buffalo are also important for the farmers. Jaffna has an Animal Husbandry department but no farm at present. There are several private farms in Jaffna and Vavuniya that may like to link with Jaffna. I have requested Jaffna University to contact the Bishop of the Church of South India, Jaffna, who has 2 farms and showed interest during a recent meeting I had with him. GOSL should now allocate farm land to Jaffna University to develop dairy farming and establish a research station.

Help may be obtained from the Danish Government. Expats may also like to invest and they should be given incentives and concessions to do so.

Goats are more suitable for home farmers and easily manageable. They are good for both milk and meat. Suitable Asian breeds are now available in the South. Ceylon Tobacco has a well established SADP program for poor farmers in the central province to uplift farming. Farmers are given a small plot of land for farming and 2 goats or a head of cattle. Rotary Kandy Metro is willing to help with Rotarians in Jaffna and Trincomalee to get this program going. Supermarkets requiring fresh milk, vegetables and fruit like Cargills Food City, John Keells and Laughs should also help. Banks could also chip in with loans to farmers.

Revitalizing the Palmayrah industry is also vital to the North and their culture. Gone are the palm fences and roofs in many of the houses in town and suburbs. This is sad and alters the landscape.

My main mission and focus in Jaffna was education – university, vocational and technical. There seems to be a serious shortage of lecturers in Jaffna University, particularly in Medicine.

I have spoken to the Dean/Medicine Colombo, Prof. Harsha Seneviratne who is most willing to help. Further, I met Prof. Malkanthi Chandrasekera, Head, Anatomy & Dentistry, Peradeniya, who is also keen to help Jaffna, personally. This has been transmitted to the VC and Dean in Jaffna. Likewise there are several of my colleagues in Sri Lanka and overseas – UK, Singapore & Malaysia, who are keen to teach honorary in Jaffna.

Prof.S.Arulkumaran (London) and Dr. C.Anandakumar (Singapore) are most willing to help. There are also Indian colleagues who are keen to help through Rotary, who have already brought a team of eye specialists to Trincomalee last week.

As a specialist in BioMedical education & research in Australia (Monash, La Trobe & Melbourne Universities) for over 30 years, I believe strong links should be made to facilitate:-

1. Staff exchanges and training
2. Student exchanges – undergraduate & post graduate
3. Curriculum development & innovation
4. Evidence based Medicine – teaching & research
5. Teaching with multimedia, computers & websites

Such links will enhance teaching with expertise from the South and overseas and help build bridges.

As for BioMedical research, I believe there is a shortage of funds and severe competition for what is available. The Ministry of Higher Education should allocate more funds to the North and use the expertise of the Postgraduate Institutes to direct research important to the people. Research should concentrate on the immediate needs of the community as a consequence of the war. Epidemiological, statistical and sociological studies should be intiated by staff and graduates with a view to obtaining future grants in Sri Lanka and overseas:-

• Orthopaedic surgery & rehabilitation
• Prosthetics and physiotherapy
• Counselling of patients traumatized by war
• Psychiatric care
• Child and mother care
• Hearing & eye care
• Orphans and their management
• Geriatric care
• Burns and wound healing

This needs to be expanded to Nursing and Paramedical sciences such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy, prosthetics and orthotics, speech therapy as is done in our universities in Australia. There are doctors like Narendra Pinto, Gamini Goonetilleke and Rohana Hathotuwa (Ninewells Hospital) who are willing to help. These are avenues we must explore for the good of the war-effected victims in the island.

All one needs to do initially is to formulate surveys and questionnaires and collate the statistical data on computer and create an authentic data base. Doctors, nurses, paramedics, schools, teachers, students and community groups could help to collate data. Most of this type of research is underway elsewhere aided by foreign expertise. The results can be rapidly presented at the annual sessions of the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science in November or December. Awareness of the need for funds should help linkages and collaboration with universities.

This research will also help getting grants from overseas organizations based on evidence and facts. A professional submission backed by statistical data is invaluable to justify any grant application.

In Science, the Departments of Zoology in Colombo and Matara are willing to help Jaffna in teaching and research. Prof.W.D.Ratnasooriya ( 3 times Presidential award winner for research) is already helping in examinations and moderation. He has immense experience in curriculum development and herbal research.

Prof.Preethi Randeniya has agreed to help organize a course in Molecular Biology and Immunology/Parasitology. Prof. Eric Karunanayake (Molecular Biology Institute, Colombo), I am sure, will also help. This institute was funded by Sweden. Needless to say this is the ‘in thing’ in current stem cell therapy all over the world. This could be open to medical students, as well. I met the head of Zoology in Jaffna about this proposal and requested her to contact Prof.Randeniya.

Prof.Amerasinghe of Matara has very kindly agreed to help Jaffna in Fisheries. She gets experts from all over the world to advise and help. Prof. Sena de Silva an eminent marine biologist, a colleague of mine, helps both Matara and Kelaniya.

This is the way to go to get all the help you can get. Fisheries in the North has suffered a lot due to security reasons, even along the shores. We also need to explore the prawn and fish culture in the lagoons and water inlets with proper scientific expertise. Live crabs could to be harvested for export to Singapore, a delicacy there. We need to get foreign aid and experts from Norway, Sweden, Australia, India, China and Thailand who are well ahead in both sea and inland fisheries. All this means dedicated work by our academics and researches.

In conclusion, we need the expertise of the expatriates, particularly Tamils, from all over the world. They have to help the people now or never. The people need to kick start their lives and economy. There are experts in all fields such as medicine, science, biotechnology, farming, livestock, teaching, research, marketing, business administration, engineering, architecture, accountancy and computers. They need to be invited by the VC Jaffna, the university Council, faculties and other organizations in a well co-ordinated program or even on an individual basis. There are many Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and Burghers in Sri Lanka who are willing to help. An administrative unit must be set up to harness this expertise without red tape and bureaucracy.

The experts have no time to waste and their work is honorary. We need diplomacy and common sense to achieve these goals and please make them welcome for the sake of the people.

Prof. A.Henry Sathananthan, Professor of Monash Immunolgy & Stem Cell Laboratories, Member Diaspora and Expatriate forum Life member Sri Lanka Association for the advancement of Science.

- Asian Tribune -