All in a New year 2007

Happy New year but it begins badly here in Sri Lanka. The war has notched up a degree with fighting over the festive season and a news article today from the Chief of the Army saying “We have come forward in order to annihilate the common enemy for separation and protect the territorial integrity of our Sri Lankan Motherland and her nation,” so not a lot of hope for peace as the New Year dawns.

Well may be some signs; Bishop Rayappu of Mannar has started a petition to be signed by ordinary people, electors, addressed to all parties of the conflict, to return to peace talof hope ks. "Using productively our resources regretting our past mistakes of over 50 –years," it says "we can build together a peaceful and beautiful Sri Lanka, as children of mother Lanka."

But such evocations for peace are rarely given space by the dominant forces on both sides of this intractable conflict. But there are other signs too. Recently a Dhana was offered to senior Buddhist monks by the Archbishop of Colombo at his own home. A Dhana is an offering to monks which also demonstrates a respect for their revered position in the community. This I hope will go someway to decreasing the anti-civil society rhetoric of the more chauvenist and nationalists voices in some sections of the Buddhist community here. But there's a lot more work to be done in breaking the isolation of the Buddhist Sangha some of whom seem firmly wedded to the concept of a Sri Lankan state historically 'gifted' to the Sinhalese people. Not a good basis on which to build a just, multi-ethnic and multi-religious society.

Hopefully, with Caritas Sri Lanka and other partners here in Sri Lanka, we can continue the slow and painstaking process of trying to build peace in this much divided society.

Waste and Wanting

A quiet afternoon in Anderson Road there there was that often heard cry of a street seller passing my gate. I would normally resist the knocks and bell rings; 'just another attempt to make a fast buck', I thought. But something made me go answer the bell and there was Ruwan, a 35 year old father of 4 kids, on his bike looking for anything he could re-cycle. 'Do you take old newspapers?' I asked.

His eyes lite up 'Oh yes Mr, how many you have?'. Not only would he take old papers he offered to pay for them too. I went into my office and emerged with a ton or two of old newspapers that had started to become a major health and safty hazard. Now imagine cycling this bike home? In this picture he is only carrying half the bundle.

Like in so many other poor societies, here in Sri Lanka many make their meagre living from other people's waste but sadly not in plastics. Only yesterday I felt I was bitten by a showl of plastic bags when swimming on the mount Lavinia Beach. Imagine my delight, but complete incomprehension, when I saw announced in the news that production of plastic bags and wrappings, under 20 microns, will be illegal from 1st January 2007. Well so is extra-judicial execution but that runs rife.

Some hope for 2007.