Last Days in Sri Lanka

It's with very mixed emotions that I write this final blog marking the last days of my year here in Sri Lanka. Yesterday was my last day at the Chamber and was filled with meetings firstly with the Directors and then with the staff. I was presented with both an official plaque, a beautiful jewel encrusted ebony elephant, and some wonderful hand-made gifts from the staff. Thank yous are very formal in Sri Lanka. The traditional approach is to be specific with why your saying "Thank You" so I needed to make sure I followed suit. Equally, when presents are given, the traditional Sri Lankan approach is not to open them in front of the giver. This, I suppose, has some benefits because at least you don't need to practise your Oscar-winning actress face of joy when in fact you're receiving something quite ugly. I was incredibly touched by all the kind words and gifts, especially those that had been made.

The last month has been extremely busy with Dad arriving at the end of January for a trip first to the hill country and then spending time here in Galle. He and I are pictured here at an event during the Galle Literary Festival. The town was transformed into a buzzing honey pot of tourists, both international and from Colombo, who flocked to listen to many big names such as Jung Chang ("Wild Swans"), Adichie ("Purple Hibiscus" & "Half a Yellow Sun"), McIneray ("Bright Lights, Big City") and Candace Bushnell ("Sex in the City"). The Festival is a mixture of 2 types of events: traditional interviews on a platform in front of up to 100 people, and more intimate dinners or lunches where about 20 people per Author. The first event we went to was a recorded programme for the World Service BBC Forum which featured 3 women being interviewed about post-Civil war societies. Things got quite heated when some members of the audience accused one of the speakers, Sunila, a Human Rights Activist, that she was "the problem" and that there are no human rights issues in Sri Lanka. It should be posted as a podcast tomorrow and I'll be interested to hear how they edit the criticisms before putting it on air.

It was refreshing to be able to see Sri Lanka through Dad's eyes while he was here. It reinforced to me why it is such an incredible country. The amount of variety across the country: amazing beaches, stunning mountains, safaris, temples, etc. The food it delicious. The people are incredibly hospitable and when they smile their faces just light up even when their smiles are toothless or reddened from chewing Betel Nut.

The side that tourists see, however, is different from the layer that I've started to understand whilst being here. I am worried for Sri Lanka because, despite it's potential highlighted above, it's moving towards a virtual dictatorship. It's government is aligning itself to powers such as Iran and China. It's journalism is one of the most controlled in the world. Within 10-15 years it will have the highest proportion of aging population in Asia. The Tamil and Muslim people are not being treated as equals by the Sinhalese leadership. Indeed it was announced in December that the national anthem would no longer be sung in both languages but now just in Sinhalese. From a business point of view, Sri Lanka is at least 10-12 years behind Asia in the use of technology. It's vast natural resources are exported but with limited value-add done in Sri Lanka which reduces the sources of income for the country. I hope with all my heart that Sri Lanka develops into a strong democratic and inclusive nation that becomes a competitive economic centre in Asia.

I am sure I will come back to Sri Lanka in the future to see friends, visit the north which, while I've been here has not been accessible to foreigners, and to see how the country is developing. I would encourage anyone who hasn't been here before to visit. You will have a wonderful holiday. Just think twice if you're thinking about buying property or starting a business here. The frustrations that I've faced this year will then become very clear to you!! But please don't let me put you off ....!

Did the snakes get it right?

It has been a very different Christmas and New Year for me this year. The week before Christmas I spent a very interesting couple of days in Batticaloa which is on the East of the country and was the centre of much of the fighting during the war. I chose to make the 9 hour train journey there and back despite having just been to the cinema to see "Unstoppable" a movie with Denzel Washington. It was my first experience of going to the cinema in Sri Lanka. Before the film, the national anthem was played and everyone stood up and sang along! The seats were the really old style ones you had in the UK about 25 years ago. Half way through the film, mid-sentence, the curtains came down and there was a two minute interval. They even had the old style reel projector which you could hear quietly clicking away in the background. The film was surprisingly good about an unmanned cargo train that looses control in America. We were on the edge of our not very comfortable seats for most of it. The film did make me think twice about taking the train but the Sri Lankan version of the movie would more likely to be named "unstartable" instead!

I went to Batticaloa to run a workshop for one of my fellow VSO volunteers there, Alice. She is working with the Mental Health department there who are struggling to find ways to get their patients back to having a secure livelihood once they're on the path to recovery. There are relatively high levels of mental health issues in the area what with the aftermath of the war and the tsunami. I found the workshop interesting both because people here assume that the only solution is for someone to start their own business. There is very little realisation that actually very few people are entrepreneurial enough to start their own business and there is a high level of risk associated with it. Indeed, I would have thought that someone who had suffered from a mental health issue would be lacking in confidence to start their own enterprise. I also found it interesting because the majority of the people were Tamil and I found them so much easier to work with than the Sinhalese people I work with in the South. The group were much easier to engage, get involve, have fun, think and come up with ideas. It's a crying shame that the Government aren't using the innate talents of the Tamil population to help develop this country rather than trying to sweep them aside. In fact, very recently it has been decreed that the national anthem will only now be sung in Sinhala even though Tamil is the other official language (along with English).

Anyway, while I was in Batticaloa I was staying in a Guest house on the other side of the lagoon which surrounds the town from where the workshop was. Each day I'd cross and notice that everyone seemed to be very reticent in crossing the bridge. It transpired that a few days before I'd arrived, thousands of sea snakes had come out of the water and covered the bridge. The locals saw this as a terrible omen because, 4 weeks before the Tsunami in 2004, exactly the same thing happened. Well, the snakes might indeed be an omen as Batticaloa has now been hit by terrible floods. 200,000 people have been displaced from their homes and 18 people have died. My heart goes out to those poor people who suffered so much 6 years ago to have it all happen again now. Indeed being here on Boxing Day was quite strange. The people certainly felt a little more subdued than normal. So many families were affected and very few talk about it, even now.

On a lighter note, we passed a wonderful Christmas in Galle. I headed to midnight mass at the Catholic Church in Galle hoping to sing lots of carols. Unfortunate "Silent Night" was all I recognised and the rest were rather Muzak-like Sri Lankan numbers! 3 fellow VSO-ers came to stay with me and we headed for a slap up meal at one of the best hotels in the Fort, the Galle Fort Hotel. The food was stunning with a huge plate of ham and chicken as the main course. Turkeys are few and far between in Sri Lanka! I've attached a picture of the gang post lunch.

On Boxing Day I headed north to meet Michele, a friend from Switzerland, and we travelled around the "Ancient Cities", the former capitals of Sri Lanka. I was expecting to get a bit "ruined out" after a while but was surprised by how different and striking they all were. My favourite was Sigiriya, or Lion's Rock, built by a King who had killed his father and usurped the throne from his older brother. It's on the top of a massive granite hill with steps carved all the way up. The other highlight was staying in a hotel called the Kandalama which has been designed to merge with the jungle that surrounds it. This has been achieved so successfully that the monkeys sit on your balcony quite unperturbed and have even learnt how to check if the doors are open or not! The bats fly through the corridors at night seemingly oblivious to us mere mortals.

New Years Eve was very tame this year. We were in Polonnaruwa, another of the Ancient Cities, and couldn't find a party anywhere. By 1130pm we were the only people still up in our hotel. The staff boiled milk for us at midnight (which is what they do to celebrate their New Year in April) so we toasted the New Year with milk and were in bed by 0010! What a high life I lead!

I'm now back in Galle and realising how little time I've got left here. Although I've been really looking forward to getting back home and then to Shanghai, I've started to realise how much I'm going to miss from Sri Lanka, especially the people.