]]>

Wednesday, September 29, 2004 

Gampola’s beauty is no more By M.Ismeth

Gampola, the gateway to the upcountry, where has all your beauty gone? The once beautiful town is no more. It has so many shops and crowded streets that those who lived in that town earlier would now find it hard to recognise.

Let me start from the Gampola railway station which is now more than a century old. It has not seen the colour of paint for many a year. The station is a eyesore to the once beautiful town.

The first and second class waiting room is now locked for want of repairs. This is the only place where commuters can sit. The good shed is the same as it looked after the 1947 floods.

No matter which party is in power, no matter who represents Gampola, they have all failed to see the sad condition of the railway station down the years. No renovation has been done for years and it has not been white washed or painted.

Passengers waiting for the afternoon train to Nawalapitiya told the Daily Mirror, “It’s useless our saying anything about the condition of the railway station when the town itself is like a part of Dam Street or Pettah.

Take a look at Hill Street, the road opposite the police station. It was once called the Cinnamon Gardens of Gampola. The people who lived there could be counted on your finger tips. At the entrance to Hill Street was Dr.Wanigasekera, proctor Jonklass, and later on proctors Lucien Fernando and P.B.Gunatilleke settled down there. The others were Dr.Keegal, the late M.S.N.Omer Batcha, and the late K.N.S.Dawood. Incidentally it was Dawood’s son, the brilliant lawyer Nawaz Dawood , who died under mysterious circumstances in a hotel in then Bombay in the ‘70s.

There were the proprietor planter W.Simon, proctor Shockman, the late Dr J.C.W.Mendis, proctor A.M.I.Gunaratne, proctor Van Langamburg. His house was like a mansion and after his demise it became a crèche taken care of by Italian mothers, who finally had to leave after Mrs.Sirimavo Bandaranaike became prime minister for the first time. Now the crèche is looked after by locals.

The last house on Hill Street was that of the late Al Haj S.P.M. Haniffa, one time chairman and vice chairman of the Urban Council. Mr Mohideen sahib, a businessman, was one other occupant on that street.

Today it’s beyond recognition- there’s scrap iron dumped on the roadside with most of the property bought over by real estate persons and building houses all over the place. At one time in the good old days, you could hardly spot anyone on the road except those living there.

There has been no town planning at all in Gampola. It is useless blaming any single politician - they all have to share the blame for this gory mess not to miss out the Urban Council.

Gampola once boasted of having the Speaker of Parliament- the late R.S.Pelpola,Minister of Education, the late Dr.Badiuddin Mahmud, D.M.Jayaratne, the late Tikiri Banda Illangaratne -all of the first Sirimivao Bandaranaike government and the only UNP, MP the late L.B.Dassanayake.

The gateway to the upcountry had three petrol stations before one could turn onto Nuwara Eliya Road - Shell,Caltex and Mobiloil were conveniently located but not any more.

Senior politicians in the calibre of Sir Senarat Gunawardena, Major Pelpola, M.W.R.de.Silva, M.W.B.P.Dissanayake, S.M.Sheriff, and leading businessmen in the calibre of the late K.P.Nagoor Meera, S.M.A.Abdul Razack, Weeraratne,Y.E.M.S Eman Sahib, D.B.A.De Silva are a few names that come to mind.

Not forgetting the sporting personalities that were products of Gampola at one time and the leading football clubs, the old Gampola United had players like Sunny de Silva, Jabir, A.M.U.Marikar and one of the best goal keepers Gampola ever had was the late Mubarak, who saved many a shot by the awesome barefoot scorer of Saunders fame, Aziz Paramount Sports Club too had its star players such as P.S.de Silva,Bagoos,Zahir and others.Later on, more and more football clubs adorned the town of Gampola and kept its flag flying.

And let’s not forget the first goal keepers coaching camp that was held by Sri Lanka’s prince of goal keepers, the late M.M.Hashim Deen.

Gampola also held the first ever match between the two Colombo soccer giants Victory and Saunders in an exhibition match. Ram Banda was one of Gampola’s products who played for Saunders S.C in the latter years.

Cricket too had a place in M.Nizar of Kingswood fame who was the fastest bowler in his time and T.B.Kehelgamuwa of Dharmaraja fame.

Gampola has some of the famous colleges like Zahira, Jinaraja, St Andrews,St Joseph’s, and many more.

Some famous names may be omitted due to an oversight but that is not the issue at stake -the issue is when will Gampola regain its old pristine beauty and charm?


 

For country’s sake commence Kotmale Project swiftly, say engineers

The Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka wants the government to continue with the Upper Kotmale Power Project.

The institution said: The Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka notes with alarm reports appearing in the daily newspapers to the effect that the Government has decided not to proceed with the Upper Kotmale Hydro Power Project.

It was only in June this year that the Institution expressed its appreciation to the Government on its decision to proceed with both the Kotmale and Norochcholai power projects.

At a time when there is an extremely serious shortage of power and the Government and the CEB have been compelled to resort to the very expensive means of diesel generation to meet the power needs of the country, the Institution fails to comprehend this latest reported decision of the Government.

It is reported that the CEB is in an acute financial crisis with debts in the region of Rs. 26 billion. The only means (apart from very high price increases) of overcoming this critical situation is the commissioning of the Kotmale and Norochcholai power plants without any further delay. The present financial crisis has been created by the inordinate delays by various governments not implementing these vital large power projects that will enable the production of adequate and affordable electricity which will ease the already heavy burden on the consumers and will enable the rapid development of the economy.

The need to implement these vital power plants has long been recognised. This position was accepted by this very Government and the Minister of Power and Energy has repeatedly expressed the need and the commitment of this Government to proceed with these projects.

It is, in this context, that the Institution of Engineers is shocked to read of the decision not to proceed with this project and most earnestly urge the Government to proceed with both these projects with no further vacillation and delays.


 

‘There should be no hiding place in South Asia for child sex sellers’-UNICEF

Colombo, 29 September 2004 - Better enforcement against child traffickers and more cross border cooperation by governments in South Asia is being called for by the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF. At the start of a meeting to review efforts to stop the commercial sexual exploitation of children in South Asia, the agency’s Regional Director said, ‘there should be no hiding place for those selling and trading children for sex.

Dr. Sadig Rasheed added ‘it seems that more and more women and children are leaving countries like Nepal and Bangladesh and many are ending up being abused in a highly lucrative sex trade. While governments and law enforcement agencies must do whatever they can to protect children, a lot of problems could be stopped tomorrow if men in South Asia said ‘no’ to child sex.

The three day meeting in Colombo is set to review progress since the Yokohama Global Commitment of 2001, which called for greater efforts globally to protect children. Representatives from 8 South Asian governments along with children from the region and officials from 11 UN and non governmental agencies will be attending the event, which is to be addressed by the President of Sri Lanka, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga.

Because of links with organised crime it is extremely difficult to get reliable figures on trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children. But it is estimated that from Bangladesh about 300,000 women and children have been trafficked to India and 200,000 to Pakistan. In addition between 100,000 and 200,000 Nepali women and girls are said to be working in India’s sex industry. While not all those trafficked will be employed as prostitutes, a considerable proportion will have become involved in such exploitation.

(UNICEF Release)


 

Peace through health by Dr. Terence Perera,Member, MedAct.

The argument has been made that peace work is the domain of elites, formal leaders and diplomats. The primary task of health workers is health and why they should involve themselves in the work of peace? In answer to this question, there is the need to understand that war is a major cause of mortality and morbidity among the civilian population, of whom at least half, are children below the age of 18 years. Furthermore, a large proportion of this suffering is not the result of direct violence, but through collateral effects such as destruction of health-sustaining infrastructure and the increased vulnerability of millions of displaced people. Protection of health, therefore, by prevention, termination or mitigation of war or other conflict situations, seems an obvious concept for health workers to advocate.

Such work has been undertaken in recent decades under the framework of peace through health or ‘health as a bridge to peace’, by many individuals and institutions with WHO playing a lead role. Among the institutions involved, to name a few, are the International Physicians for Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), which was co-founded by Dr. Bernard Lown, an American and Dr. Evgeni Chazov, a Russian, twenty two years ago and awarded the Nobel Peace prize in 1985; the Medical Action for Global Security, (MEDACT) formed in 1992, is a UK organization of health professionals seeking to promote the right to health and peaceful existence worldwide; the McMaster University, Ontario, Canada, noted for its War and Health Programme.

The key concepts: The key concepts of peace through health, are discussed in two recent articles, one from the Centre For Peace Studies, McMaster University, published in the medical journal ‘The Lancet’ and the other in ‘Medicine, Conflict and Survival" (MCS), which is the International journal of IPPNW, for those interested in health aspects of violence and human rights.

It would be of interest to highlight some of these concepts as gleaned from these articles.

1. Redefinition of the conflict situation: The meaning of war is not obvious. Its meaning for a population is established by particular groups - social classes, military elites, media and so on. Health workers can refuse to accept these understandings and definitions and can promote different ones, such as was as a public-health problem leading to a population health disaster.

2. The discovery and dissemination of facts: There is an old saying that truth is the first casualty in war. The run up to the latest Gulf war suggests, moreover, that truth suffers well before hostilities begin. Misinformation is essential to fuel or prolong a conflict. It can be countered effectively only through the dissemination of accurate information. Health care personnel are often in a good position to provide such information based on statistical and epidemiological studies, with careful mortality projections. They could alert the international community to war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide and they might be in a position to describe the health consequences particular forms of weapons, such as nuclear, landmines, etc.

3. Healing of trauma: The physical and psychosocial trauma caused by war can slow down society’s recovery from war. They can also contribute to demoralization and lack of initiative, as well as lead to rigid patterns of thinking that could continue conflict and make it chronic. The health care professionals could be especially useful, if they can use methods of healing and rehabilitation that are linked to social processes of reconciliation and peace building. I wish to record here the study done in our own country by the Faculty of Medicine, Jaffna, on the physical and psychosocial consequences of landmines on civilians in the area and determine the priorities for rehabilitation of victims. (Reference. MCS - July September 2003).

4. Contribution to human security: Health is a crucial domain of security. Therefore, an adequate and equitable health-care system which addresses people’s basic needs give them an essential form of security. Health equity strengthens the sense of belonging to the society or state that has provided it for them. Without it they might resort to violence or war to achieve it by joining insurgencies.

5. Extension of altruism: It is said that health care is an institutionalized expression of human altruism. During armed conflict, this altruism tend to shrink, in that it is limited to compatriots. However, when health care can be extended to opposition groups, with the same compassion and professionalism as one’s own wounded or through variety of other means, a major inroad is made into the dehumanizing effects of conflict, which are essential for the prolongation of war.

6. Use of health superordinate goals: It has been documented that delivery of health care has been the basis for significant co-operation between parties divided by violence. A superordinate goal is defined as one that transcends the separate goals of parties to a conflict and can best be achieved when the parties join efforts.

A classic example is where UNICEF has pioneered the promotion of humanitarian cease-fires for immunization campaigns for children. Here, the superordinate goal is health of children. Brokering of ‘corridors of peace’ again by UNICEF, to allow the transport of medical supplies, is another. WHO has demonstrated the potential for health to be a unifying influence also through research action programmes and health-education programmes in conflict torn areas.

7. Conflict transformation: In this role, health workers are not unique in developing the skills in diplomacy, mediation and conflict resolution, but they will have unique opportunities to use them. They can bring together groups around superordinate goals associated with health, or to work with groups struggling to assure their security in a devastated environment.

For most part peace through health workers, preferred the analysis of particular case studies relating to conflict situations, to concepts and theory. The advantage of this approach has been that they have kept the work quite ‘close to the ground’. However, the need for a theoretical framework is being realized and the list of concepts outlined ‘does not yet constitute a theory, but represents a step towards a creation of one’.


 

Duty of everyone is to protect environment —`A0Justice Weeramanthri by Tharaka Gamage

The words: "We are not the owners of the land, only the trustees" are attributed to King Devanampiyatissa who reigned 2500 years ago and that concept of trusteeship must be carried on in our modern environment attitudes, policies and laws, said Justice C. G. Weeramanthri at the environment forum organized by the Central Environmental Authority at the Sri Lanka Institute of International Relations recently.

He said that environment laws are late comers in the modern international law and it was not well developed in the history of law.

He emphasized that every individual must be prepared to protect the environment and the subject should be taught in schools.

Addressing the forum, Chairman of the CEA said, that the environment is not the only CEA responsibility, people who throw garbage, people who fell trees, people who fill wet lands, are all responsible for environmental damages.

The chairman said the main purpose of the meeting was to have an informal discussion regarding the proposed Environment Forum and obtain views of participants for future activities.

The Forum comprised intellectuals, scientists and professionals.


 

Sri Lanka seeks peace - this time with elephants

Hundreds of Sri Lanka’s 3,500-strong elephant population are straying into human areas in search of food and water because of deforestation and drought, and farmers like P. M. Abegunawardana are desperate to keep them away from his remote village in northwest Sri Lanka.

Abegunawardana lost last year’s bittergourd crop to trampling elephants - then a rogue elephant killed his brother.

He spends every night in a tree house watching over his land to scare off the animals with firecrackers, and fears for the lives of his family.

"We want to protect our farmland from elephants, we want them moved away to another area," he whispered in his native Sinhala, nervously gripping his sarong as he watched a herd of elephants lumbering through a nearby patch of forest.

Suddenly the elephants picked up the pace and ran. The five-man team helping conduct the Indian Ocean island’s first census of its elephant population distribution since 1993 ran too in the opposite direction.

"Be careful, it’s very dangerous," cautioned wildlife ranger Sisira Kumara de Silva, noting down the size and characteristics of 35 elephants he had spotted. "It is hard to outrun them."

Park wardens even closed Sri Lanka’s biggest wildlife reserve in the drought-hit southwest of the country for fear thirsty elephants could charge at tourists.

Deaths on the rise

Each year between 150 and 160 elephants are shot dead or poisoned by farmers across Sri Lanka. Between 40 and 60 people are trampled to death, and the numbers are gradually rising.

"This is the area in Sri Lanka where the human-elephant conflict is most serious," said Manjula Amararathna, Assistant Director of the Wildlife Conservation Department in the district of Anuradhapura, 110 miles (180 km) northeast of Colombo.

A giant elephant skull sits by his office door, with red ink circling a bullet hole between the eyes.

"Using this survey, we can get an idea of how many elephants are in these villages, where the conflict areas are," he said. "Then we want to drive those elephants towards a forest area, we want to make barriers, use electric fences."

He thinks the elephant population is falling, but it is hard to tell. The last census 11 years ago was only partial, because Tamil Tiger rebels were waging a bloody war for autonomy that put swathes of the country off-limits.

But numbers have fallen sharply over the past century. There were about 12,000 elephants in Sri Lanka in 1900, and numbers plummeted because of the ivory trade under British rule.

Ivory poaching is rare now, and very few of Sri Lanka’s Asian elephants - which are smaller than their African cousins and have smaller ears - have tusks.

"When I was younger, we did not have this problem. The elephants have moved here because of deforestation," said Abegunawardana, never turning his back to the elephants.

"I love elephants, but I get angry because our crops are damaged. If we can stop the deforestation, it will help stop this problem too." (Reuters)


 

Iron ore deposits in Uva by Milroy Ratwatte

A recent geological report aired by Swarnavahini spoke of the discovery of substantial quantities of iron ore in the Wellawaya region. Preliminary estimates, apparently suggests ore sufficient for 100 years.

It is interesting to hear that various specialised bodies reporting their finds as ‘discoveries’. I say this because we in Uva have known for a long time the availability of a number of minerals which had been mined by the natives of old.

During the time of Sinhala kings, readers are aware, almost every activity was based on Rajakariya. Even the mining of precious stones was a part of that for which there were a separate set of people. Towards the tail end of the Uva rebellion of 1818, John Davy, the Surgeon General of the British Army in Ceylon visited a number of English and Malay armed detachments stationed in Uva.

Davy in the course of his sojourn in Ceylon, saw much of the country he did not have to walk, he was carried on a palanquin - and wrote his very useful book on what he saw first hand.

Travelling from Badulla through Pas-saara-gama (modern Passara) Alupotha, Maha-vedi-vata to Kataragama, he describes a number of gem mines and the varieties of stones found.

On his return through Wellawaya along the ancient route at the bottom of the South face of the Haputale hills, he came across a Rajakariya family from Passara mining salt petre in a large cave big enough to hold elephants, who also came there to satisfy their requirement of salt. This cave in all probability is what we know as Ran-van Guhawa into which present day inhabitants go to fetch bat dung for fertiliser unaware of the assistance of a mineral which we import in sizeable quantities.

When Rajakariya was abolished and the new rulers concentrated on coffee, Sinhala miners lost their jobs and along with that the geological history of Uva. It was only about 30 years ago that the people in Passara and beyond realised quite by accident that they were living on rich gem land.

This writer who was the Basnayake Nilame of the Badulla Kataragama Devale perusing the Devale’s "Lekam Mitiya" the codification of the Rajakariyas which the tenants had to perform, was able to identify and verify the presence of iron ore deposits in a village east of Passara. It was the duty of person from this locality to supply an ingot of iron to the Devale annually. It is possible Tholabowatte was an industrial centre for the region. Present day residents were surprised when they were told that the black unidentifiable stuff they threw away as a nuisance was indeed a grade of iron ore.

In the early 1900’s a G. A. in his annual report mentions the presence of graphite in the Wellawaya division which could be mined in commercial quantities.

Persons conducting research on Uva’s Geological past should scour the archives and speak to permanent residents of the region. Especially those of the purana villages. Uva which was inaccessible to most outsiders until after 1818, obviously had a self sufficient economy. Though that part of our history is poorly documented what may transpire from future re-discoveries could be most illuminating and of immense value to the economy of the country.


 

Floods may cause outbreak of epidemics by Dilanthi Jayamanne

The Epidemiological Unit of the Health Ministry warns the public to drink boiled water in view of the current floods in several areas. The Epidemiologist M. R. N. Abeysinghe said yesterday that the public should be cautious and take adequate measures to prevent epidemics breaking due to floods.

He said that raw vegetables and green leaves should be avoided and the cleanliness of sources of drinking water such as wells should be ensured. "Seek medical advice from a qualified medical practitioner in case of any symptoms related to diarrhoea, dysentery or leptospirosis. In addition, there is a possibility of an increase in incidence of vector borne diseases such as dengue and filaria when floods recede leaving pools of water in low lying areas," the Epidemiologist said.

Increase in flood waters may result in the overflowing of septic tanks as well as cause dirt and debris in the soil to contaminate wells etc., he said.

According to reports received by the Epidemiological Unit, there have been 62 cases of dysentery reported.

He pointed out that during September 28 cases of dysentery had been reported from Kalutara, 11 from Galle and 23 from Ratnapura.

"Our main aim has been to caution the public before a major outbreak". the spokesman pointed out. However, he said the Unit expected a rise in the number of vector borne diseases towards the end of the year owing to the prevailing rains.


Monday, September 27, 2004 

Sethsamudaram Canal and Indo-Lanka land bridge by Malith Mendis , Chief Executive/Director , Lanka Hydraulic Institute Ltd

The exact effects of the proposed Sethsamudaram Canal are difficult to be established as inadequate oceanographic data such as wave, current and wind data in the area of the Adams’s bridge/Palk Strait are available. However with the data available’ it is more likely that this canal will not be a "Zero Environmental Impact" project as the net water exchange between the north and the south of Adam’s bridge would likely to be affected.

The data available show that the Adam’s bridge region acts as a barrier in water exchange resulting in a lag in tidal levels between north and south of Adam’s bridge.

The Lanka Hydraulic Institute (LHI), Consultants in Coastal Engineering, Water Resources and Urban Water, is of the view that long term data and studies would be necessary to ascertain the exact impacts of the project on both countries. LHI is also of the view that a Palk Strait navigational channel should be looked at in conjunction with the proposed fixed link (bridge) between tndia and Sri Lanka.

A proposal of the Indo-Lanka fixed link at Adam’s bridge consists of a high bridge section above a navigational channel created by adequate dredging. This dredged material is used to link and raise above sea level those submerged islands in the Adam’s bridge on either end of the high bridge. This results in a "zero environmental impact" proposal as the net water exchange between North and South will be maintained at present natural level. Further this navigational channel below the High bridge would be in the Sea boundary between India and Sri Lanka and hence would be an advantageous navigational channel for both countries. An example of such a "zero environmental impact" multi-purpose development is the recently completed Oresund link between Denmark and Sweden.

Therefore, gathenng and sharing of data should be carried out by both countries over a period of many years in order to better understand the oceanographic and coastal processes in this Palk strait region. Based on this gathered data adequate testing modeling studies have to be carried out to ascertain the impacts on both countries of any development projects proposed in this region. LHI believes that data gathering and required studies should be started now if any developments are to take place in the latter part ofthis decade.

The LHI is supportive of Sri Lanka’s position opposing the, canal project at this juncture due to inadequate impact assessments on Sri Lanka. It is also of the view that a navigational channel in the elk Strait should be looked at together with a fixed link (bridge) between Sri Lanka and India and any developments in the region should not only have minimum impacts but also be of advantage to both countries.

The LHI maintains a state of the art Hydraulic Laboratory in Moratuwa and is currently engaged in Hydraulic studies of the proposed new Colombo South Harbour and in the salinity study, of the Walawe Ganga.


 

Million trees project gets off the ground

The business community of the island has pledged their support to the project of planting one million trees throughout the country on the occasion of the national tree planting day falling due on October 15 under the patronage of the Minister A.H.M. Fowzie launched by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources.

A spokesman from the Environment and Natural sources said that it sought the support of the private sector to plant trees in business environments and factory premises. He said this programme would provide income for the people and added plans are under way to replace pynus trees in hilly areas of the country with trees suitable for those areas.

"Action has also been taken to plant trees in river valleys like Randenigala and Mahiyangana," he said.

"Plants will be issued to every one free of charge. Every student will be in charge of ten plants for five years. Identity cards will be issued to cards will be given to such students and family members to allow them free access to enter the zoo, Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage and botanical gardens.

(http://www.dailymirror.lk/2004/09/25/news/6.asp)


Thursday, September 23, 2004 

People’s objections to tourism plan in Bentota Prasanna Abeywardena, Bentota Corr.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) assisted by People’s Assn. for Community Education (Peace) is conducting a social impact survey on the proposed massive tourism project in Bentota, Induruwa, Dedduwa and Haburugala areas covering 1200 hectares of abandoned marshy land to be acquired for the project, which has already commenced.

The ambitious plan to construct a golf course, a race course, a pond with floating bars and a hotel on marshes was envisaged by the previous govt.

However, there were objections by nature-lovers and social workers on the grounds that their project might upset the balance of the eco-system.

With the present govt. in office, it is learnt that several projects in the plan, like the race course are to be dropped and the rest proceeded with already, water-ways been made by dredging to enable the excess water to evaporate in several areas.

With the cooperation of the Divisional Secretary Bentota, U. D. C. Jayalal, the social impact survey is being conducted at the Grama Niladhari Division level. Meeting in this regard was held at the Bentota Cultural Centre on 16th Sept. 2004, where interested parties expressed their views.

As the area concerned is traditional paddy-cultivation, fishing and toddy-tapping (for the supply of the distilleries only) environment with a Buddhist background the parties had not opposed to setting up of an Eco-tourism zone, without harming the natural ambience. Also, with no room for cultural invasion Rev. Udugama Hemasara Thero of Chetiyagiri Vihara, Rtd. Principals A. G. Ariyaratna and M. W. Thilakaratna Rtd., Gnn. Pramathi Harischandra and M. V. D. Chandrapala and several others expressed ideas.

Bentota PS member Wasantha Gunawardena, Programme Officer IUCN, Dithya Angammana and President PEACE Sarath Chandra Fernando Cultural Officer in-Charge L. A. Gamini also addressed.

<>A full report on the matter is to be submitted to the government authorities shortly.



(http://www.island.lk/2004/09/24/news31.html)


 

Making Sri Lanka a disabled friendly nation: ETD Dirijaya Awards 2004 "They don’t need sympathy-Just equal opportunities!" by Renuka Basnayake

We are all born equal. What makes us different is our different abilities and our different aspect towards life. No one likes being in the dark, no matter how small and outcast one might feel .We all have equal needs and want to be treated equally. And loved , accepted and recognized for who we are as individuals, not as a weak link of society.

In Sri Lanka , over 1.7 million people are physically or mentally handicapped. And society chooses to treat them as different individuals altogether, sympathizing and making charitable donations on behalf of their needs. But they too are human, with a soul and heart, that wants to be identified as one with others. They are of great talent and skill. And its about time, that the rest of society open up their hearts to recognize them for who they are and celebrate their achievements, even with their disabilities.

One Organization has come forward to help the rest of society open their eyes and souls in accepting and recognizing these skilled individuals. The Management Club (TMC). TMC is a first of its kind in Sri Lanka comprising membership of over 200 professionals representing a cross-section of different business disciplines .Located at The Galle Face Hotel, The Management Club was launched under the auspices of the Chartred Management Institute UK-Sri Lanka Branch on the 12th of February 2002.

The Management Club has decided to concentrate on the much talked about but less addressed subject of disability, by taking on the challenge to create the Enable The Disabled - Making Sri Lanka disabled friendly nation (ETD) programme.

Hence, TMC wants to bring awareness to the community on these special individuals, by conducting several programs to raise the awareness of otherwise able people, specially among the business community and also help find suitable job opportunities for both skilled and unskilled people with disabilities. These efforts have resulted in satisfied employers due to high productivity of these individuals in employment.

TMC, supported by the Galle Face Hotel, hosted a concert by a Swiss band, made up of musicians who were mentally handicapped who have proved a Victory of Music over handicap-and that disabilities don’t restrict their talents in any way.

TMC in its pursuit to create public awareness of the abilities of disabled community of Sri Lanka, to acknowledge and recognize those individuals for their respective talents and achievements and to celebrate their triumph over their handicap has organized the DIRIJAYA AWARDS to recognize and celebrate their achievement to coincide with the Disability Week in December.

The awards will be presented to individuals with disabilities or organizations who have broken barriers through their efforts in support of ETD’s objective of MAKING SRI LANKA A DISABLED FRIENDLY NATION.

The National Dirijaya Awards 2004, will be held on the 7th of December at 4.30 p.m. at the Galle Face Hotel. Sponsors are The Galle Face Hotel, SINGER Sri Lanka.

The DIRIJAYA Awards will be given for,

`95 Enterpreneurship

Achievements in Creative and Performing Arts

`95Achievements in Sports

`95Academic achievements

`95Professional achievements

`95Distinguished services to the disabled community and

`95Friendly organizations.


 

Bird Watch White-browed Prinia by Jagath Gunawardana

Prinias and Warblers belong to the family Sylviidae. They are generally small birds with muted colours in the plumage. The predominant colours are brown, gray, green and yellow. They have small, slender beaks and long weak legs. The wings can be long or short and the tails can also be long or short. A total of twenty species belonging to this family are recorded from Sri Lanka. This number is made up of eight residents, seven regular winter migrants and five vagrants. Among the eight residents, is one endemic species and the other seven have eight endemic sub-species. One of the commonest of the residents is the white-browed Prinia.

The white-browed Prinia (Prinia Inornata Insularis) is also known as the Plain Prinia, Plain Wren-Warbler, common Wren-Warbler and the Tawny-flanked Prinia. It is 13cm (5-inches) in length, or slightly smaller than a house sparrow. It is slender in build with a long graduated tail. The upper parts are a dull grayish brown (sandy brown). A prominent brow (supercilium) can be seen from the beak upto a point behind the eyes. A dark eye-stripe borders the lower border of the brow, making it more prominent.

The chin, throat, breast and abdomen are dirty white, brownish-white or yellowish-white in colour. The tail feathers have a white tip beneath, preceded by a black line. These markings on the underside of the tail become conspicuous when the tail is jerked-up. The beak is black with a pale base; eyes deep red; legs and feet pink or reddish. Males and females look similar.

It is an active, noisy bird that is found in pairs or small parties. It inhabits wide open areas covered with low bushes and tall grasses and is often found near water bodies, especially in marshes, reed beds and paddy fields. It constantly flips from branch to branch in a jerky manner and takes short flights from one clump of plants to another. The tail is usually kept cocked-up and is slightly spread and flipped up and down. A series of call notes are uttered among them are a long drawn "cheee", a "chirrik-chirrik" note, a shorter "chik" and a short song.

The song is usually uttered from a higher point but the other notes are made while flipping around and in flight. It feeds on a wide variety of insects and other small creatures that are picked up from the branches and leaves of the plants.

The white-browed Prinia breeds throughout the year, except during periods of very heavy rain. The nest is made out of thin strips of grasses and is fastened usually to the stems of reeds or tall grasses. It is a deep oval shaped structure, beautifully and neatly woven with an entrance from the side of the top. The opening is conceded cleverly and the birds wriggle in and out. The eggs usually number 3 or 4, though occasional nests may have 2 or 5 eggs. They are bright greenish-blue in colour with dark brown spots, blotches and markings. The eggs and the young are tended by both parents.

It is a peaceful bird that can be seen in the company of other warblers and Prinias that share their habitats. It is wary of human beings and does not allow a close approach. It is found throughout the low-country wet and dry zones and in the hills up to 1,800 metres. It is very common in the grassland (patana) of the Uva Province. This bird does not fly high and the usual area of activity is a height of 3 to 4 feet from the ground. However, it is not a ground dweller and spends all the time amidst the vegetation. The spread of some tall alien species of grasses such as the Guinea Grasses and Fox-tail Grasses has helped the white-browed Prinia a lot by providing suitable new habitats. It is well established in many places where these tall grasses are. This species is often seen in suitable open areas of busy towns including Colombo.

The sub-species found in Sri Lanka, Prinia Inornata Insularis is endemic to the country, and is distinguished by the black bill with the pale base and the darker colour of the upper parts. Vincent Legge thought it to be an endemic species and named it Drymoeca Insularis. The endemic sub-species was described and named by Hugh Whistler and considered the specimen collected by Legge at Hurulu Wewa (Hurulle Tank according to Legge) as the type specimen.

This particular specimen has been illustrated in colour in Volume II of "A history of the birds of Ceylon by Vincent Legge (1880)". The white browed prinia is found throughout Asia and Africa.


 

Ancient wisdom by Nadeera Seneviratne

Up to three or four decades ago, farmers still applied traditional agricultural methods in most parts of the country. With the introduction of high-yielding varieties of crops farming entered the cash economy. With the support received from investments in irrigation multi-cropping became the norm, and land preparation had to be speeded up. With the gradual drift of young people away from agricultural pursuits farmers came to rely on machinery. Consequently, especially in the dry zone, the technologically ingenious implements that had been developed over millennia tended to fall into disuse. So did the farming practices that ensured soil conservation and the optimal use of water, methods little followed now.

The National Agricultural Museum in Gannoruwa was opened in 1998 to commemorate Sri Lanka’s 50th Anniversary of Independence with the objective of drawing attention to Sri Lanka’s traditional agriculture to revitalise our agricultural sector. Originally, the museum was to depict the agricultural process from beginning to end in both paddy and chena cultivation, along with the traditional farm house (govi gedera) and paddy storage bins (vee bissa) to minimise post-harvest losses and the home garden (gevatta). These were intended to inspire the people in recapturing the indigenous knowledge systems of our forefathers.

‘When the museum was first opened, it was done in such a way that all the traditional artefacts and agricultural practices were displayed and explained properly,’ Pandula Endagama, anthropologist and project consultant of the museum set up by the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute (HARTI) said. ‘The gevatta was properly maintained using organic fertilisers and traditional cultivation methods that conserved soil and water as much as possible.’

Now the museum is different. The home garden is overflowing with produce from the vegetable plants: bunches of bright red tomatoes lean over to touch the earth; all varieties of chilli look threateningly at you and spinach looks bigger than ever. None of the plants, however, are organic, they are all laced with chemical fertilisers and pesticides. In short, they are wonderful to look at—but probably dangerous to eat.

‘When the museum was handed over to the Department of Agriculture, I did not think the department would move away from organic methods. I do not understand how this happened,’ Endagama said.

In the main museum building where sickles, neck yokes, thorny paddy brooms, measuring units (kartuva, busal, kuruniya, hunduwa etc.), hoe blades (mammoties—including the Sinhala mammoty), hand harrows, traditional kitchen appliances etc. are kept, labels in all three languages have not yet been put up for all artefacts, and there are little or no explanatory notes. One notices also a crowding of objects and a lack of proper preservation, their display leaving them open to the elements. Traditional baskets suffer the most from this lack of protection, and an old palm leaf manuscript of a record of water taxes is open to dust and deterioration.

‘Yet this museum is still better than what we had before it was set up. Then [as they still are], artefacts were lying in storage at the Department of National Museums,’ Endagama, said. The objects at the Gannoruwa museum have been collected from individual sources. Endagama is author of the museum handbook and compiler of ‘Traditional Agriculture in Sri Lanka’ (a collection of articles), co-compiled by K.A.S. Dayananda.

Director of HARTI D.G.P. Seneviratne said the museum must be brought alive, that it was not a place for dead things. ‘There was a time when an expert from the Ford Foundation announced that he wouldn’t sleep well till our last buffalo was in the zoo. He was a peddler of farm machinery unsuitable for paddy cultivation. This museum is not merely a place to display artefacts, it must show how those implements were used, how their use related to a particular tenor of life, and, if possible, how they were fashioned. Such elements can be recorded by video and shown to the visitors, many of whom are school children. The scope of the facility at Gannoruwa should be expanded to impart an appreciation of traditional agriculture methods to the people and be visitor friendly.’

Asked about the switch to chemical fertilisers in the gevatta, Director General of the Department of Agriculture Sarath Weerasena said the home garden had no connection to the museum building and traditional farmer’s house, contrary to the original plan.

‘We have done the best we can in the museum. It needs to be in much better shape, we need an air-conditioned, carpeted building, on the lines of museums abroad,’ Weerasena said. ‘This however requires a lot of money.’

Weerasena acknowledged that the department had not taken action to improve the museum. ‘At present, we need to put in a lot of funds for research and training elsewhere.’ However, he agreed that the museum itself if properly maintained could promote agriculture, in particular traditional agriculture.

‘The response by the people in visiting the museum has been tremendous. And this is without advertising. We only informed schools,’ Weerasena said.

The National Agricultural Museum could be an educational institution of the highest order for disseminating knowledge about our heritage, if its artefacts and practices associated with traditional agriculture are properly maintained and presented. In this sense, it would be another extension programme of the Ministry of Agriculture to improve the agricultural sector of the island.


 

AIDS spreads slowly but surely in Japan

For the last five years, gynecologist Tsuneo Akaeda has been venturing into the heart of Tokyo’s clubland to raise the alarm over the spread of AIDS. In Japan, a predicament he warns "is soon going to explode". The 60-year-old director of the Akaeda Roppongi Clinic gives out free advice to young people at a bar in Tokyo’s pulsating nightlife district of Roppongi. Since 1999, he’s seen over 2,000 of them.

"Japanese people think that AIDS isn’t real, they have no awareness and don’t feel directly affected," Akaeda, 60, tells AFP. "Young people think it’s cool to have sex without a condom." Japan is the only developed nation in which AIDS is on the increase, and health campaigners like Akaeda are determined to tackle the problem. The tally in 2003 set a record since the first case was tracked in 1985. The government counted 336 new cases of AIDS, of which 67.6 percent were caused by sexual contact. But only 640 were found to be infected by HIV, the virus that causes the condition, far lower than expected. "The HIV cases should number about 10 times the AIDS cases, but only 640 have been counted. So where are the other infected people?" Akaeda asks.

The answer is clear, according to Masanori Suzuki, chief of the AIDS Health Care Section at the Health Ministry: "There are probably more cases than the number that have been proven and verified."

Wataru Sugiura, head of the Laboratory of Therapeutic Research and Clinical Science at the national AIDS Research Center, estimates that there were "three or four times the number of HIV/AIDS cases than statistics show," adding that the number of total cases has tripled in the last 10 years. Excluding those infected by tainted blood transfusions, there were 2,892 AIDS patients reported in Japan at the end of 2003 while the HIV cases came to 5,780. "Japanese people don’t get themselves tested. For young people, free testing conflicts with their schedules," Dr Akaeda argues.

Home-delivery prostitution, known as "delivery health", has become a major new factor in the spread of the syndrome, along with the existing problem of sex tourism abroad, the doctor says. The many Japanese who do not use condoms have also multiplied the risks of transmission, he adds. Condoms are more often associated with contraception than disease prevention in Japan, agrees the health ministry’s Suzuki, warning that "sales of condoms are on the decline."

Akaeda says there are a lot of young people who are unaware they are HIV positive, since symptoms can remain dormant for a decade. Japanese HIV cases in Japan were concentrated among people aged 20 to 34 years old last year, government data showed. "The young people I see drink and smoke a lot and have very fragile health," he says. "I think that in the next five or six years, there will be a surge in the number of new cases." But he complains the government "had no will at all" to fight a condition it does not consider serious.

"The government has a budget to fight AIDS, but it is happy just to edit brochures," says Akaeda. He continues to wage his own battle. Sitting at a table with flyers in front of him, he is visited both by young people with HIV/AIDS who ask him how to live a normal life, and by others who are not infected but who want to know about to stay safe. Akaeda also has a radio show called ‘Girls Guard’ which has raised his own profile, and he makes occasional ‘drop-ins’ on other bars in Roppongi. He is urging more sex education in schools because young people do not receive information from anywhere else about the condition. Teachers in Japanese schools who discuss sex with pupils risk getting complaints from parents, who fear that talking about it will only get their children more interested. Sugiura adds that discussion of AIDS is no longer taboo but it remains a touchy subject to talk about.

"It’s a problem that people don’t want to hear about," Sugiura says, adding that the government should launch an educational campaign. "I have never seen an advertisement about it on television." "The number of new cases are definitely going to increase in the next four or five years," Sugiura says. The health ministry said that its testing centers are open on weekends and it is has increased the number of free tests it offers, but Akaeda says: "It’s already too late." (AFP)


 

Police raid Karaoke bar on opening night 25 scantily attired young women, owner arrested by Hariscchandra Gunaratna

A Karaoke bar on Station Road , Dehiwala was raided by police on its opening night, on Saturday, by a squad from the Mount Lavinia Police. They took into custody 25 scantily attired young women and their employer who was operating from behind the bar at the time.

Senior Superintendent of Police, Mt Lavinia Willie Abeynayake told

" The Island" : " We got wind of the Karaoke bar that was to be opened that evening and were keeping a close tab on its goings on. They were bold enough to announce the names of certain top politicos, even some Cabinet Ministers, over the public address system, who were special invitees to the gala opening ceremony that was planned for the evening Abeynayake said. We were certain that this was a gimmick by the management to lure unsuspecting customers.No sooner they declared open the Karoake bar we raided the place. The owner was arrested as he did not possess a licence to sell liquor. Later he ws released on personal bail along with the bevy of girls".

SSP Abeynayake said this is only the tip of the iceberg. There are many karoake bars mushrooming in Colombo and its suburbs patronised by people of influence, but these are only a cover vice trade.

(http://www.island.lk/2004/09/22/news6.html)


 

Europe facing AIDS epidemic

Europe’s AIDS problem is worsening as the rate of new infections in some new member states are the highest in the World, the European Commission has warned.

The epidemic is not confined to the new member states. The proportion of newly reported HIV cases has also doubled in Western Europe since 1995.

Greater efforts are needed to prevent the spread of the disease, and EU member states and neighbouring countries need to give HIV/AIDS "the attention it deserves", declared David Byrne, Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, yesterday (8 September).

People in poorer European countries should have access to affordable treatment. Also, better coordination of national strategies and projects to develop new medicines and vaccines are urgently needed, officials said.

HIV/AIDS is not just a problem for Africa and the developing world, stressed Commissioner Pavel Telika.

"We have a serious epidemic beginning to resurface right here in parts of Europe. The EU must provide political leadership for the continent-wide action needed to avert this", added Mr Telika.

Later this month health ministers and experts across the EU and its eastern neighbours will gather in Lithuania to build a consensus on Europe-wide actions to combat the disease.

(http://www.island.lk/2004/09/23/features5.html)


 

In Quest for a Diabetes Cure - Experimenting on Insulin Producing Tissue

In a Laboratory near Harvard Square, Massachusets, USA, batches of stem cells harvested from human embryos steadily multiply inside glass incubators and petri dishes filled with pink-red fluid.

The cells result from almost five years of work by a team of Harvard scientists led by 50-year-old Douglas Melton, a self-assured former frog biologist. Dr. Melton’s two teenage children have type-1 diabetes, and he is dedicating his career to using stem cells to cure it. Over time the disease, which affects about one million Americans, can ravage its victims, causing blindness, kidney failure and limb amputation.

Driven by personal anguish as well as scientific expertise, Dr. Melton has become one of the most influential scientists in a debate that is a campaign issue in the U.S. presidential race. Along the way, he has skirted U.S. government rules restricting the use of human embryos and helped raise $5 million from private donors to create a stem-cell institute at Harvard University. While a relentless advocate of stem-cell research, he also has crossed scientists in his field, criticizing stemcell research he thinks is headed in the wrong direction.

Stem cells literally form the foundation for human life as they divide into cells that eventually become every human tissue and organ. In the laboratory, when stem cells are plucked from embryos, the cells haven’t yet formed into a specific type. The trick is to get them to grow into specialized cells—insulin-making cells to treat diabetes, brain neurons to treat Parkinson’s disease or motor nerves to cure spinal-cord paralysis.

This is what Dr. Melton and a few dozen other laboratories around the world are struggling to do. Yet, despite all his efforts, Dr. Melton has yet to accomplish his goal of producing insulin - making cells in the lab. "We are convinced we can do it," he says. "We just don’t know how."

Some groups oppose stem-cell research because it involves the destruction of human embryos. In a much-debated compromise, the White House three years ago permitted federal funding for embryonic cell research but only for cells created on or before Aug. 9, 2001. The idea was to prohibit the use of federal money from encouraging the destruction of more embryos. The cells available for study come from embryos that were donated by couples for whom extra embryos were created during in-vitro fertility treatments.

Many scientists complain that the restrictions on stem-cell research are impeding progress. But Dr. Melton’s efforts show that some of the greatest barriers to turning the cells into promising new therapies remain those that scientists encounter in the lab.

"Anyone who says new therapy is around the corner, or even a few years away, is just wrong," says Ronald McKay, a leading researcher at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in Bethesda, Maryland.

With some conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease, science has yet to understand what goes wrong. Simply replacing damaged brain cells with new ones grown in the lab from stem cells isn’t yet feasible and may not be for decades, researchers say.

But in diabetes, doctors are reporting early success with an experimental cell-replacement therapy. The treatment involves taking insulin-producing cells, called islets, from the pancreas of cadavers and transplanting them into diabetics. Since 2000, when the first successful islet transplants were performed at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, about 300 of these procedures have been done.

Stem-cell proponents say the main obstacle to making the diabetes treatment more widely available is the shortage of transplantable islets.

"Cadavers will never provide enough islets to meet the need," says Robert Goldstein, director of research at the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, one of several groups lobbying against the federal funding restrictions. Last month, in testimony before Congress, Dr. Goldstein said: "We have good reason to believe that embryonic stem cells will one day be able to grow large amounts of insulin-producing cells for transplant."

Until the late 1990s, Dr. Melton wasn’t well known outside academia. As an embryologist interested in understanding how organisms develop, he centered his career on the Xenopus species of frog. The frog’s embryos develop outside the womb. Because the embryos are translucent, scientists can watch organs develop and see which biochemical signals are responsible for turning cells into specific tissues.

In November 1998, everything changed. Scientists at the University of Wisconsin reported they had isolated stem cells from human embryos. Suddenly, scientists who had been studying organ development in embryos of mice, frogs and chickens could examine human development.

Dr. Melton decided to try techniques used in studying frog embryos to investigate how the pancreas is formed. He hoped the research might reveal a way to regenerate islets—the insulin- making cells inside the pancreas that are destroyed in type-1 diabetes—as a way to find a cure for his son’s disease.

In 1999, Dr. Melton entered the public arena with testimony before a Senate hearing on whether to provide federal funding for stem-cell research. He said the need to constantly check his seven-year-old son Sam’s blood sugar was taking "a heavy toll on the rest of the family." He noted that his wife was regularly up late checking Sam’s blood, worried that if the sugar level dropped too low, the child might slip into a coma.

"I can’t recall a night since Sam was diagnosed when we slept peacefully," Dr. Melton said.

He also displayed his sharp elbows. When the University of Wisconsin demanded that those who wanted to work with its new cells agree to commercial and scientific restrictions, Dr. Melton attacked the conditions as "unacceptable and ridiculous," saying the cells should be made available without interference.

When Wisconsin refused to budge, Dr. Melton obtained cells from a research team in Israel that had participated in the original project but was now also feuding with the university.

Collaborating with researchers in Israel, Dr. Melton tested the effects of various growth factors on the cells. He found these chemical signals would push the stem cells in one direction or another. Some became immature nerves, others resembled muscle. But the Israeli-American team soon recognized that its ability to control the direction the cells took was limited. Stem cells proved extraordinarily difficult to manipulate. Rather than respond to the scientists’ commands, Dr. Melton said, they often behaved like "popcorn," Spontaneously morphing into a variety of cell types.

The next year, the Meltons’ daughter, Emma, then 12, also developed type-1 diabetes. Spurred by the plight of his children, he decided he could get faster results by isolating his own set of stem cells from human embryos, even though that was sure to generate more controversy. Over the next two years, in a collaboration with Boston IVF, a fertility clinic, his lab was sent liquid-nitrogen packed, stainless-steel bottles containing 344 frozen embryos donated from couples who had given permission for their unused embryos to be used in research. The embryos otherwise would be discarded.

In August 2001, with conservatives pressing for a ban on any funding of embryo stem-cell research, U.S. President George W. Bush struck a compromise. He ruled federal grants could be used to study only stem cells already taken from embryos. No U.S. money could be used to create new stem cells or to study new ones, which Dr. Melton was already set on doing. Dr: Melton immediately joined other scientists protesting the policy, saying the existing cell supplies identified by the administration were too few for research.

Although the administration initially disputed that, earlier this year, government scientists conceded that of the 78 batches of stem cells approved for study in 2001, only about 20 of the so-called cell lines are actually available or useful.

In March, Dr. Melton announced that his lab had created 17 new populations of embryo stem cells. He used money from the Howard

Hughes Medical Institute, which funded much of his earlier animal research, and from Harvard, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and private donors he says wish to remain anonymous. He says he has since used private money to create five more lines of embryo stem cells.

In a conference call to reporters across the U.S. and overseas, Dr. Melton described the logistics dictated by the government rules. In order not to violate the law, Dr. Melton had to create a separate lab that didn’t contain equipment acquired with federal funds. Lab tools bought with nongovernment money were segregated into boxes with red stickers.

"It was like making four dishes for dinner and making one of these with its own salt, pepper and other ingredients," he said. Noting he planned to provide the cells for a minimal fee to others who might want to use them for growing nerves or muscle cells, he said his lab was focused solely on turning the cells into islets.

Islets belong to a family of cells called endoderm, which make up organs such as the liver, stomach and pancreas. Researchers have yet to uncover the genetic signals that turn stem cells into endoderm


 

Minister’s answer to eradicating rabies — kill the dogs by Ifham Nizam

The Health Minister is planning to reduce the number of dogs from 2.5 million to one million in order to eradicate rabies in Sri Lanka Health Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said on Tuesday.

Addressing a gathering in Colombo yesterday he said that the government aims at ensuring a rabies free Sri Lanka and that the on going anti rabies vaccination programme could cater for only, 500 dogs.

"There are two thousand dog bites per day and every dog is a problem, for me and my ministry. My vision is to bring down the dog population."

Silva said that the cost of the hydrophobia injection is rupees 1,500 and every dog bite victim wants the cure whether the animal is tested for rabies or not. The government cannot afford such expenditure in the long run.

Minister added that plans are a foot to increase the dog licence fee. Minister is of the opinion that the current licence fee of rupees 10 should be increased to rupees 100/-.

The Minister said that his ministry is planing to set up a national policy on rabies prior to the forthcoming South East Workshop on Rabies in Sri Lanka.

Acting Colombo Mayor Azath Salley said that already two deaths had taken place due to dogs bites in Colombo.


About me

  • My name is Phoenix Project
  • From Colombo, Western, Sri Lanka
  • This blog concerns the Sri Lankans fight against LTTE terrorism.LTTE is a ruthless terror outfit which fights for an ethnically pure, separate Tamil homeland for Tamils living in Sri Lanka since 1983. The outfit is well known for its extreme tribalism and nefarious crimes against soft targets specially the women and children. During its two and half decade long terrorist war against Sri Lankan people, LTTE has killed over 70,000 people mostly civilians in its ethnic cleansing raids, indiscriminate bomb attacks, suicide blasts, etc. LTTE is also in top of the UN's list of shame for using child soldiers in war. As a tactical measure the outfit uses only young female cadres and male child soldiers for the front lines.

  • My profile
Powered for Blogger
by Blogger Templates