We are creatures of our experience and we should use that to make a better world

Social media broadly attracts an audience in Sri Lanka, that reflects the societal culture, namely of ridiculing someone we envy, rather than praising them for what they have achieved. That kind of behavior is also reflective in the massive negative campaigning of the Presidential Election that is wholly biased towards character assassination and speculation, but little analysis given to evaluating the vision propounded and means to reaching that vision.

Much of this as I repeat as the heading is because we are hardwired that way, a particularly brutal characteristic of Sri Lankans, that have stifled creativity, advancement and achievement, instead overloaded with envy, backstabbing, false accusations especially in bringing down able people and ideas as being somehow anti Sri Lankan, when the whole basis of racism and division that is propounded is what is anti Sri Lankan. In my opinion, social media has given vent to some base allegations of people who are so racist and bigots, they can never be convinced they are!

I shudder to think, how they can let go, of desire or feeling in Buddhist Philosophy as they are simply consumed by hate against a person, or what they stand for instead of understanding their point of view and articulating rationally why you disagree. In this process, it becomes clear how false some ideas are, and can be torn to shreds when exposed.

We are concentrating in this election on a subject called Security, that frankly is not the major concern in Sri Lanka as it is security of food, of the ability to go on the road without being killed or ability to say what you want are not going to be secure. It is also a false security. After all more than those who died in the Easter bombing die on the roads every month, for example and we are doing prescious little to reduce that carnage, and we are trying to fund more security apparatus, instead of securing the hearts and minds of the people of Sri Lanka to secure the nation from dissension.

I can’t think of a more decisive election, where people could end up being so insecure they will leave the island in drovers, nullifying the claims made about ensuring security. They are only going to help a few people feel more secure at the expense of the majority who will be left to their own devices.

It is a story of smoke and mirrors. Like I wrote a tag line of my creation, “What you see isn’t, what you don’t see is killing you – water food and air for example!”

Even well educated people expound the most ridiculous stories to back up their arguments. One such that I discovered today, was attributing the development on Galle Face to Gotabhaya, as the initiator, where land was sold to foreigners, part of the former Army HQ. Why then is one of the tag lines of the GR campaign to review assets sold to foreigners? It is simply a mischievous election gimmick used for political gain, by pretending a holier than thou mentality. No one is free from those allegations.

So instead of taking this negative line, they could have turned it the other way, by saying we did it to maximize the development potential of our country by selling the Rights to the Port City to the Chinese, for the long term benefit of SL.

In this game of “who can fool the public more” kind of politics it is the hapless voter that falls on the way side. We must realize that rogues of the worst order are even on the stage of the two principle candidates and our system does not offer a real third force, as either of the principle two have fooled the voters that the choice is between them or us, and we are cleaner, better, and capable of delivering.

The whole debate is fraught with promises that can never be kept, taking extreme sides, to secure your base, similar to how Trump won the rural voter by frightening him that it was only him who could improve their lives from an international conspiracy against USA, by making America Great Again.

Of course it worked like a dream as the people fell for it, but the deliverer of the message is the biggest culprit of using the ideals he is championing against and there in lies the dilemma faced, as only one side is seen by the voter, not necessarily the true identity.

For example, we may see Sajith as a people person going to deliver, but on the other hand he may be in reality merely a pawn in some other persons game, put out there to fool the masses.

Similarly, we are told GR is his own man, who has a vision different to MR, and will be able to implement it by weeding out the rogues and rif raff that inhabit the platform. He may succeed, he may not, we are merely taking a gamble that he will.

In this, any past misdeeds and allegations of criminal conduct, we hope can be laid to rest till the person is out of office, not to haunt his office, and prevent his ability to deliver on his promises. These issues then ask more questions than they answer and both parties have selected questionable candidates to deliver a new order!

Conclusion

We should return to our personal gut feeling, and hope we are right in our choice. If we feel neither will or can deliver, then you choose someone else, instead of tactical voting but I believe the tactical vote is still available if you use your second and third preference wisely.

This is where the teaching of the Buddha come to play. He has specifically said that when we do something we must do it for a purpose and an outcome we expect. So why can’t we use the same principle in making choices at elections? We then have a conscience that we gave our vote, no matter how anyone else did theirs, to the person we believed could deliver on our vision, or at least as the least bad of the whole bunch of thieves, if we think that way.

We should follow our best instincts, not be etched to a particular color for the rest of our lives. In short we must all be swing or independent voters, who carefully weigh the pros and cons in making our own personal judgment free from coercion, another terrible matter in Sri Lankan politics. After all our vote is secret, and we should be able to give that to who we want, not what someone else directs us to.

The most important point in making our choices, is to use your own experience of life that has taught you lessons and follow your gut instinct, you can then sleep well knowing you were not influenced by anyone else.

The often heard evaluation which is sad in SL is that we say who we vote for is the least bad option, while we have not even evaluated most of the candidates partly because some have convinced us we will waste our voter by so doing, and others point to the need of tactical voting to keep their devil from being elected.

One other very important point I would consider is the overall benefit to the country, which may not help you, in fact by voting for your candidate you, yourself could suffer, for the greater good. One example here was the Land Reform carried out in the early 1970’s where some of the proponents lost a lot of their own land in the process.

I don’t believe most voters put the country’s interests at heart, and only look at what is perceived as best, that is in fact it may not be, but the fake news they follow may give them that impression. So the mandate is grossly illogical based on falsity.

In summary, I would remind that the GUT instinct is the only way to go, no other course of action will you be able to sleep at night with. Don't fret about the result. That is simply out of your hands.

Our bankers are the shits, their lending practices are the pits, their masters are real gits, and the people who are dim wits, cannot see the light when obscured by tits!

Entrepreneurship is encouraged, but teaching financial management, and providing insurance for economic downturns is not done by the formal sector

The ONLY last resort of turning to the 10% a month interest charging money lender is a license to commit suicide in this economic climate. NO wonder there is slow growth and neither Presidential Candidate has a ready solution to offer.

We live in very uncertain times. Depite the CBSL order to reduce lending rates those benefiting are the larger borrowers who have a credit history, and managing to pay, albeit with difficulty. The critical sector, the SMEs needing Rs5M or less in working capital, or similar business development loans, the true engine of our economy, up and down the country, in every town and village, do not have access to such. 

Only larger organizations with business men who are able to use their crony capitalist credentials to obtain loans, have interest waived, and grease the palms of tax inspectors to further benefit from the CBSL interest lowering windfall. If all that fails, they have a politician who will demand that the state banks lend to this deadbeat, resulting in 90% of the defaults of State Banks.

The article by WA Wijewardena in today’s FT illustrates three examples of enterprising people who don’t have access to funds, and resort to the village money lender whose rates of interest is a recipe for a “License to commit suicide”.

I have maintained all along that the SL Banks pride themselves in making the biggest profits of any company in SL. However it is due to their sheer greed, using collateral for lending, so they cover their backsides many fold, are of NO help to the up and coming businessman, the back bone for recovery and empowerment for youth to take risks and grow the economy.

The Airhead and the Warhead seeking our vote simply cannot comprehend this simple task, and they don’t have advisers with brain cells who can either, so we the public are left to rue another lost chance, as the name of the game in politics is to make promises that sound good, but don’t mean a hill of beans to the economy as they are EMPTY PROMISES!

How and when can we educate our voting public that we need an army of practical bankers, who have their ear to the ground, able to identify a good business proposition from a con artist, and lend to this sector that is the true engine of growth. Even I have approached banks for small loans, less than Rs1M, but branch managers don’t use discretion asking instead for mortgage on land worth many times more, are they serious?

http://www.ft.lk/columns/Fixing-lending-rates-and-waiving-farmer-loans-two-policies-that-do-not-augur-well-for-borrowers/4-687972

Remembrance of HA Sirisena who troubled none and had no enemies, isn't that enough?

The life of HA Sirisena my man in Ratmale, who looked after me and my property for 8 years (b 18 July, 1953 – d 14 October 2019)

This tribute is written of a good man, who lived, brought up his family, married off his two children and who left them living with their families in adjoining houses now with a total of 5 grandchildren.

He did not achieve greatness in the sense of how we judge success, but please remember we all live and die, and few achieve notoriety, another form of greatness in the eyes of the public.

He had died around 5 am on the 14^th and the funeral was at 3pm on the 16^th. Finally, and quite unusually for this area, at the time of the last religious rites and up until he was buried, the skies opened up like nothing and it rained so heavily, it was merciful that the sheds put up were large enough to continue with the proceedings without delay. However we were all drenched in our walk to the gravesite and while we watched when the coffin was put and covered over. Only then did the rain cease, only to re start half hour later into the night.

He is buried with the forest surrounding his grave site, so I am happy he has the forest and the sounds of the forest around him, just like how he lived with the same sounds around him at my place, which did not have electricity, also in the middle of the forest and none around even in shouting distance from the house, in complete darkness.

He was born in a village in the South of Sri Lanka between the villages of Werakatiya and Walasmulla in the heart of Mahinda Rajapakse Madamulana home range, and is closely related to Thomaratne Don Franciscu born 16 February 1926 who was a UNP MP and a rival of Don Alwin (DA) Rajapakse of Madamulana, Mahinda Rajapakse’s father born twenty years earlier and the more influential elder brother, Don Mathew (DM) father of George Rajapakse.

He was the eldest of 7 children with the difference in age from him to his youngest sibling being over 16 years. So he left his home town in search of employment around 1977 and found a job in the Textile Mills that had been set up in Minneriya by the Sirimavo Bandaranayake Government, which later closed down as a result of the open door policy of the JR Jayawardene Government that succeeded.

He therefore married Chandralatha, called Chooti Menike, a very industrious and hardworking lady who even now had her own Papaya Cultivation in her front yard selling fresh papaya from the front of the house to whoever stops to buy some. I believe the land was her property, along with the paddy fields.

I even have photos of her working on my wattle and daub house plastering mud for a daily wage, many years ago, so she was equally an earning partner in the relationship as he was, to keep the home fires burning.

In addition to my monthly stipend I paid him, he kept a Betal Leaf plantation on the property taking care of it, and tending to it in his imitable style and plucking the mature leaves, before his evening bath in the lake, and he would then take them to the various shops from where they were sold to customers and that supplemented his income.

Latterly, however, some disease overtook it where most of the plants died and I had just bought 100 plants for him in Hingurakgoda, just a day before he fell ill, in fact that night he had wanted pork for dinner and we had searched high and low for it, but could only get chicken for dinner which was cooked and eaten before his attack that night, that led us to take him to hospital, that night being the last he was able to spend on my property.

Once he fell ill and the property was not guarded at nights, the elephants moved in and destroyed what was left, including the betal plantation, so I guess that was just an end of an era, where I have to begin again, concentrating on just oranges and lime to be planted in between the mature trees, as they are the only crops that are usually safe from elephants and monkeys.

All in all, he was given whatever he had asked for in the last few months, and except for the few weeks in the ICU his demise was swift with minimum of suffering. He admitted it was his fault in not taking his medication when he should have all these years as he was a heart patient of long standing, so it was only inevitable that he would have an attack that could kill him sooner rather than later and he pushed his luck this long, that is about 5 years living the way he wanted.

Most of all I was so happy when his daughter told me he was so pleased that her daughter had topped the area with 161 marks in the Grade 5 exam a few days ago.

A nephew, that is a son of one of his sisters gave the vote of thanks at the funeral and made it a point to mention my name and his work with me at my home, to say that was what he had been doing up until his demise. I was also asked to make a speech at the funeral but declined.

His 6 younger siblings attended his funeral and I spoke with his three younger brothers, at different times to give them some idea of what he was like, and what he liked to do and what he in fact did for me. I did not meet his 3 younger sisters who were also there. His youngest brother has a herd of buffalo and supplies curd to shops in the area, and has built a business based on the quality of his product.

Sirisena suffered a heart attack while I was with him over a month ago, and had been admitted to the ICU of the Polonnaruwa Hospital, which had released him,  after a few weeks, heavily medicated, but with the knowledge that he was not strong enough to undergo open heart surgery for blocked valves, due to both diabetic and kidney failure.

While when we said our good byes on October 5^th when I returned to Godagama, I had a premonition that it may be the last time I saw him. In fact while we had a few minutes to chat while he was seated in my veranda, I asked him how his family were financially, and if they had the basics to live and he was in the affirmative, as his son had a good job at the DWC, and though his son in law was only a small farmer, with little land, he earned his living doing daily labor to keep the home fires burning. They were not poor, but did not have any financial reserves, living primarily from day to day only.

I had in the previous week bought him a new phone, as his phone had finally packed up, and I had also personally taken him to have his eyes tested to Hingurakgoda, but was told that he should first consult a surgeon as his eye sight seems to be non-static, and possibly needs to be tested for other complications first, before even being able to write a prescription.

Both due to his illness and the need to sort matters out with regard to getting an electricity connection, I had the chance of spending much more time at Ratmale this last month than I had in the past, as well as the fact that I had left my job, and so was both able to spend time a week before his death, not going anywhere else, as well as having the two days to spend with the family and their friends at the funeral having arrived on the night of his demise and left only the following day after the funeral back to Colombo. I therefore look on that as being fortunate!

I was told after his first stint in hospital, he had wanted to keep some cash with him to give the attendants who had put the catheter on him, so they would do the needful, and much to my disgust as he was removed from the ward to ICU just before he died of total heart failure, his new phone I had given him and money on the bed was stolen, most likely by hospital staff! I sometimes wonder about man’s greed even in light of a man who was to die within a few hours and had no one by his side at the end.

I took exception to the priest saying that he never came to the temple, when his daughter and wife did the needful to the temple in offering alms and food. Did they even know that he always listened to Bana and Pirith on the radio when he was in the house? Does that not signify an element of piety? He lived a good life and he has nothing to regret having brought up his family, who are inevitably going to miss, him, but that is sadly the circle of life.

Childcare in 2020 Sri Lanka – A crisis that has not been addressed adequately

This is a critical topic, obviously not one dick of the Presidential hopefuls even understands it, so will not even have a brain cell to explain this issue or worse include it in their manifesto or in discussions.

On the other hand we have just been presented with the message that part of the reason for the slow growth rate in Sri Lanka is the low labor force participation of females in Sri Lanka. Why do you think? It is a combination of many males who still have to grow up who think the women’s job is to keep the home, while he can go work and get drunk afterwards and come legless, having spent most of his wages and the wife merely has to do the needful on the pittance he gives her!

Trust me I know what I am saying as I have lived long enough in the rural areas of Sri Lanka to witness this. Added to this the modern day slavery our women endure in the Middle East to fend for their families and form the largest foreign exchange earnings for the country, with the second being the garment industry that employs females, who contribute to the labor force participation, but are not given their true place in society either.

So who can blame women, as those who add to the labor force have to leave families behind to work for the most part, except for the few married mothers who work in garment factories that pick them up from their own homes.

Given this background the childcare is left to grandparents, as we don’t have a social welfare net of foster care or homes where these kids can be looked after.

So what am I advocating in solving childcare, while at the same time increasing the labor force participation rate of women?

Temporary housing where families can live and flexibility of schools is one option, because increasingly, fathers and mothers work far from home, some do the silly thing of commuting daily, so kids don’t see them, others are boarded and come home at weekends or sometimes only once a month, where the kids are brought up by the extended family, usually grandparents.

Frankly, children need a stable home environment and often, if the parents cannot provide that the grandparents can fill the role effectively, with minimal damage to the child. If they in fact are the care givers, then they must be identified in the data base and assisted in doing their job, as it is a labor of love, unpaid and most of all under appreciated. This is another reason that women go into teaching so they can be home early, not because they want to teach well!

As one can see, there is a myriad of problems in child care and there is emphasis on the work place having a crèche to take care of children and allowing mothers flexible working schedules so that they can take care of their children, while holding down a job, contributing to the economy of SL.

So what is the job of the state in all this?

Simply to understand the issue, and then be an enabler allowing parents and even grandparents benefits when they are both taking care of children, while not being paid or mothers doing it while they are working. Being a male dominated society, the fathers being the primary care giver is few and far between, but nevertheless instances where they have to sacrifice their employment opportunities for this.

I recommend that we first build a data base of the census of affected children, and then analyze what if any help their caregivers need. I have always advocated the sue of the schools that being closed in villages for lack of teachers and students being attracted to the nearest towns. These properties can server as places where the carers can come to and form a series of crèches and pre-schools that fill this void.

It is a no brainer to use this property for both seniors and child care centers as well as pre-schools which can make a dying village vibrant. I see the schools that have closed turn into drug dens or worse, and some have fallen into ruin with lack of maintenance as the Govt. department which owns it has no alternative use for it! One has to look at the stock of Government Property everywhere to see the waste of public property due to the lack of foresight of the State Sector officers in utilizing the resources at their disposal for the greater good of their citizens.

The link below is to an article showing that this problem is universal and not restricted to Sri Lanka. So it is one of merely addressing this issue with foresight, and a plan to achieve the objectives I have set out earlier.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7545783/Grandparents-crisis-grandchildren-dumped-parents-Kinship-care-state-nation-survey.html

In Conclusion

In order to increase labor force participation of women in Sri Lanka to aid the development effort and improve the standard of living, we need to understand why it is fewer women work, and worse why it has fallen instead of risen, and take the necessary steps to reverse this trend, one of which is how to manage child care, with assistance from the state in turning closed schools into community centers where children can be brought up with love and extended family care.

World Tourism Day today - theme "Tourism and Jobs: A better future for all" Highlighting the emphasis on women as Sri Lanka Labor Force Participation of women is abysmal

Today is World Tourism Day - A timely article by the MD of SL Tourism, highlighting the absurdly poor Labor Force Participation Rate (LFP) for women in Sri Lanka (14th worst in the world) in a Country where two thirds of graduates are women! So it is not that our ladies are uneducated, they are not empowered to take charge as the male chauvinist pigs, and their scion token women, still dominate Diyawanna Island of shameless fornicators. We have preening prima donnas gracing high offices in the state sector who think the woman's job is still to make the tea! So good women aren't attracted to the Industry.

It's not the public sector that we should stuff our graduate females in Divisional Secretariats throughout the land or in downright questionable teaching jobs more as secure employment, but teach them languages and skills and engage them in being the front end of our PR Image of Brand Sri Lanka in showing the face of HR in Sri Lanka Tourism, where the Industry at present is bending over backwards to chase away tourists because of insincere ploys to extract every penny from hapless visitors to this Country, without a value for money service, which I believe the ladies of Sri Lanka can be on the front line to correct, counter and conquer.

Of course many readers, who are men do not understand the point I am making because they are only concerned about their own short term business model and not of the overall and long term model of sustainable tourism as part of the 17 Millenium SDGs for SRI LANKA, that they simply are not concerned about. Its time for a sea change in thinking to include women in all aspects of Tourism Growth, to fill this skill gap of HR in Hospitality at all levels, and provide them with safe, secure and free from sexual exploitation employment.

There is a cultural issue not addressed in the article, namely in encouraging females into this Industry due to hitherto connotations of sexual exploitation, that has to change actively and passively to get the best and brightest to follow this path.

One of the bug bears of the Tourism Sector is that they are losing good HR to overseas opportunities, I challenge that this will be less so if more women are trained and employed. They are more likely to be loyal to the establishments that trained them, as long as their path to advancement is not impeded. Something for the hospitality industry to think about seriously, as we have the HR, we are simply not attracting them, and empowering them. Growth and development Sri Lanka suffers as a result. We cannot even think that the moribund State will be of any assistance in this goal, so it is all over to you, the private sector to take the lead.

Charmarie Maelge I trust this is a sincere attempt to enhance the message you have given today, the theme being "Tourism and Jobs"

http://www.ft.lk/columns/Jobs-and-a-better-future-through-tourism-women-in-the-Sri-Lankan-labour-market/4-686558

When a Tusker kills another in combat ~~

We came across the tusker Revatha twice, once on July 30^th picture below, and then again on August 16^th after he had defeated Deegadanthu 1 in battle, so then what?

What is the story? The story is real, Elephants living in Sri Lanka, live on borrowed time, as the Human Elephant Conflict (HEC) is a continuous threat, especially dangerous for single male adult elephants and Tuskers who roam on their own, outside of herds that are protected by matriarchs who strive to avoid places of human habitation to protect their young, who are less likely to navigate their way through cultivations. To date HEC is NOT managed satisfactorily.

As if that was not a constant threat they have to deal with their natural instincts for procreation rights, so that the stronger gene pools survive and continue for future generations in order to ensure the survival of the species, a very natural means of selection of the strongest and hardiest to carry the genes into the future.

We follow Tuskers in Sri Lanka, as they stand out from the herd, and are beautiful to be photographed. The feeling of being close to these creatures is like none other to those hooked on Tusker sightings.

Kalawewa being the natural home of a high concentration of Tuskers, draws many repeat photographers and elephant lovers to see these gentle giants at play on the grass plains, during the season when the waters of the lake are down after cultivation, and before the return of the annual rains, which result in a migration into the forests, when the water level rises and the grass plains are submerged.

So when you hear of a known Tusker succumbing to injuries suffered in a fight with another Tusker, then another one bites the dust and there are so few in the pipeline to replace the lost ones. In the animal kingdom fights to the death are not uncommon, but when it happens to a dwindling number of tuskers in Sri Lanka, the outpouring of grief is due to the numbness we feel inside of us, as if a close family member has died. This past week with the demise of Deegadanthu 1 a tusker with long tusks, those who live on the periphery like Ali Ananda, who for the past 35 years has taken Tusker Lovers to see their objects of desire, how must he be feeling now? It is not just a livelihood, Deega is one he has seen, and in this particular instance cared for recently, by physically administering to his wounds, possibly caused by an earlier fight, while sedated by a Wildlife Department Veterinarian. It is he who takes the team of veterinarians to the subject once he locates the whereabouts.

These are personal stories of people who are close to these animals, who see the scars both of buckshot from being shot pellets by farmers and wounds from fights with other giants, usually for the procreation rights of females in Oestrous/Estrous cycle.   

We normally and these days frequently hear of the deaths of Tuskers less for tusks, but more falling victim to farmers guns, trap guns and other explosive devices designed to maim and starve, just as other regular elephants also suffer. Farmers try to protect their crops and do not segregate Tuskers from the regular elephants in making their decisions to hit back when encroached.

It is time we don’t just throw our hands in the air, and shrug our shoulders, but instead take action now to study the issue to ensure the survival of tuskers into the future, by preserving the gene pool, enabling an environment where procreation possibilities are increased, and the likelihood of tuskers mating, as compared with others increase, as even Tuskers only result in a fraction of new births being tuskers and so further study, research, resources and methodology approved and initiated. I cannot see any of this in the horizon, for Tuskers per se, whereas on my last visit to Kalawewa the numbers of babies were heartening.

The diabetes time bomb is already upon us, and why is there so little information and community action to alleviate suffering?

I recently attended a free clinic, Dr Hemal Fernando has been running for over 21 years, every Saturday in Pamunugama, Sri Lanka, a coastal hamlet not 20km from Colombo.

What hit me hard was the reality that most of the patients have diabetes, (80%) and due to that are more prone to other illnesses, and make surgery and interventions more risky. Furthermore, I gathered that if this doctor does not provide the free medicines, which he purchases in the open market, (not medical representatives samples) these patients would forego treatment, as they will not purchase the needed medications averaging Rs1000 for a two week prescription fill!

Cause

The primary cause of this epidemic in Sri Lanka, is the increasingly sedentary lifestyle, where people still eat more than the requirement of starch, in the form primarily of polished rice three times a day, and the increasing consumption of flour, mainly in the form of bread, added to which the traditional sweet tooth results in unhealthy servings of sugar with their fluids, whether it is tea or fruit drinks, served sickly sweet.

No amount of pleading by the doctor seems to work on the patients, even though they are sick, to adopt a change to their dietary habits, in order to alleviate the symptoms and hopefully even reverse their condition.

In the doctor’s opinion, based on over 20 years of performing this service, the people are too poor to substitute starch for the needed protein of fish and meats, which is the alternative to over indulgence in rice, polished at that.

Before the patients are seen their fasting blood sugar is tested, so the doctor who has been treating most of them for a while will be able to gauge the level of medication required, after performing the other examinations himself, which include a modern gadget that checks the heart rate.

Among that sample of 80%, a quarter are under 50 years of age, and two of the cases, they had over 300 count, meaning they had to be referred for insulin injections, which they would have to purchase from outside, as the free healthcare system will not provide them that. He even had to negotiate with the pharmacists to try and give them the pens free of charge for them to purchase the units of insulin to inject themselves with in the stomach.

How can we take steps to reduce the incidence of Diabetes in the general population?

The doctor made an interesting observation to me, saying he had read that low birth weight babies are more prone to diabetes in older ages and so asked a mother who has many children the birth weight of her children to ascertain how one of them, who came today for treatment had such a high blood sugar count at his age of 42.

Of course the curse is the poor nutrition, the lack of education on nutrition at pre-school age, when one can be weaned into eating healthy, a lost cause once one is older. Every patient was asked to attempt to switch some carbs for proteins for a change to arrest the decent into Diabetes.

This is not to say that even the wealthy with access to the best medications, don’t get the disease, but they too are worried, but are hidebound in taking action, as they are educate and aware or older and none the wiser, further reinforcing my point that a more nutritious diet at an early age, something easier to do, is the need of the hour.

A less active lifestyle with many kitchen aides for work, leaves a disproportionate percentage of patients being women, who are more than likely to be overweight due to the over consumption of rice and the lack of awareness of the unnecessary level of food intake, when compared to their husbands, who are more active and therefore less obese, but for their alcohol intake, an issue I will not dwell on here.

Unless the state or the government take the moral high ground and give this war on Diabetes the importance it deserves, the problem will just get worse and have lasting effects on the population. The Easter Sunday bombings are a walk in the park compared to the thousands dying of complication arising from Diabetes. So why is this not given priority.

Politicians in Sri Lanka have not taken the steps to improve the health and wellness of our society. (building a hospital to get more votes is not a solution, just providing care) This, especially when they have to say to consume less rice, a staple grown in Sri Lanka. It is this signal priority that is not getting across to the people to change their food consumption habits away from starch, as they are more concerned about electoral fallout rather than the death of their patients.

For the record, Dr Fernando is a Board Certified Cardiologist of the USA & a FRCP from the UK, as well as being one of the youngest MDs (doctor of medicine as opposed to the MBBS which is the basic qualification of doctors in SL) when he passed that exam in Sri Lanka in 1966. He counts over 50 years of experience, in both Cardiology and Internal Medicine, and keeps his knowledge current by following the latest developments in the profession.

My Observations

What’s more, he is the old school doctor with the training of merely using the stethoscope to diagnose most ailments, where today’s newly qualified physicians require a battery of tests, before they venture a diagnosis. That ability is worth its weight in Gold in a clinic such as this, at a church hall in the Shadow of a Church, where patient numbers demand quick diagnosis with minimal aids.

I told many of the patients that they are so fortunate to have an internationally renowned diagnostician attending to their needs, and has without any doubt both maintained their quality of life and provided basic health care, extending their productive and active lifestyles, for no charge. In short a gem in their midst, whose value will only be felt when he is no longer available to be of service.

Some patients have been regularly treated and medicines doled out for over 20 years, and personally vouch that the doctor is the reason they are alive today and are able to have fulfilling lives, the main reason for a person to live surely!

I recently wrote an piece on my social media page on the impending “Diabetes Time Bomb” expected to hit Sri Lanka as sure as day follows night, along with the link to an US article about how even Americans are foregoing treatment and hastening their life expectancy due to financial hardship, see below.

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db349.htm

It was therefore both a godsend to witness the social peril I was talking about, and to share with my readers a lay man’s observations that people with far better knowledge and access to decision making should have made a long time ago.

PS Below are some of the comments I made on my Facebook page just three days ago (22^nd August) about the subject I have covered.

Let this information be a salutary lesson to all. In the US approx 18% of diabetics are skipping medications, primarily because of cost, and inevitably their lifespan reduction is the price they pay.

Sri Lanka is currently faced with a NCD issue of diabetes of epic proportions, and there is little mass communication between the citizens and their government about how we can control this time bomb. There are many reasons, but one main cause is the over consumption of rice instead of only eating one rice meal as was done in history, when it was more nutritious, organic and partially milled, leaving the nutrients intact.

Lifestyle and nutrition after instilling discipline is the most important part of pre-school education, as it is difficult to convince those who have got used to bad habits. It is time we put MOST of our educational resources (instead of the present ZERO) to pre-school education for all, so we can build a new generation of healthy humans, instead of the increasingly sick nation.

Why are we ignoring the most important aspect of life, the basics of nutrition, of healthy eating, so we can be sick less, and be aware of everything good and bad that we consume, and the state redirect resources to ensure clean air, clean food and clean water all of which contribute to healthy living?

Frankly the people have been conditioned to waste their time on a totally meaningless Presidential Election, where no one of any value will lead us, in all honesty, and instead march against what is important, a healthy lifestyle so fewer people suffer. When anyone asks you who do you think is going to contest, or win the election? Just say who cares they will all kill us before our time anyway, and change the conversation to the real priority of the nation, WELLNESS!

Just go to the newly built grand wings of the Polonnaruwa Base Hospital, with much increased beds and facilities. The patients are spread in mattresses in corridors for lack of space, implying that no amount of increased beds is going to ease the bed shortage. We are simply becoming a nation of sick people, reducing productivity and going in reverse. Shortly the Chinese will finish the massive new hospital being built there also as a gift from China, only to cure illness not to prevent it! Don't wait for the whole nation to be bedridden before we take action, let’s begin now, and learn from history how to grow, eat and enjoy alternative nutritious food sources, while effectively DITCHING RICE as we know it, that is simply enriching the Paddy Mafia and destroying both the farmer who grows it and the people who eat it.

Why are the people of Sri Lanka not told the facts about their rice eating habits? Who are we afraid of? Aren't the overflowing hospitals proof of the impending cataclysm? Tell me if any of the potential presidential candidates even cares of about this issue which should be on the top of the list, not bull shit security or foreign domination, which will happen anyway if we are all sick! It is the wellness program that all our voters should be evaluating not the crap that is played out in the media by the prospective candidates, all of whom are playing to the ignorant gallery, instead of educating the gallery to the facts of life

Why are the rains that fall in the Western Province allowed to flow into the sea, when we have a desperate need for this water, especially for groundwater levels and agriculture?

The proof of a crisis is when the normal wells in the Gampaha District ran dry, with the falling water table and blame was laid on heavy water using Industries that are contributing to the economy and growth. For the purposes of argument, I will just concentrate on this area, and not the Country as a whole, but with the Tanks in other areas, there is better provision for stocking water, but even here, tanks must be rehabilitated to hold more water, then there is more available for agriculture and the incidence of drought conditions reduced.

The citizens ire should instead have been directed at the poor harvesting of rain water, and the state not sufficiently proactive in raising groundwater sources by directing rainwater to holding tanks to fill aquifers, instead of building more and more canals and drains to quickly send all rain run off to the rivers and ultimately to the sea, and prevent flooding.

My contention is we have to use the low lying lands, much of which are uncultivated paddy lands that are not economic to cultivate without assured water, as water holding basins with some intelligent planning, and to direct this excess water to increase ground water supplies, instead of the current fastest route to the seas.

It is apparent that in the world water stress index, Sri Lanka which should be at the bottom, meaning the best placed, is in fact only in the middle, despite all the rainfall.

We must also remember, that due to climate change, there is short sharp heavy bursts of rain today as compared with the past, necessitating a storage mechanism, whereas in the past slow drizzles did not result in water flows, instead would be sucked into the ground in home gardens, grasslands and plantation sectors. Increasing urbanization, more concrete and less space for absorption have also exacerbated the problem.

Water Stress – What is it? And why is it so important for Sri Lanka?

https://www.wri.org/blog/2019/08/17-countries-home-one-quarter-world-population-face-extremely-high-water-stress

Water Stress – The ability or lack thereof to meet human and ecological demand for fresh water; compared to scarcity, water stress is a more inclusive and broader concept.

Water Scarcity – The volumetric abundance or the lack thereof, of freshwater resources

Water Risk – the possibility of an entity experiencing water related challenge (scarcity, stress, flooding, infrastructure decay and drought)

In the report of the link above, Sri Lanka ranks 77 out of 164 Countries, with 1 being the most water stressed Country being Qatar and least water stressed at 164 Suriname in South America.

To summarize, despite however much rainfall we have, if we are unable to harness that and store it for use when we need it, and instead just let it go all the way to the sea, we could have high water stress, if our requirements/needs are not met.

IT IS THIS POINT that I wish to highlight and in this context relate it to the absurdity of drought conditions for the Western Province that has high rainfall and the state to take immediate steps to alleviate this stress, with better water management techniques.

We are being told daily that water is becoming more and more scarce, and so we as a nation must be cognizant of this, take elementary steps now to minimize the future shocks, and be prepared for ever worsening conditions of rainfall and flooding and drought conditions too.

It is often that we now see some parts of this small island having to deal with heavy rainfall, whereas other parts are suffering drought conditions, a very incongruous situation!

Summary

Why do we have a Government? The responsibility of the state is to look into the welfare of its citizens, and the access to water for our daily needs is of paramount importance in this regard, as a fundamental duty of the state. However, despite all the prognostications and pontifications that take place, no one in power, or seeking power has even picked up on this right and promised the citizenry that this will be a priority over others, as without water, nothing else matters, SURELY!

I simply fail to understand why in prioritizing what is critical, water does not come right up there as it is synonymous with environmental preservation as well a key component for the survival of the human race, that is we care!

You see what you want to see - It is worth realizing there is more to it than first impressions

The clicks below (in this journal it is above) are two parts of the same photograph. When I posted the original photo, my eyes were on the larger Tusker, so the elephants all around did not get a look in. I stumbled upon this again, and on a second look, got three for the price of one!

If you look closely, there is a baby tusker in the photo with the big one. Seeing them is just as important to seeing the big one. The little fellows are part of the herd. In ten or more years he will venture out on his own if he is lucky.

The second photo is also very interesting seeing the little baby elephants who had just come out of the water, still enjoying their time without a worry in the world, as they are closely watched over by the elders for protection

The moral of the story here is that, often we see only what we want, and miss out on the big picture. This is so common, we need to always reflect a while and consider a double take, wondering if we have either come to the wrong conclusion, or we have missed out on the big picture.

We are so used to coming to instant beliefs based on limited facts, unable, or not wanting to accept that, either our conclusions are wrong, or at the least warped, because we wish to only reinforce our prejudices.

In fact we must also be aware that social media such as Facebook, also attempt to reinforce perceived prejudices, by presenting, targeted adverts in the guise of news, that they believe we are more likely to be happy with, thereby giving value to the organization, person, or political angle that is paying for that privilege, In short we are being duped, and our initial beliefs further confirmed, because we are presented with even more evidence to justify our point of view, further strengthening our resolve, instead of giving us a chance to question them, mind manipulation for short.

Just something to think about I guess! 

Gun control in the USA and Second Amendment Rights – an opinion

To Americans brought up under the Second Amendment Rights, that permit citizens to bear arms, guns are part and parcel of the culture, where one can even purchase guns with minimal screening in places like Walmart, with 5,000 stores that sells almost everything everywhere in the USA.

WHICH CAMP ARE YOU IN?

There are three distinct actors in this debate. ONE –Those advocating strict gun control, even the abolition of the second amendment, on the grounds that this amendment is anachronistic, and almost unique to the Constitution of the USA and not to any other country on the face of the earth. TWO –Those who will hear of nothing, and don’t wish to change this right of the individual, and are vociferously represented by the NRA (National Rifle Association) that is well funded and lobbies in the US Congress, where lawmakers fear their strength in the heartland of rural USA. THREE – The Supreme Court that interprets the Constitutional Rights, when it comes up for debate, and where those advocating control have been singularly unsuccessful in getting an interpretation of the Constitution favourable to the abolition, or substantial restriction.

THE TROUBLE WITH MASS SHOOTINGS

Each time there is a mass shooting this question comes up for debate up and down the country, and the people have strongly held views on the subject. However in the 250 year history of the Country, the second amendment is seemingly unshakable!

So how do you shake it without upsetting the majority? Two thirds majority of Congress is required I believe to change the Constitution and there is no chance of that every happening. So given the ground realities and taking a practical stance, let us take the security of the person as paramount, and look at how fire arms have changed in 250 years.

IF you take protection of the person, then I should have the right to protect myself from harm, and permitted to carry a weapon, concealed upon my person or openly in plain sight, to both deter the aggressor, or provide security in case of attack. Given the fact that the right to bear arms is sacrosanct and there is nothing you or I can do about it there are just two avenues we can start by forcing a COMPROMISE that is partially acceptable to the citizenry. Then the debate should concentrate on what kind of weapon will give me this level of protection, and be compatible with the second amendment rights at the same time.

PROPOSAL FOR CONSIDERATION

It is quite obvious that many if not all the of the mass shooters, and remember gun crime is not restricted to mass shootings, though it is them that hits the headlines and starts the debate amongst the public, are carried out by people with certain personal issues, of anger against some group, or some past betrayal leading to some need for revenge, etc. The common denominator is that these people have some kind of mental instability. One must also remember that suicides are also gun related, when guns are freely available, however with Sri Lanka high on the suicide statistics, it is carried out by other means, negating this argument for gun control.

The second common factor is that these unstable individuals, seem to be able acquire high velocity, repeater assault rifles that can kill and maim numbers of people in a very short span, something that only armies or terrorist prevention militia need, and should not IN ANY CIRCUMSTANCE be freely available to anyone who wishes to buy them. The mere fact that any person who wants to can amass an arsenal in a short space of time is a frightening prospect, especially if this person is mentally unstable, and no one can predict when and where that person is liable to use it. That means NO ONE IS SAFE.

If that latter statement isn’t enough for a normal human being to say, enough is enough, we must control the types of weapons people can purchase, what is?

Of course there is a looming Presidential Election in 2020 in the USA, and if a candidate comes up with a compromise that they wish to enact that is legally likely to pass, then that must be a platform that would obtain majority support. People are not in extreme camps and it is time we test it out.

Of course in a Presidential campaign there are other issues that may be paramount relegating this depending when this matter is on the front or back burner as a result of a new shooting or mass killing.

Republican President Trump being from the rural red neck backing, ironically has the best chance of bringing this about, and be remembered for posterity, if he wants to leave a legacy, advocating moderate control that minimizes the likelihood of the unstable population getting their hands on lethal weapons. After all it is he, who says these people doing it are nut cases, without admitting that the Country does in fact have more than a fair share of nut cases, growing daily, and his off the cuff remarks, that are meant for his political base, further empowers the nutters to act, citing the President as a source of their inspiration! It is worth a stab, and there is nothing to lose, DON’T YOU THINK?