ABDF

Monday, June 09, 2008

Hi everybody!

It’s been about a week since my last dispatch.  I was in Colombo for most of the time.  I had to get my visa extended, and do some other errands as well.

I hate going to Colombo.  There is no pleasant way to do it, without spending a lot of money.  That is if you can get someone from Batti brave enough to take you.  Right now is something of a low point in Tamil/Singhala relations, and Tamils are increasingly being targeted by the security forces for harassment.  Thus it’s hard to find drivers to go to Colombo. If you can, it’s about $200 for the trip.  That is to say, $200 just to get to Colombo, and the driver will immediately take his van back to Batti unless you pay daily for him to stay while you conduct business. So that’s not really a viable option.

I don’t have a private car, which would be the easiest way.

So my two options are either the bus or the train.  The bus is a major pain, as there is no direct line between Batti and Colombo.  First you have to take a regular passenger bus out of the province to the city of Polonnaruwa (pronounced Paula-nara), which at a minimum takes two or three hours to go some 90 km (60 miles).  There are frequent security checks along the route, which entails everyone getting off the bus with their bags, and queuing up to be searched.  Meanwhile the bus is thoroughly searched as well. This happens every 15-20 kilometers or so, meaning about five searches before you get to Polonnaruwa.  On the outskirts of Polonnaruwa is a major checkpoint, where the search is much more intense, and can take an hour or more.  Once through the checkpoint you’re in Singhalese territory, and the searching largely stops.

From Polonnaruwa you can get an intercity bus direct to Colombo.  These buses are supposedly express with very few stops, and are air conditioned.  In my experience the AC usually works, but “express” still seems to take an awfully long time.  The entire journey can take up to nine or ten hours, which is a long time to sit in a cramped bus seat.  It is, however, cheap.  The entire journey will cost less than $5.

The train is probably the best option.  The ticket from Batti is Rs1,000 (Rs means Sri Lankan Rupees) or just under $10 for First Class with air conditioning.  The train leaves nightly around 8:15 and arrives at about 6 the next morning. So it’s twice as much as the bus, but it’s a bit more comfortable and theoretically you can sleep.  I usually get only a few hours, as I can’t sleep sitting up.

In Sri Lanka, air conditioning means freezing.  It seems that AC has only two settings: off and 100% on.  As a result, the AC car gets really cold.  It’s the only place on the island where you get that, but it’s not as good as it sounds. In fact it can be miserable. 

So I arrived dead tired in Colombo last Tuesday.  I was going to stay at Minister Sivalingam’s office with my buddy Shantha, like I did the last time, so I went there immediately, and had a welcome nap under the ceiling fan.  It was nice to be so warmly welcomed by Shantha and the Ministry staff; I had become friends with all of them the last time.  Minister Sivalingam was also very happy to see me.  In fact that afternoon he and I spent two hours sitting in his office, drinking tea, and talking politics, both Sri Lankan and American.  This was when Obama pretty much clinched the nomination, so the Minister was very interested to learn more about what was going on in the States.  He also personally wrote a letter on my behalf requesting my visa extension, which was to prove absolutely invaluable.  In fact without his letter, I would not have been able to extend it.

Wednesday night Minister Sivalingam took Shantha and me out to dinner.  We went to a rather upscale Chinese restaurant called the Peach Tree Restaurant.  The Hong Kong style food was really excellent.  It could easily rival any similar restaurant in San Francisco.  We had a long leisurely meal and talked most of the time about religion and ethics. 

I spent the next few days taking care of business, including the visa.  That was a day-long nightmare of bureaucracy, and hostile staff.  There seems to be a general suspicion about all foreigners who try to go beyond the standard one month tourist visa you get on arrival.  Or maybe the staff was just angry that they are all stuck in low-paying dead end jobs.  I don’t know; but again, Minister Sivalingam’s letter got them to sit up and give me the extension.

So at this point, let me publicly thank Minister Sivalingam for his help. I wish I knew how to return the favor somehow.  Perhaps a nice gift from the US when I come back next year.

As some of you have heard, there were a couple of bomb blasts in Colombo during my stay.  First, let me say that they happened in neighborhoods rather distant from where I was staying.  Nonetheless, it made me paranoid.  Buses are a frequent target, as are trains, and the city is chock full of buses.  More so than even the ever-present tuk-tuk, buses are how most people get around.  I stay away from the buses, not in the least because they are chaotic and packed way beyond capacity, and use tuk-tuks.  But still, every time we drove near a bus, in the back of my mind I was a little afraid. 

You see, it’s like this.  The government has a military unit type called the Deep Penetration Unit.  These are small groups of highly trained commandos that go deep into Tiger territory and carry out various missions.  Frequently there are mine and bomb attacks that hit civilian targets such as buses.  The LTTE blames these attacks on the Government, who denies it.  But like clockwork, when there is such an attack in the North, you can expect a similar revenge attack in Colombo.  And the Tigers deny responsibility for them in the same way the Government denies attacks in the North. So when you hear about a bomb blast in Sri Lanka, that’s the back-story.

And as some of you also know, fighting in the North has been really intense since January, when the Government pulled out of the ceasefire.  The Government promises to capture all Tiger territory by the end of the year, but so far progress is incremental and bloody. Part of this is an increase in Deep Penetration activity, with the resulting attacks in Colombo.

So anyway the people of Colombo still carry on their normal routines – what choice do they have?  But there is an air of paranoia.  And the High Security no-go zones keep expanding, causing a lot of inconvenience for the people every time yet another street is blocked off.  For example, recently Galle Face, the famous strip of park along the beach, has been fenced off.  Too bad; it’s one of the lovelier places to go for a stroll in the evening.

Once my visa was extended, I got the first train back to Batti for which I could get a ticket.  So I arrived back early Sunday morning (it’s also an overnight train) safe and sound.  Well, mostly.

We had just pulled out of Fort Station, the main station in Colombo, when we were forced to stop at Maradana station, the next one up the line, at about 8 in evening.  Suddenly in bursts an official, followed by soldiers with AK-47s.  He starts screaming in Singhala at the passengers (remember everyone going to Batti is Tamil) in a most abusive way.  I mean screaming and shouting at people.  Meanwhile the soldiers are looking us all up and down, fingers on triggers.  Finally we’re told that we need to leave the train and take all out bags with us.  As we disembark, I see that the entire train is being similarly evacuated.  The platform is packed with soldiers, and screaming officials.  I gotta tell you, it looked like something out of a Holocaust movie; all that was missing were the German Sheppard dogs and stormtroopers yelling “Schnell! Schnell!”  OK, so I’m exaggerating, but you get the idea.

The soldiers proceeded to search the train, every inch of it.  And they searched all of us passengers, even me.  They went through every bag, patted us all down, and inspected everyone’s identity card, my passport included.  While in the crowd waiting to be searched, I saw the wife and kids of a man I know here in Batti, so I stuck with them.  The passengers were being treated rather badly, so I felt my presence with this family would at least spare them from overt harassment.  It seemed to work. Anyway, the wife explained to me that word was that an anonymous caller had said there was a bomb on the train.  Great. 

No bomb was ever found, and we proceeded on our way after an hours’ delay without further incident.  I’ve heard all sorts of stories about Tamils being harassed by government officials, the security forces in particular, but I had never seen it first hand. I have to say it made me angry and frustrated.  Plus let’s face it; such treatment is extremely short-sighted, policy-wise.  I mean if you want to keep sympathy for the rebels low, and convince people they are better off living under government control, you don’t treat them like they’re criminals.

Needless to say, for an hour or so after this incident I was nervous.  The Batti line has never been targeted as it is used primarily by Tamils, but then you never know when the LTTE might change policy.  But after a while exhaustion set in and I forgot the whole thing.  I did manage to doze off and on throughout the night.

So as you can imagine I was pretty happy to be back home in Batti.

While I was away, the trouble here had continued, with a spate of murders and kidnappings between the Muslims of Kattankudy and the surrounding Tamils.  One incident I found rather interesting.  One day (Thursday I think it was) there were simultaneous demonstrations in Batti and Kattankudy that were obviously coordinated.  In both towns at the same time crowds burned effigies; one of Hizzbullah in Kattankudy and one of Pilliyan in Batti.  Clearly people are blaming both for all the current trouble. In fact I heard that the Kattankudy crowd chanted “You brought this down on us!” as they were burning Hizzbullah in effigy. (BTW, I also heard that TMVP offices up and down the coast have been subject to stone and bottle throwing.  Interesting. Could it be that people are getting sick and tired of being sick and tired, or is this just some opposition campaign?)

The climax of all this trouble was Friday night when an obviously organized crowd (but by who? no one knows, or is saying.) of youth on motorbikes armed with sticks and clubs drove down the road towards Kattankudy.  I’ve heard that there were up to 300 of them, although I think that’s an overestimation.    At any rate, their intention was pretty clear.  A similar group of Muslim youth was seen to gather just inside Kattankudy limits, which is marked by a big arch over the road.  Just as the two mobs were going to meet, the STF (Special Task Force) parked some of those giant armored personnel carriers across the road and began firing tear gas in both directions.  Then STF soldiers then charged both crowds, breaking them up.  Muslims were chased through the streets of Kattankudy and into the neighborhoods.  Aneesha and her family, who were locked behind the walls of their house, huddled in terror at the noises outside their house, she later told me. Meanwhile the Tamil youth were chased back to Batti.  I don’t know if there were casualties, but there were no deaths. 

Since then it’s been quiet.  It’s weird like that; something big will happen then it’s like a storm has passed and all is calm.  On Saturday there was a big pow-wow of all local people of import, including the imams from the mosques and priests from the major kovils.  A sort of agreement has been ironed out for a cooling-off period.  So for now no Muslims are to go into Tamil areas and vice-versa.  This is to last until some sort of security arrangement can be worked out for everyone.  The “border” region along the main road on either side of Kattankudy is now a sort of neutral area where people who need to can conduct business (more on this below).  And the police are now escorting Muslim traders so now the shops are restocked. 

All this happened when I was in Colombo, worrying about bombs on buses.

I’ve gotta tell you that I feel safer here in Batti than in Colombo, despite all this trouble.  When the poop’s about to hit the fan here, you have warning if you keep eyes and ears open; there’s an incident and the atmosphere changes tangibly and you have time to deal.  When a bomb goes off on a bus or train there is absolutely nothing you can do.

Needless to say, I was concerned that our road project at Peace Village has come to a screeching halt. Nor have I heard how they are faring; they are, after all, a mixed Tamil Muslim village surrounded by Tamils.  I hope they’re OK.  I did receive word that they had finished hauling all the rubble just before the trouble started.  Which reminds me that I’ve gotta pay for it.  Well, that’s just one more challenge; but perhaps they can give me the receipts I need at the “border” and I can hand over a check.  We’ll see.

This afternoon I did manage to get my motorcycle out of Kattankudy.  It had been waiting for me at Aneesha’s house, but the trouble prevented me from getting it.  Murali and I found a tuk-tuk willing to take us to the “border” where we met Firthous, Aneesha’s husband with the bike.  Murali and I then drove it back up to my house.  So at least I have physical possession of it. Now I need to wait for the registration paperwork to arrive in the post, and then I can get insurance and I’ll be legal to drive it.

Like I said, Murali and I went to this temporary neutral zone to make the exchange.  It was a frustrating experience in that we were less than a quarter mile from the arch that marks Kattankudy limits.  We both knew that we have friends on the other side of this unofficial boundary, but that there was no way we could visit them. I mean, Izzadeen’s house is less than a half mile inside Kattankudy, but it’s off limits.  And I particularly enjoy visiting Aneesha; there’s always food involved and she’s generally acknowledged as the best cook in Kattankudy.  It truly was so close, yet so far.

Traffic on the road itself was normal, although there was a very heavy security presence, much more than usual, which is saying a lot.  This particular stretch of road is lined with mechanics shops, a gas station, some metal workshops and the like, and I noticed that the usual mixed of Tamil and Muslim workers were all there, working side by side.  It just felt weird knowing that we couldn’t go further.

In the past these sorts of cooling off agreements have worked and within a week or two things have returned to normal.  I hope this will prove the case this time as well, despite this new political configuration. 

On an upbeat note, work proceeds apace putting together the computer lab at Kaluwankerny Vidyalayam.  The computer tables and chairs have been bought and delivered, as has the parts and wiring needed to get the room in shape.  Sometime this week the electrician will wire the room up, then it’s just a matter of getting the computers networked, up and running. 

It’s starting to rain again.  Not like the monsoons before, but the summer rains.  Basically, it starts to cloud over around 3 in the afternoon, and rains off and on throughout the night.  Not torrents like those that caused so much trouble in March and April, but more gentle, soaking rain.  Lots of thunder and lightening, too. This will go one for a week or two, then stop for another couple of weeks, then start again.  It’s pretty typical for this time of year.  It does also help break the heat a little, but it’s still pretty friggin’ hot.

Well my friends, that’s about all I can think of to tell you.  Things here are exciting, to say the least.  But I’m fine and happy, despite all that I see around me.  And the work continues.

xoxoxoxoxoxo

B.