A True Statesman Looks At The Next Generation

By Karu Jayasuriya -June 6, 2014 

Karu Jayasuriya MP

According to Buddhist belief, natural disasters such as famine, floods and untimely rains occur in a country when it is ruled by unjust, wicked, corrupt and dishonest rulers. Isn’t that what is happening in our motherland today? I have no intention whatsoever to gain any political advantage from the disasters that our land is facing today, yet it must be emphasized that the pitiful victims of all these disasters are our innocent people who have been subjected to untold injustice and they remain helpless. If one pays even scant attention to what’s been happening recently in the country, it is patently obvious that the rulers of today have totally forgotten the fact that it was on the shoulders of the people they rode to power.

Instead of being sensitive to the needs of the people and attempting to solve many a problem that the people are confronted with today, the ruling cabal has chosen to ignore the people, their dire desires and problems and wants. But history bears testimony to the undisputed fact that those rulers who disregard the needs of the subject people would not rule for a long time although those rulers might think and plan otherwise. In that context, it looks like the end of the coalition Government led by the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) has begun in earnest.

At this very moment of penning these woeful thoughts, we have lost a minimum of 25 lives due to inclement weather conditions that prevailed in the country during the last week or so. 33549 men, women and children belonging to 7592 families have been displaced and become roaming refugees of these disastrous weather conditions. These statistics alone tell us a grim story that is only a part of the plight of our people.

We believe that it is almost impossible to avert disasters caused by natural weather conditions, but failure on the part of our officialdom to make adequate preparations for such disasters is unforgivable.

In the subcontinent, Sri Lanka ranks third among those who are affected by natural disasters. To deal with such disasters, we have established a special Ministry with adequate financial appropriations, yet the question remains whether these Ministries and monies allocated are being put to efficient and sensible use by those who are charged with the responsibility to do so.

Simply stated, it is with utmost sadness that we record that the authorities failed even to issue an elementary warning signal to those who lived in the most vulnerable locations where such disasters occurred. It will be almost impossible to accurately ascertain the true financial value of those lives lost and properties damaged and destroyed. But it is very necessary that a proper assessment is made of these disasters in order to manage such cataclysmic events in the future. One cannot deny the economic impact these disasters would entail and the ominous forecast made by the Asian Development Bank that by 2016 this country stands to lose investments amounting to 4.3 billion if disaster management is not properly executed should be borne in mind by all.Read More