A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Friday, April 28, 2017
Meethotamulla: A Tribute To All Who Helped & Lessons Learnt
By Mass L. Usuf –April 27, 2017
Firstly, a gracious tribute acknowledging the Sri Lankan army, the other
forces, the Police, the health authorities and several of those who
were and still are engaged at the Meethotamulla graveyard. Though I lost nothing, I felt that I was one with those who lost their loved ones or their possessions.
The
stories recounted were wide and varied. Sithy Fahima a resident and a
survivor whom I met recently said, “I felt the earth shaking and I ran
up to the gate. I saw the front house lady standing outside her home and
screaming ‘gewal kadan wetenawa’ (houses are falling apart). I told her ‘Akke’ (elder sister) come to our house. She shouted, ‘duwanna, duwanna’
(run, run) and I ran for my life. While running, I heard others behind
me also screaming and running but not for long. After a few seconds the
screams were silenced by the garbage.”
Fahima
in tears told me that Akka had been inquiring after her and her
children everywhere including the Grama Sevaka. When she saw Fahima both
hugged and cried out of joy. Fahima said, “during the recent floods
Akka and her family were in our house for a day or two. Her house was in
a lower elevation”. Later, even Fahima’s house was flooded. This
neighbourly affection made Fahima to invite Akka to her home when the
ground was shaking. It was sheer gratefulness that made Akka, a
Sinhalese lady, desperate to find out if Fahima had survived. What a display of pure humanity by both? As white as snow.
A
friend of mine lost his mother and two nephews aged 14 and 18. My
friend told me later that when he saw the house buried deep, he lost
hope of finding them alive. He had told the Army to leave it and go
further down probably they may find survivors there. I was thinking of
his humane gesture even at a time when hit by tragedy. I was there at
the Kolonnawa Mosque to participate in the prayers for the dead. I heard
that the bodies had been recovered the next day.
Sealed Caskets
After
the funeral prayer, the mosque authorities announced that the recovered
remains of the Sinhalese victims have been kept in the Kolonnawa temple
and near the CTB depot. They urged the Muslims to go and pay their last
respects.
Absolutely
dejected and overwhelmed by intense sadness, along with others I
visited the place near the CTB Depot and then went to the Kolonnawa
temple. Remains of the victims were kept in a row of sealed caskets. The
young and old and, the not so old. A framed photograph of the victim on
top of it. I can see in the face of the grief-stricken family members
an expression of incredulity. Their minds refusing to believe that they
are standing looking at the dead body of their loved ones. My mind told
me that to console them at a time of disbelief is not sensible.
Touching and Humane
I saw a video clip in the social media which showed several people around a Back Hoe. The clip shows a heap of garbage collected in the bucket and a human body precariously hanging from it. There
was a spontaneous commotion as they had recovered another body. In the
excitement, everyone was giving the back-hoe operator instructions –
“slow down”, “lower it”, “do it gradually” “a little more to this
side”. I heard someone saying, “gehenu lamayek neda” (a girl isn’t?). It was really painful to see that sight. It ripped my heart apart.
The
bucket was lowered and they delicately extracted the body from the
dirt. I think, I saw the words ‘commando’ printed in the back of their
dresses. They placed her in a stretcher and the clip shows one of them
covering the private part of this girl with whatever cloth that was
remaining on her body. It was so touching, humane and extremely
compassionate.
Flashback
A
white cloth was spread over the body and when it was about to be
carried away someone shouted, “hold on, the leg has been found”. This
statement immediately took my thoughts back to 39 years before.
Wonder
how many remember the Icelandic Airlines Douglas DC-8 plane crash off
the Katunayake airport, in 1978. The flight was enroute to Surabaya,
Indonesia, with a scheduled stopover in Sri Lanka to refuel. One hundred
and seventy-five passengers and 8 crew members died in the crash.
The
afternoon news over the radio carried it. I rushed from Colombo. At
that time, it was out of sheer curiosity. I did not know the approach
road to the crash site and I still remember inquiring from a middle-aged
person on a bicycle. He kindly offered me a ride to near that spot as
he was passing that place. He told that he was in the army returning
home after duty.
The
scene of the crash was indescribable. My curiosity turned into
humaneness. I saw some volunteers. I spoke to them and volunteered. In
contrast to the stink in Meethotamulla, here it was the stench of
decomposing human flesh, half burnt bodies and fully charred bodies. I
can still remember the putrid smell that enveloped the area. The
recovered bodies were placed on stretchers and transported to the
Negombo hospital morgue. The charred bodies were taken to an aerodrome
where a mortician was in attendance. We were working throughout the
night. I also remember sleeping, dead tired, on the tarmac, under the
shade of the Indonesian military transport plane, the next day. This had
come to Sri Lanka to transport the bodies to Indonesia.