JANUARY 2019 : SRI LANKA : Memories of a volunteer : Postscript

Two weeks after I flew home to Australia the Boxing Day tsunami hit the east and southern coast of Sri Lanka, devastating communities in its path.

Kilinochchi, with its limited resources, became a safe haven for so many displaced families.

Soon after, in late 2005 hostilities were ignited again between the Tamil and Singla forces, which lasted until 2009.

During this time I was in contact with several of the students from the English College and followed their tragic stories.

Sutharsiny

Sutharsiny suffered much in the following years. She lost her daughter in the tsunami and was displaced several times from her coastal village of Vempady. In 200her family, her husband and another daughter born in 2005, were placed in a camp in Jaffna, where they lived until the end of the war.  Her poignant letters reflect the hardship and sadness of a community craving for normality and peace. Her final letter in 2009 finished with “There is a school opened in the IDP camp. There are 1500 students and 84 teachers. I am teaching English and Maths. It is difficult to teach here now because we have nothing with us. Only the knowledge in mind.”

Gobi

killed in 2009

Piraveena

Piraveena married a Tamil man in Zurich, and now has a daughter, and was able to escape the deprivations of the war.

Boby

Boby lived in Kilinochchi until she was married and lived most of the war on the border town of Vavuniya. She, her husband and son were able to receive refugee status and immigrated to the UK after the war. She has a job in a migrant centre teaching English.

Uthaya

A letter from Uthaya in 2009

“The war came to an end this year May 17th and we entered the SL army controlled area May 19th. We were in the IDP camp from May 19th until 30th October. In the camp we can’t get enough water. It was very hot in the tents where we stayed. Most of the people suffered from many diseases. We couldn’t go out from the IDP camp. We had no freedom. I have two sons. Both of them had many difficulties in the camp. My son at 8 months injured on his knee (gun shot) in Wanni. Now we are very happy. We were released on October 30th. We were there for six months. Now we are in our ancestral home which is in Chulipuram, Jaffna. We had lost everything. Many valuable things. But I bought the Grammar Book (Raymond Murphy) which you sent.”

Komathy

The last I heard from Komathy, as her brother lived in Canada,she was hoping there might be a possibility to follow him there.

After the tsunami, in early 2005, and when tensions were rising between the Tamil and Singla armies, Kofi Annan, the then Secretary-General of the United Nations, was refused entry by the Singla government, to assess the damage. He sent this conciliatory message. 

By 2009 many more than the 64,000 people had been killed and displaced.

M

DECEMBER 2004 : SRI LANKA : Memories of a volunteer : Sigiriya and Colombo

I stayed in Polonnaruwa for two nights so that I could visit the World Heritage site of Sigiriya. It is about one and a half hours from Polonnaruwa. So I organised a three-wheeler with another traveller for the day for 1300 rupees.

The journey was through small communities with souvenir stalls, rice paddies and scrubby jungle. The highlights were the sighting of a mongoose, dart across the road. There were also several porcupines, as large as wombats with extremely long spikes, tied to poles to entice tourists for a closer look - for a considerable donation, of course.

The mongoose

Porcupines used as a tourist lure for a price

Sigiriya or Lion Rock is an ancient rock fortress near the town of Dambulla. It is thought to look like a sleeping lion.The site is dominated by a massive rock 200m high. The site was selected in 477AD by King Kasyapa as his new capital. He built his palace on top of the rock, commissioning frescoes in caves and surfaces. It was abandoned as a palace on the king’s death in 495 AD and was used as a Buddhist monastery until the 14th century.

The entry to Sigiriya is spectacular as you realise the enormous size of the fortress and the immense achievement of the fifth century workers who created such a feat.

These gardens are the oldest landscaped gardens in the world. There are intricate waterways and irrigated gardens with natural fountains in the forecourt.

  

                                                                                                                 

From the base of the fortress you walk up a small staircase between two giant lion’s paws and begin the steep climb to the top. Well-established walkways transport tourists from platform to platform, to view the magnificent frescoes. Originally the king was carried up from the lion’s paws to another structure, representing the lion’s mouth.

The Sigiriya Damsels

These are believed to represent celestial nymphs and are similar in style to the rock paintings in the Ajanta caves in central India. These have been protected by an overhanging shelf and are in remarkable condition.

The surface of the fortress at the summit is 1.6 hectares. Although originally it was covered in buildings, only the foundations remain.

A gold and jewelled earring from the King Kasyapa’s reign, now in the Colombo museum, gives an indication of the opulence and splendour of the time.

The next day I caught the bus back to Colombo and met up with Margaret and some other volunteers for a drink and supper at the iconic Galle Face Hotel. A fitting conclusion to an amazing experience!

M

DECEMBER 2004 : SRI LANKA : Memories of a volunteer : Kandy and Polonnaruwa

With curfews becoming more regular in the North and my teaching completed, I decided to return to Colombo and do a few days’ travelling on my own. A big undertaking as now in my 50s, it had been 30 years since I had done any backpacking. As it happened it was such a positive experience, it was the catalyst for reclaiming the travel bug and began many more years of backpacking with my husband, Mark.

My memories “ I travelled in a three-wheeler to the bus station, through incredible traffic, with buses and cars cutting across us as we weaved our way. The bus ticket to Kandy is 120 rupees. It has air con for the two and half hour trip. We drove up the A6 and A9 highways but the longest part of the trip was leaving the bus station - 30 minutes. The policy is that although air con buses are more expensive, passengers are allotted their own seat but they only leave the depot once the bus is full.”

With not much planning time or forethought, I decided to do a whistle-stop tour of three historic centres in the hill district of Sri Lanka.

First I stayed in Kandy, the Sinhalese cultural and spiritual centre. It is set by a picturesque lake and has lush and green vegetation, in stark contrast to the dry, dusty north.

The town centre, with many shops and markets,  is close to the lake and there are many guest houses and places to stay near by.

I joined the throngs of tourists at the Temple of the Tooth (Sri Dalada Maligawa) on the northern side of Lake Kandy. The temple houses a most important Buddhist relic - a sacred tooth of the Buddha. This temple was constructed under the Kandyan kings from 1687. High security here after a bomb blast at the entrance in 1998.

I really enjoyed staying in Kandy. I appreciated the cooler climate and lush surrounds. The town was cosmopolitan with many bakeries, a variety of restaurants and some excellent bookshops.

Next stop was Polonnaruwa, a 4 hour bus journey along a ‘green and pleasant’ highway. 

My first impressions were very positive of a town with a fascinating history. Polonnaruwa was the capital in the eleventh century, mainly due to the absence of mosquitoes at the time. My first priority was finding accommodation and I found Devi Guest House for 750 rupees.

With excellent home-cooked meals

Polonnaruwa was the second most ancient of Sri Lanka’s kingdom was a royal capital for three centuries, dating from 1070 AD and the ruins of the dynasty are spread through 5 sites and are considered the best planned archeological relic sites in the country. The kingdom was a major trade and agricultural centre, due to the early development of efficient irrigation systems to ensure continual crop growth. The  city was invaded in 1214 by the northern Aryacakravarti dynasty when the Jaffna kingdom was established.

I started my investigation at the museum, wishing I’d paid more attention to my South Asian studies professor and had a better memory for all treasures I’d learnt about in the early ‘70s. The museum was first class with each room dedicated to a theme - citadel, outer city, monastery and Hindu monuments. (I’m sorry that the reproduction of these photos from a poor camera don’t do these items justice)

Here is a bird’s eye view of one of the sites

       

Late in the afternoon a few of us from the guest house walked down to the Rest House on the promontory by the Tank, an artificial lake, for sunset drinks.

M