Rajatha Piyatissa

B. http://www.peace-srilanka.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=1&Itemid=121
1 WINNING HEARTS AND MINDS IN JAFFNA Monday, 31 May 2010 Dr. Jehan Perera
2 INDIGENOUS REALITY AND THE PROSPECT OF RECONCILIATION WITHOUT DEVOLUTION Tuesday, 18 May 2010 Dr. Jehan Perera
3 STRENGTHENING THE CULTURE OF FEAR OR DEMOCRATIC PROBLEM SOLVING Monday, 10 May 2010 Dr. Jehan Perera

I had the privilege of spending some time with the children on two different days. I had a chance to listen to their stories and play games with them. I donated basket balls and several sets of scrabble for their English classes. I am grateful to the Montessori principal who was kind enough to arrange my visit to this center and giving me the chance to meet these beautiful children.

I was able to read my book, “A Little Book of Peace” to them. After I had read it to them, even the 17 and 18 year old boys wanted to hold the book and look at the beautiful water color illustrations . Even though it is a very basic children’s book, they passed the book from one to another and both boys and girls wanted to check it out for themselves. Later, the scout master who was present, remarked, ” Did you see the anticipation on their faces when you were just about to turn a page?”

Army personnel in civilian clothes and police men and women looked after these children as if they were their own. I can’t praise them enough. As a peace advocate for children who travels to many countries each year I have to say that the rehabilitation of these children is a huge success story. With the help of UNICEF, the military, police personnel, counselors and volunteers, Sri Lanka should be proud of this great humanitarian effort.

If I have one criticism, it is that the story was not shared with the rest of the world. Sri Lanka lost a golden opportunity.

Your article and insights are illuminating, yet excruciatingly disturbing when one factors in the contradictions and complexities of a group of our contry’s fellow citizens have to contend with for having perpetrated the most heinous collective crime of allowing the LTTE to grow up to be the monster that it turned out to be.
Living here in Toronto as I do, I have seen first hand how the LTTE trough their surrogates in the Tamil diaspora under different facades here still contnue the process of abomination of the tender minds of impetuous Tamil Youths here with impunity often helped by greedy Canadian politicians who depend on the Tamil diaspora votes to get elected to representative legislatures or Councils and Boards at Federal, Provincial and Municipal levels. The situation with reards to politicians is not very different from that of Sri Laanka where corrupt practices are tolerated country wide and people get used to a certain lackdaisical way of living amid the mire of corruption. But your article with its brilliant insights shows there’s hope for the future of our beloved country..Kudos to those decent and caring men and women in the Army, Navy, Air Force and the Police and in the administration who care enough to recognize the common humanity we all share. Their example and their compassionate work will not be in vain!

Your article ought to receive widest circulation among the international Tamil Diaspora and I’ll be copying it to as many as I can here in Toronto.

More importantly, the initiative you have taken should result in a concentrated youth focussed international campaign to enlighten the world of the realities of the post war Sri Lankan society and the prevailing peace throughout the nation – indeed a rare happening that provides a most wonderful environment and an opportunity to restore sanguine virtues of human unerstanding, respect and for fellow beings and respecting the dignity and worth of every individual.

Showcase as reason why GSP+ should be granted by EU.