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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Back to 500BC.
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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Tuesday, May 2, 2017
Labors still fight for the Rights
‘May
Day’ is celebrated on May 1 as a result of these struggles and people
take to the streets on this day signifying the fight for the rights of
the workers or labourers.
However, I this current era although labour issues are widely discussed
and debated, it has become an issue without a viable solution in sight.
However, today our focus is not on such issues affecting the labour
force, instead we decided to focus this article on a group of people who
although they are labourers, they never talk of their rights and they
feed themselves if they earn and if not bear their hunger. Yes, there
are many like this living in this country amidst the greatest of
hardships, yet we at Lanka News Web decided to pay a visit to a group of
labourers at 4th cross street in Fort. This set of labourers have no
proper times of work, no time to eat and be it night or day, they are
eternally busy.
Today
we focus on the ‘Natami’ labourers of Colombo Fort. These Natami’s
carry heavy sacks on their backs and the only thing protecting their
back is either a folded sack or their t shirt folded and
placed on their back for padding. Their lives are certainly not the
most comfortable of lives and for most of them and they carry these
heavy loads on their backs through their sheer determination and the
strength of their mind rather than their physical strength. Through rain
or sun these Natamis’ engage in carrying these heavy loads on their
bare backs just to feed those who depend on them. For them if they don’t
work and earn their daily wage their families have no way to survive.
Hence no matter what, they must work to feed their loved ones.
Most of these labourers are in the habit of chewing beetle and after a
hard days work, many of them indulge in consumption of alcohol as well.
However, most of these labourers engage in this profession to feed their
various addictions. Some are addicted to drugs while others are
addicted to alcohol but justify their addictions by claiming that they
only take these to get rid of their bodily aches and pains. Around 35
percent of these labourers are addicted to drugs while around 85 percent
of them are addicted to alcohol. Due to the background they hail from
these labourers are looked down upon by society. There are no
organisations to look into their grievances, no NGO’s concerned for
their wellbeing or no one to fight for their rights. In fact they have
no rights other than to cart these heavy loads and depend on the shop
owners to pay them for their services.
With May Day coming up we asked if they had plans to join the parade. “I
went for these rallys when I was a young man. Yet now with my family
responsibilities how can I go? If I don’t work a single day I don’t get
paid and then I wont be able to feed my family. Hence for most of us
labourers who work for a daily wage we do not skip work as then we have
to starve on that day. “To us it makes no difference if it’s a holiday,
new year, or any other celebration. We must work to earn our daily wage
and put food on the table for our families. If not our whole family will
be in hunger,” he said.
We may differ in the forms of work we engage in, but as a whole we all
engage in some form of work to provide for our families and make a
living. We are all interconnected in some manner and all cannot be
doctors or lawyers and even the labourer is a vital link in our society
and they play a vital role in our economy. Hence lets appreciate them
all and their contribution to society and make this labour day a day
that we truly appreciate the services of every worker in this country
irrespective of their social status.
Pictures and text by AshWaru