While we were passing a junction, the driver told, he wanted to visit a deity, because he had made a vow some time back and turned the vehicle towards a more isolated passage. Though he was Catholic by religion his faith in deity worship is not strange in Sri Lanka.
Ancient nature worship and Hindu traditions are deeply rooted in the daily life of many people.
Steffani, a German Praktikum (Internship) student and Romy were watching intently what was happening in that small temple of deity worship. But the deity and nature worship is not strange to Europe. Before Christianity was introduced into Europe, there were deities and also everywhere a variety of Pagan religious practices.
Pagan practices were only abolished when the Pagan temples were demolished by the later emperors of the Roman Empire and others in the Europe. Germanic Pagan religion played its own part in ancient Germany.
Germanic paganism refers to the religious practices of the Germanic nations preceding Christianization. The well documented form of Germanic paganism is 10th and 11th century Norse paganism. There are various references found in the ancient writings of Germanic peoples and in Roman descriptions. The information can be supplemented with archaeological findings and from the remnants of pre-Christian beliefs in later folklore.
Germanic paganism was a polytheistic religion with similarities to other European and West-Asian pagan traditions, such as Finnish paganism, Sami religion, Slavic paganism, Baltic paganism, Roman paganism, Greek paganism and Vedic religion. The principal gods are known as Odin, Thor and Tyr.
The surviving accounts indicate spectacular human sacrifices. A unique eye-witness account of Germanic human sacrifice survives in Ibn Fadlan's account of a Rus ship burial, where a slave-girl had volunteered to accompany her master with his burial.
The Heimskringla tells of Swedish King Aun who sacrificed nine of his sons in an effort to prolong his life until his subjects stopped him from killing his last son Egil. According to Adam of Bremen, the Swedish kings sacrificed male slaves every ninth year during the Yule sacrifices at the Temple at Uppsala.
The Swedes had the right not only to elect kings but also to depose them, and both King Domalde and King Olof Tratalja are said to have been sacrificed after years of famine.
Odin was associated with death by hanging, and a possible practice of Odinic sacrifice by strangling has some archaeological support in the existence of bodies perfectly preserved by the acid of the Jutland peat bogs in Denmark, into which they were cast after having been strangled.
An example is Tollund Man. However, there were no written accounts that explicitly interpret the cause of these strangling, which could obviously have other explanations.
Showing posts with label Internship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Internship. Show all posts
Friday, December 21, 2007
German Memories in Asia - The German Kindness
I recalled memories of two months ago. At the event "Night of a Thousand Dinners" I gave a brief speech on various issues ranging from landmines to world affairs. I can't forget those moments when the German Praktikum (Internship) students were spellbound listening to my speech. I was amazed by their eagerness to know about contemporary world issues affecting Germany and around the world.
Having delivered my speech and moving away from the table, the way the students were greeting me by tapping slowly on the table is ever memorable. The simultaneous tapping on the table was creating a new kind of melodious music. I accepted their greeting with a smile. I was really amazed by their greetings and the way they did it. After being there for few more moments, while I was leaving the dinning table, Marita was coming towards me. She greeted me in a soft manner and shook my hand saying: "thanks for your speech".
When I saw Marita, still those memories came to mind and I was able to re-live them. Her kind remark was an added encouragement to me and was coming to mind. I remembered those moments of my speech and the excellent coordination of Marita to make the event a success. I met Marita at the Aquarius Resort lobby to brief her on the final arrangements relating to the "Night of a Thousand Dinners" and the purpose of having it. I explained to her in detail about the event and how she will have to explain to the students before my speech. I told her that I would be there in a short while and went to my room.
When I was walking down the narrow passage towards the restaurant, I observed there were around twenty-five students at the lengthy oval-shaped dinning table. Marita was seated at one corner of the table facing the Ocean. When I reached the table, she came out and asked me whether I wished to be in her place or to be in the upper platform of the restaurant to deliver my speech. I said I would prefer her place as I would be able to see all the students from there and being close to them whereas the upper platform would have distanced me.
She agreed and sat in one of the chairs, which was vacant. She was kind enough to help me develop a rapport with the internship students within a short while. As most of the students came from Germany recently, I was not close to them that much. The student-team with whom I went on our tsunami-relief mission to the northern region had already left the Island.
I had met Marita only once before while we were having breakfast at the restaurant and thereafter once at the discotheque. I didn't have enough chance to become friendly with her. But her caring nature towards me by listening to my ideas and then translating them into reality instantly amazed me as to how she and the German people are so accommodative.
Having delivered my speech and moving away from the table, the way the students were greeting me by tapping slowly on the table is ever memorable. The simultaneous tapping on the table was creating a new kind of melodious music. I accepted their greeting with a smile. I was really amazed by their greetings and the way they did it. After being there for few more moments, while I was leaving the dinning table, Marita was coming towards me. She greeted me in a soft manner and shook my hand saying: "thanks for your speech".
When I saw Marita, still those memories came to mind and I was able to re-live them. Her kind remark was an added encouragement to me and was coming to mind. I remembered those moments of my speech and the excellent coordination of Marita to make the event a success. I met Marita at the Aquarius Resort lobby to brief her on the final arrangements relating to the "Night of a Thousand Dinners" and the purpose of having it. I explained to her in detail about the event and how she will have to explain to the students before my speech. I told her that I would be there in a short while and went to my room.
When I was walking down the narrow passage towards the restaurant, I observed there were around twenty-five students at the lengthy oval-shaped dinning table. Marita was seated at one corner of the table facing the Ocean. When I reached the table, she came out and asked me whether I wished to be in her place or to be in the upper platform of the restaurant to deliver my speech. I said I would prefer her place as I would be able to see all the students from there and being close to them whereas the upper platform would have distanced me.
She agreed and sat in one of the chairs, which was vacant. She was kind enough to help me develop a rapport with the internship students within a short while. As most of the students came from Germany recently, I was not close to them that much. The student-team with whom I went on our tsunami-relief mission to the northern region had already left the Island.
I had met Marita only once before while we were having breakfast at the restaurant and thereafter once at the discotheque. I didn't have enough chance to become friendly with her. But her caring nature towards me by listening to my ideas and then translating them into reality instantly amazed me as to how she and the German people are so accommodative.
German Memory in Asia - The War-Torn Memories in Asia
The German tsunami relief convoy reached the Paranthan junction, which is the last northern point in the mainland of Indian Ocean's war-torn island, where people lived in the midst of the civil war in 1996.
I had been there for a brief period of time when I was working with CARE International. The Elephant Pass strategic military camp of Sri Lanka Army was stationed there. The camp was a major coveted target for LTTE since their failed attempt in 1991 along with heavy losses of cadres.
When I was staying in that vicinity in 1995, the vulnerability of that area was an every day presence. The artillery shells were pouring at times like thunderstorm. Some of the shells had fallen near my house and in one incident I narrowly escaped. But a known girl nearby died, of shock caused by the heavy explosion of an artillery shell. I was able to recall how her two sisters were crying when her body was being taken for cremation along the same high way on which I was traveling with the German Praktikum (Internship) students in the relief mission.
After that incident and continuous artillery shelling, the Area Director of CARE International in Kilinochchi asked me to get away from that area a number of times. But I was reluctant to leave as I was used to the artillery shelling and aerial bombings since my childhood in the war-torn northern Jaffna Peninsula. But for the Area Director, her upbringing in the New York City in a calm and quiet atmosphere made it hard for her to accept my explanation.
Finally I left that area for a while. But memories still came alive when I was looking at the demolished buildings and the surroundings on the way. Our five-vehicle convoy was now speedily hurrying through a one-time No-Man Zone.
I had been there for a brief period of time when I was working with CARE International. The Elephant Pass strategic military camp of Sri Lanka Army was stationed there. The camp was a major coveted target for LTTE since their failed attempt in 1991 along with heavy losses of cadres.
When I was staying in that vicinity in 1995, the vulnerability of that area was an every day presence. The artillery shells were pouring at times like thunderstorm. Some of the shells had fallen near my house and in one incident I narrowly escaped. But a known girl nearby died, of shock caused by the heavy explosion of an artillery shell. I was able to recall how her two sisters were crying when her body was being taken for cremation along the same high way on which I was traveling with the German Praktikum (Internship) students in the relief mission.
After that incident and continuous artillery shelling, the Area Director of CARE International in Kilinochchi asked me to get away from that area a number of times. But I was reluctant to leave as I was used to the artillery shelling and aerial bombings since my childhood in the war-torn northern Jaffna Peninsula. But for the Area Director, her upbringing in the New York City in a calm and quiet atmosphere made it hard for her to accept my explanation.
Finally I left that area for a while. But memories still came alive when I was looking at the demolished buildings and the surroundings on the way. Our five-vehicle convoy was now speedily hurrying through a one-time No-Man Zone.
German Memory in Asia - A Visit to Tsunami-Hit Jungle Areas
Archaeological findings show that the Poompugar City, which was inundated, was off the coast of Tamil Nadu of Southern India as mentioned in Tamil texts.
Some other older texts like Tolkappiyam, the oldest surviving Tamil text and grammar book written supposedly around 500 B.C., says that the Pumpugar City was supposedly flourishing there 7000 years ago before tsunami tidal waves took the city beneath the sea. Most of the people thought it was only a myth until they experienced the 2004-tsunami tidal waves and experienced its massive devastation.
With drifting memories of the ruined Poompukar and walking along the destroyed marine drive in the Indian Ocean's coastal Mullaitivu, the LTTE member showed me a well near the beach and told me that that was pure water well now turned into salt water. I stepped up a ladder and peeped into the well, there was a motor for pumping the water out from the well. Though they had been dredging continuously for days, there was no significant difference in the water. The tsunami waves might have changed the underneath water system.
When I was about to step into the vehicle, the Catholic priest of the ruined church arrived. We went to him to hear of the tragedies of that fateful day and how he had survived. He had narrowly escaped as he was in a different church at the time when the tsunami demolished his church. God had saved the life of a spiritual leader to console the people who had lost their kith and kin and almost everything. We condoled with him on what had happened.
We started our journey towards Mulliavallai hospital, which was originally a maternity hospital, but now turned into an emergency ward for tsunami victims as well. A decade ago in the CARE days I have visited that area a number of times. But now the landscape had changed a lot.
When we were reaching the Mulliawalai area, old memories came alive. At the Mulliavalai hospital we heard many horrific stories of tsunami tidal waves. Entering the hospital we saw pregnant women, mothers with newborn infants and those who narrowly escaped housed there together in the same ward. The German Praktikum (Internship) students, I noticed were a little puzzled by the hospital and its set-up.
They might have wondered at the unusual combination of patients with different ailments being brought together or at the condition and the available facilities of the hospital to serve many an affected victim. The large hospitals they were accustomed to in Germany might have disturbed them when they compared them with the Asian jungle's tiny hospital. They might have well experienced the disparities of the very first Planet Earth where they were living on many grounds.
We went to meet the doctors and other health officials attached to the hospital in the front office of the hospital, and they came out with many pathetic stories about the condition of the hospital. They had only two medical officers for medical services, which are normally provided with twenty medical officers in a developed country, which run them efficiently. Dr. Jayalath, Dietmar Doering and the team had a lengthy discussion and came out with alternative arrangements in order to compensate for the shortfalls.
When I came out of the office the young students who were busily unloading medicines and medical instruments from a medium sized lorry of the six-vehicle convoy surprised me.
Immediately after the unloading, the tired Fredrike Wagnar, an undergraduate student of a Munich-based university was giving an interview on her experience about the tsunami devastation, which will be telecast all over Germany by satellite transmission. She was shaking her hands while talking as though she wanted such gestures to enhance her expressions of the extent of the tsunami devastation.
Her eyes were expressive adding more meaning to the tragedy. The eyes had a gleam in the mid-noon daylight.
Immediately after the interview I talked to Fredrike Wagnar. As she has a grasp of economics, her view about the disaster had a different dimension towards sorting out and coping with the crisis. The way she was behaving to express the tragedy was heart-rending.
Some other older texts like Tolkappiyam, the oldest surviving Tamil text and grammar book written supposedly around 500 B.C., says that the Pumpugar City was supposedly flourishing there 7000 years ago before tsunami tidal waves took the city beneath the sea. Most of the people thought it was only a myth until they experienced the 2004-tsunami tidal waves and experienced its massive devastation.
With drifting memories of the ruined Poompukar and walking along the destroyed marine drive in the Indian Ocean's coastal Mullaitivu, the LTTE member showed me a well near the beach and told me that that was pure water well now turned into salt water. I stepped up a ladder and peeped into the well, there was a motor for pumping the water out from the well. Though they had been dredging continuously for days, there was no significant difference in the water. The tsunami waves might have changed the underneath water system.
When I was about to step into the vehicle, the Catholic priest of the ruined church arrived. We went to him to hear of the tragedies of that fateful day and how he had survived. He had narrowly escaped as he was in a different church at the time when the tsunami demolished his church. God had saved the life of a spiritual leader to console the people who had lost their kith and kin and almost everything. We condoled with him on what had happened.
We started our journey towards Mulliavallai hospital, which was originally a maternity hospital, but now turned into an emergency ward for tsunami victims as well. A decade ago in the CARE days I have visited that area a number of times. But now the landscape had changed a lot.
When we were reaching the Mulliawalai area, old memories came alive. At the Mulliavalai hospital we heard many horrific stories of tsunami tidal waves. Entering the hospital we saw pregnant women, mothers with newborn infants and those who narrowly escaped housed there together in the same ward. The German Praktikum (Internship) students, I noticed were a little puzzled by the hospital and its set-up.
They might have wondered at the unusual combination of patients with different ailments being brought together or at the condition and the available facilities of the hospital to serve many an affected victim. The large hospitals they were accustomed to in Germany might have disturbed them when they compared them with the Asian jungle's tiny hospital. They might have well experienced the disparities of the very first Planet Earth where they were living on many grounds.
We went to meet the doctors and other health officials attached to the hospital in the front office of the hospital, and they came out with many pathetic stories about the condition of the hospital. They had only two medical officers for medical services, which are normally provided with twenty medical officers in a developed country, which run them efficiently. Dr. Jayalath, Dietmar Doering and the team had a lengthy discussion and came out with alternative arrangements in order to compensate for the shortfalls.
When I came out of the office the young students who were busily unloading medicines and medical instruments from a medium sized lorry of the six-vehicle convoy surprised me.
Immediately after the unloading, the tired Fredrike Wagnar, an undergraduate student of a Munich-based university was giving an interview on her experience about the tsunami devastation, which will be telecast all over Germany by satellite transmission. She was shaking her hands while talking as though she wanted such gestures to enhance her expressions of the extent of the tsunami devastation.
Her eyes were expressive adding more meaning to the tragedy. The eyes had a gleam in the mid-noon daylight.
Immediately after the interview I talked to Fredrike Wagnar. As she has a grasp of economics, her view about the disaster had a different dimension towards sorting out and coping with the crisis. The way she was behaving to express the tragedy was heart-rending.
German Memory In Asia - A Tsunami Mission On The Shores Of Bay Of Bengal
While I was approaching the edge of the Indian Ocean, I observed there were some sea gulls speedily hurrying from sea to land. I was terrified thinking that another tsunami was approaching us. Though I didn't feel any strong quake, I was aware that an earthquake can trigger killer waves thousands of miles across the ocean and could generate hours later the tsunami waves.
I observed closely the Indian Ocean to see whether there was a difference since an approaching tsunami is preceded by a noticeable fall in the water level. A big wave was on its way.
I had heard of stories how people were killed, when they went down to the beach to view the retreating ocean exposing the sea floor unaware that the strange phenomenon was a forerunner of killer waves. I made a quick retreat to a nearby high ground. When I turned and looked at the German Praktikum (Internship) students they were at a distance discussing something with some locals.
The tsunami expert's recent statement that a receding ocean may give only five minutes' warning to evacuate the area has started to bristle within me, because tsunamis can approach the shore as fast as 100 miles per hour. I realized it would be too late to see the wave and then confirm whether the tsunami was on the way.
Though I moved back to the ruined high ground, I started to observe again the ocean movements. There were no receding waters but large waves had come towards the shore. It was so horrific to think that many of the tsunami victims were seen being swept out to sea when the ocean retreated.
A tsunami surge may be small at one point of the shore and large at another point a short distance away. I didn't want to assume that this was a minimal sign of a tsunami and was trapped by the retreating tsunami flood later on from other directions. I further went near the high ground and approached the place where the German students were. I was comparatively in a safe place and a little relieved from the tsunami fear. I observed a number of wrecked boats were on the ruined buildings.
As tsunami wave activity is imperceptible in the open ocean, if those vessels had not returned to port they might have escaped that fatal end. The way the boats had been flung to the interior of the land and the extent of the wreckage frightened me how the tsunami can cause rapid changes in water level unpredictably with dangerous currents and cause massive destruction in the harbor and port areas. If the fishermen had the right information on time and took their vessels out to sea, they might have saved their lives and boats as well.
The Pacific Ocean is fixed with sensitive recorders on the sea floor to measure pressure changes in the overhead water, sending the information to sensors on buoys, which, in turn, relay the data to satellites for immediate transmission to warning centers. As there was no warning system for tsunamis in the Indian Ocean, the tsunami eluded and caused the worst disaster in the history of the Indian Ocean Rim countries.
We moved towards the narrow lane, which was now everywhere covered with the sand and debris. We found it difficult to determine whether the lane through which we were walking was a busy thoroughfare just a few days ago. We were roaming over the ruined buildings and then walked along the beach. It was difficult to reconcile to the fact that a once flourishing heavily populated coastal hamlet had been annihilated in just a few minutes. Meanwhile the German T.V. crew was busy, documenting those devastations.
The LTTE member who was familiar with that area pointed at a ruined road and told us it was a marine drive earlier, linking the coastal areas. He told how the sea had made incursions into the land.
The tectonic plates at the bottom of the southern Andaman - Nicobar Island had been shifted upward and the seabed subsequently. The tectonic plate movement and the tsunami tidal waves are not new to this world. Tectonic plate movements have taken place for billions of years resulting in tidal waves as well when they emit energy out to the surface as massive earthquakes. Turning my direction towards the north, I was reminded of how some thousand years ago the city of Poompoogar was sunk by tidal waves.
I observed closely the Indian Ocean to see whether there was a difference since an approaching tsunami is preceded by a noticeable fall in the water level. A big wave was on its way.
I had heard of stories how people were killed, when they went down to the beach to view the retreating ocean exposing the sea floor unaware that the strange phenomenon was a forerunner of killer waves. I made a quick retreat to a nearby high ground. When I turned and looked at the German Praktikum (Internship) students they were at a distance discussing something with some locals.
The tsunami expert's recent statement that a receding ocean may give only five minutes' warning to evacuate the area has started to bristle within me, because tsunamis can approach the shore as fast as 100 miles per hour. I realized it would be too late to see the wave and then confirm whether the tsunami was on the way.
Though I moved back to the ruined high ground, I started to observe again the ocean movements. There were no receding waters but large waves had come towards the shore. It was so horrific to think that many of the tsunami victims were seen being swept out to sea when the ocean retreated.
A tsunami surge may be small at one point of the shore and large at another point a short distance away. I didn't want to assume that this was a minimal sign of a tsunami and was trapped by the retreating tsunami flood later on from other directions. I further went near the high ground and approached the place where the German students were. I was comparatively in a safe place and a little relieved from the tsunami fear. I observed a number of wrecked boats were on the ruined buildings.
As tsunami wave activity is imperceptible in the open ocean, if those vessels had not returned to port they might have escaped that fatal end. The way the boats had been flung to the interior of the land and the extent of the wreckage frightened me how the tsunami can cause rapid changes in water level unpredictably with dangerous currents and cause massive destruction in the harbor and port areas. If the fishermen had the right information on time and took their vessels out to sea, they might have saved their lives and boats as well.
The Pacific Ocean is fixed with sensitive recorders on the sea floor to measure pressure changes in the overhead water, sending the information to sensors on buoys, which, in turn, relay the data to satellites for immediate transmission to warning centers. As there was no warning system for tsunamis in the Indian Ocean, the tsunami eluded and caused the worst disaster in the history of the Indian Ocean Rim countries.
We moved towards the narrow lane, which was now everywhere covered with the sand and debris. We found it difficult to determine whether the lane through which we were walking was a busy thoroughfare just a few days ago. We were roaming over the ruined buildings and then walked along the beach. It was difficult to reconcile to the fact that a once flourishing heavily populated coastal hamlet had been annihilated in just a few minutes. Meanwhile the German T.V. crew was busy, documenting those devastations.
The LTTE member who was familiar with that area pointed at a ruined road and told us it was a marine drive earlier, linking the coastal areas. He told how the sea had made incursions into the land.
The tectonic plates at the bottom of the southern Andaman - Nicobar Island had been shifted upward and the seabed subsequently. The tectonic plate movement and the tsunami tidal waves are not new to this world. Tectonic plate movements have taken place for billions of years resulting in tidal waves as well when they emit energy out to the surface as massive earthquakes. Turning my direction towards the north, I was reminded of how some thousand years ago the city of Poompoogar was sunk by tidal waves.
German Memory in Asia - A Visit to Tsunami-Hit Coastal Areas of Indian Ocean
I had a fine view of the mangroves in the both directions of the passage, recalling memories of the good old days in Mullaitivu.
When we reached the tsunami-hit bridge, we stopped over it and had a close view of the devastated bridge and the surrounding area. In the vicinity we could see that LTTE cadres were reconstructing the bridge and excavating the debris under it to enable an uninterrupted water-flow over the narrow canal which links the Indian Ocean and the interior Lake. I approached them and inquired about the tsunami devastation and its effects. They narrated the terrific moments and how they managed to escape at the time of the tsunami tidal waves by jumping onto the upper-side of the area.
I was horrified when they told how all the passengers and the vehicles passing by were washed away by the mighty tidal waves as though they were driftwood. The tidal waves had not only devastated human lives but also deprived the survivors of all hope and the meaning for existing. The tsunami waves have given a lasting message to the human race that worldly life is highly illusive and natural forces could triumph over their planning and execution. It had washed away everything in seconds.
We had conquered the outer space and successfully landed on the moon but were still struggling to cope with our own world's natural calamities. We had failed in controlling nature's furies. Technological advancement and other scientific inventions have been of no avail. The tsunami had smitten our conscience and posed the question as to why we bothered so much about the outer space wonders than finding solutions to our own world's disorders.
While my thoughts turned back to the tsunami-hit bridge and the surroundings, I focused my attention on the path we traveled by. I noticed our six-vehicle convoy was on its way towards us. The waving banners in front of the vehicles identified that those were our vehicles.
Suddenly I was terrified thinking of those fateful moments on the bridge and what would have happened to me. Oh! I just couldn't imagine it. Those horrific moments were again and again assailing me. The convoy had approached the bridge and stopped near us. Some of the German Praktikum (Internship) students got down from their vehicles.
The scenic beauty of the narrow lagoon and the surrounding Palmyra trees everywhere cast a fascination over all, despite having depressed moments. But I had mixed feelings of whether to enjoy the tropical beauty or mourn for those who were washed away there a few days ago.
In a few minutes most of the students who came with us in the convoy, even the girl intern students got down from the vehicles. The German television crew was busy in documenting the lagoon and the surrounding devastation, which they could telecast over satellite transmission throughout Germany.
The BBC correspondent with whom I traveled requested me to join him. But I decided to accompany the convoy and thanked him for his request. I joined the German team once again. I could see in their faces a difference. They too might have realized the illusiveness of this worldly life after having seen the devastation. A nauseating stench emanating from decomposed human bodies assailed our noses from the bridge area and all the way thereafter for some time.
We had passed the devastated Mullaitivu town, which was now beyond recognition. Then we returned back and reached the demolished town. When we approached the heart of the Mullaitivu town, we could see the havoc wreaked had completely destroyed the buildings. It was difficult to reconcile that there was a town there earlier.
The Sea Tiger unit of the LTTE cadres at the Junction stopped us. They inquired about our mission, as that was the first time that the AGSEP had come into the heart of the LTTE stronghold in Mullaitivu. I explained to the LTTE officials and they allowed us to proceed to the tsunami-devastated areas. They sent with us a member of the Sea Tiger unit to guide us.
Our vehicles were passing the sandy passage very slowly, following the LTTE cadre who was riding a motorbike. We stopped our vehicles near the beach after passing massive debris of tsunami devastation everywhere in the vicinity. We could hardly see a building, which had withstood the tidal waves. We all stepped down from our vehicles and spoke to the LTTE member who was assisting us about the severity of the devastation.
He told us they were still excavating the dead bodies from a nearby pond, which was once a tiny rainwater reservoir and now turned into a saltwater pond. The tsunami had smitten once again our conscience and posed the question as to why we bothered so much about the outer space wonders than finding solutions to our own world's disorders.
When we reached the tsunami-hit bridge, we stopped over it and had a close view of the devastated bridge and the surrounding area. In the vicinity we could see that LTTE cadres were reconstructing the bridge and excavating the debris under it to enable an uninterrupted water-flow over the narrow canal which links the Indian Ocean and the interior Lake. I approached them and inquired about the tsunami devastation and its effects. They narrated the terrific moments and how they managed to escape at the time of the tsunami tidal waves by jumping onto the upper-side of the area.
I was horrified when they told how all the passengers and the vehicles passing by were washed away by the mighty tidal waves as though they were driftwood. The tidal waves had not only devastated human lives but also deprived the survivors of all hope and the meaning for existing. The tsunami waves have given a lasting message to the human race that worldly life is highly illusive and natural forces could triumph over their planning and execution. It had washed away everything in seconds.
We had conquered the outer space and successfully landed on the moon but were still struggling to cope with our own world's natural calamities. We had failed in controlling nature's furies. Technological advancement and other scientific inventions have been of no avail. The tsunami had smitten our conscience and posed the question as to why we bothered so much about the outer space wonders than finding solutions to our own world's disorders.
While my thoughts turned back to the tsunami-hit bridge and the surroundings, I focused my attention on the path we traveled by. I noticed our six-vehicle convoy was on its way towards us. The waving banners in front of the vehicles identified that those were our vehicles.
Suddenly I was terrified thinking of those fateful moments on the bridge and what would have happened to me. Oh! I just couldn't imagine it. Those horrific moments were again and again assailing me. The convoy had approached the bridge and stopped near us. Some of the German Praktikum (Internship) students got down from their vehicles.
The scenic beauty of the narrow lagoon and the surrounding Palmyra trees everywhere cast a fascination over all, despite having depressed moments. But I had mixed feelings of whether to enjoy the tropical beauty or mourn for those who were washed away there a few days ago.
In a few minutes most of the students who came with us in the convoy, even the girl intern students got down from the vehicles. The German television crew was busy in documenting the lagoon and the surrounding devastation, which they could telecast over satellite transmission throughout Germany.
The BBC correspondent with whom I traveled requested me to join him. But I decided to accompany the convoy and thanked him for his request. I joined the German team once again. I could see in their faces a difference. They too might have realized the illusiveness of this worldly life after having seen the devastation. A nauseating stench emanating from decomposed human bodies assailed our noses from the bridge area and all the way thereafter for some time.
We had passed the devastated Mullaitivu town, which was now beyond recognition. Then we returned back and reached the demolished town. When we approached the heart of the Mullaitivu town, we could see the havoc wreaked had completely destroyed the buildings. It was difficult to reconcile that there was a town there earlier.
The Sea Tiger unit of the LTTE cadres at the Junction stopped us. They inquired about our mission, as that was the first time that the AGSEP had come into the heart of the LTTE stronghold in Mullaitivu. I explained to the LTTE officials and they allowed us to proceed to the tsunami-devastated areas. They sent with us a member of the Sea Tiger unit to guide us.
Our vehicles were passing the sandy passage very slowly, following the LTTE cadre who was riding a motorbike. We stopped our vehicles near the beach after passing massive debris of tsunami devastation everywhere in the vicinity. We could hardly see a building, which had withstood the tidal waves. We all stepped down from our vehicles and spoke to the LTTE member who was assisting us about the severity of the devastation.
He told us they were still excavating the dead bodies from a nearby pond, which was once a tiny rainwater reservoir and now turned into a saltwater pond. The tsunami had smitten once again our conscience and posed the question as to why we bothered so much about the outer space wonders than finding solutions to our own world's disorders.
German Bavaria - The Economic Miracle
The Aquarius Sports Resort Hotel, though it is located in the sleepy western coastal town of Marawila has got a superb Internet and communication facility, which connects the visiting German Praktikum (Internship) students to Germany and rest of the world. Information & Communication Technology leads the modern world in every field.
One internship student has given me some facts with just a few numbers that will speak louder than words about Germany and especially Bavaria's success in Information & Communication Technology.
I was surprised that the foremost communications site in Germany has more than 100,000 employees and 1,800 companies of which 586 are U.S. companies, all of which are in Bavaria. In fact, Bavaria shares the number one primacy with London for all of Europe and it ranks number four worldwide. How did this happen you may wonder. While there is no single answer, there are numerous contributing factors why so many companies in any imaginable industry felt they needed a base here. Certainly, it has a lot to do with the Bavarian government's tremendous initiative and support through financial incentives and action programs.
An early foray into Internet communications also ensured a rapid dissemination of information and communication technology. Their "Software Initiative" aimed at developing and marketing software sees a close cooperation between research and industry. Last but not least, there are 20 municipal and 9 technology-based incubator centers providing excellent infrastructure close to wherever you may want to locate your company.
Bavaria has its own merits to be proud of its economic achievements. If Germany could be proud as one of the major components, making the European economic-power base, Bavaria could also be proud of its vital role in making Germany a powerful economic nation in Europe. The motorcycle and automobile makers BMW, Bayerische Motoren-Werke or Bavarian Motor Works and Audi, the consumer electronics Grundig, the electricity, telephones, informatics and medical instruments Siemens, Adidas and Puma have or had a Bavarian industrial base to give Bavaria economic super status.
Some students are proud that Bavaria is the only state renowned for its spectacular vistas and unparalleled beauty and comprises more than a third of all German employees in the aeronautics and space technology sectors. They further said that no other single state could make this claim. Furthermore, they pointed out that that is because the state government recognizes the importance of fostering new developments and encouraging the enhancement of existing technologies.
They once again proudly pointed out that it is no surprise that, DASA, Germany's equivalent of NASA, is located in Bavaria. The students went on to say that since 1990 Bavaria has spent about 200 million DM for the promotion of aeronautics and space technology projects called TETRA to develop new materials for reusable space transport systems with an additional 50 million DM spent for research projects.
Now the sky is their limit.
One internship student has given me some facts with just a few numbers that will speak louder than words about Germany and especially Bavaria's success in Information & Communication Technology.
I was surprised that the foremost communications site in Germany has more than 100,000 employees and 1,800 companies of which 586 are U.S. companies, all of which are in Bavaria. In fact, Bavaria shares the number one primacy with London for all of Europe and it ranks number four worldwide. How did this happen you may wonder. While there is no single answer, there are numerous contributing factors why so many companies in any imaginable industry felt they needed a base here. Certainly, it has a lot to do with the Bavarian government's tremendous initiative and support through financial incentives and action programs.
An early foray into Internet communications also ensured a rapid dissemination of information and communication technology. Their "Software Initiative" aimed at developing and marketing software sees a close cooperation between research and industry. Last but not least, there are 20 municipal and 9 technology-based incubator centers providing excellent infrastructure close to wherever you may want to locate your company.
Bavaria has its own merits to be proud of its economic achievements. If Germany could be proud as one of the major components, making the European economic-power base, Bavaria could also be proud of its vital role in making Germany a powerful economic nation in Europe. The motorcycle and automobile makers BMW, Bayerische Motoren-Werke or Bavarian Motor Works and Audi, the consumer electronics Grundig, the electricity, telephones, informatics and medical instruments Siemens, Adidas and Puma have or had a Bavarian industrial base to give Bavaria economic super status.
Some students are proud that Bavaria is the only state renowned for its spectacular vistas and unparalleled beauty and comprises more than a third of all German employees in the aeronautics and space technology sectors. They further said that no other single state could make this claim. Furthermore, they pointed out that that is because the state government recognizes the importance of fostering new developments and encouraging the enhancement of existing technologies.
They once again proudly pointed out that it is no surprise that, DASA, Germany's equivalent of NASA, is located in Bavaria. The students went on to say that since 1990 Bavaria has spent about 200 million DM for the promotion of aeronautics and space technology projects called TETRA to develop new materials for reusable space transport systems with an additional 50 million DM spent for research projects.
Now the sky is their limit.
German Memories in Asia - The Memorable Moments at the German Restaurant
While I was lost in the beauty of the scenic Indian Ocean's panorama, some movements in the restaurant draw my attention.
Casting a glance over there, I noticed that Marita Kantar is just wandering there, thinking of something seriously in the center part of the restaurant. She has come back again to continue her research after two months away from the Resort in Germany.
Marita is a dynamic student from the then East German part of Germany. She was doing her undergraduate studies in the field of managing social sciences at the Wismar University in the scenic Wismar City of Baltic sea area. She coordinated with me to organize the "Night of a Thousand Dinners" - a success at the Aquarius Sports Resort Hotel.
While I was approaching her she was surprised and said: "It is nice to see you again". I too felt so and as was the first day of the New Year, I greeted her with New Year Best Wishes. I once again thanked her for her valuable coordination in organizing the event.
Suddenly interrupting my thought, a small girl around four to five years came screaming and shouting towards us. She had come with her parents from Germany for the New Year vacation. She was playing with all of us around there. Eva was holding one of her hands and hugging her. They were standing near the dinning table next to our chairs.
When I looked at her and said: "Hallo" she too repeated it with a smile.
After I wished Eva a happy New Year and extended my hand towards the small girl, she so smartly took my hand and greeted me with gentle smile. I was surprised by her etiquette. I just rubbed her upper shoulder and asked: "How are you", she broke into a lovely smile as an answer to my question.
When Marita extended her hand, she wished her with great cordiality.
The following day when we were at breakfast, she was running around every table and telling a number of stories to each and every one around there. She came to me and was waving a coconut-leaf said that it was a "snake". I was wondering as to where she has seen a snake whether in Germany or in Sri Lanka or in a zoo.
Walker was translating to me all her stories, which she was narrating to me in her mother tongue, German. Her father was watching from a distance at the restaurant with a smile. I felt from their joyous mood that they were relishing their trip to Sri Lanka. Her mother was tenderly hugging her infant son on her lap.
A driver of the Aquarius Resort approached them and greeted them affectionately.
The whole atmosphere in the restaurant was one of love and fascination.
Casting a glance over there, I noticed that Marita Kantar is just wandering there, thinking of something seriously in the center part of the restaurant. She has come back again to continue her research after two months away from the Resort in Germany.
Marita is a dynamic student from the then East German part of Germany. She was doing her undergraduate studies in the field of managing social sciences at the Wismar University in the scenic Wismar City of Baltic sea area. She coordinated with me to organize the "Night of a Thousand Dinners" - a success at the Aquarius Sports Resort Hotel.
While I was approaching her she was surprised and said: "It is nice to see you again". I too felt so and as was the first day of the New Year, I greeted her with New Year Best Wishes. I once again thanked her for her valuable coordination in organizing the event.
Suddenly interrupting my thought, a small girl around four to five years came screaming and shouting towards us. She had come with her parents from Germany for the New Year vacation. She was playing with all of us around there. Eva was holding one of her hands and hugging her. They were standing near the dinning table next to our chairs.
When I looked at her and said: "Hallo" she too repeated it with a smile.
After I wished Eva a happy New Year and extended my hand towards the small girl, she so smartly took my hand and greeted me with gentle smile. I was surprised by her etiquette. I just rubbed her upper shoulder and asked: "How are you", she broke into a lovely smile as an answer to my question.
When Marita extended her hand, she wished her with great cordiality.
The following day when we were at breakfast, she was running around every table and telling a number of stories to each and every one around there. She came to me and was waving a coconut-leaf said that it was a "snake". I was wondering as to where she has seen a snake whether in Germany or in Sri Lanka or in a zoo.
Walker was translating to me all her stories, which she was narrating to me in her mother tongue, German. Her father was watching from a distance at the restaurant with a smile. I felt from their joyous mood that they were relishing their trip to Sri Lanka. Her mother was tenderly hugging her infant son on her lap.
A driver of the Aquarius Resort approached them and greeted them affectionately.
The whole atmosphere in the restaurant was one of love and fascination.
German Memory in Asia - Memories of the War
Our vehicles were moving on the Palaly road, my one time usual path in the school days, which link the Jaffna town and the Palaly Airport.
The German Praktikum (Internship) students were keenly gazing at the surroundings.
We were passing the junction where once thirteen Sri Lankan soldiers died in an LTTE ambush and the event thereafter erupted into terrible violence in the South of the Island where at least thousands of Tamils were massacred by the angry mob in 1983 and turned the ethnic crisis into one of international import. Sri Lanka also became one of the world's severe examples where lack of political system to govern the different ethnic, religious, language groups harmoniously led to chaos.
The colonial forces that united different politico-cultural territories and people together failed to come out with a suitable political system when they left their colonies and left us with mess and chaos.
Our vehicles were moving near Kondavil, a sleepy village in the Peninsula where my family was there for more than a decade.
Once in the very beginning of the war in the early eighties, we some friends were talking under a large shady tree. When a jeep was turning at the junction some hundred meters away and coming towards us, the speed we showed out of panic to escape was a silent witness to the horror of the war and the terror under which we were living then.
In the middle of the war in the late eighties one day, we all were highly puzzled by the fast moving supersonic jets circling around over the Peninsula in the sky. We were wondering which country had entered the sky and was wondering whether it was India, China or the US. While we were in highly anxious speculation, we had seen number of cargo planes in the sky releasing parachute-aided cargo everywhere in the Peninsula. We realized in a while what was happening.
The Indian Government had sent the message to then Sri Lankan government to halt its operation in the Peninsula.
The military offensive had caused hundreds of civilian casualties in the Peninsula. India sent initially by sea the food and medicines but the Sri Lankan Government prevented it. This led to the so-called "Operation Garland" that we had seen over the Peninsula on June 4, 1987; the air-drop of 24 tons of relief supplies by five AN-32 Russian Antanov cargo planes escorted by four French Mirage 2000H Supersonic fighter Jets.
Later on Rajiv Gandhi, then Indian Prime Minister visited Sri Lanka and signed the Indo-Lanka Agreement on July 29, 1987 with then Sri Lankan President J.R. Jayewardene. Immediately after the announcement of the Agreement through media, we had seen India's superiority in the region by the flight of large Jets over the sky towards the Palaly Airport.
The LTTE leader was airlifted from India to the Jaffna Peninsula.
The Sri Lankan Army arrested LTTE senior members in the shallow seas of the Bay of Bengal. When they were forcibly taken to Colombo for investigation, they swallowed cyanide and died instantly.
In the Jaffna peninsula warring clouds started to loom once again. The LTTE blamed the Indian forces for their cadres' death and started to attack the Indian troops. Indian troops also started to attack in a massive way. Diplomacy was at its lowest ebb.
The IPKF commenced its operations, code-named 'Operation Pawan' on the night of October 11, 1987 in the Peninsula against LTTE. The Indian Army started to advance towards LTTE-controlled Jaffna Fort from all directions from the Palay Airport and other areas.
Soviet infantry BMP-1 fighting vehicles and Soviet-designed main T-72 battle tanks were rolling over the Palaly Road which was heavily mined.
The LTTE used snipers from the buildings, treetops and even coconut palms equipped with powerful telescopic infrared sights causing heavy casualties to the IPKF.
The events were moving like a Hollywood action- thriller.
People were fleeing from the heart of the peninsula leaving the Palaly Road and other major roads to interior areas. My mother, brother and sisters fled to the nearest small Islands. I was left alone with my sick grandmother and the poultry, which I was rearing as a hobby and for my pocket expenses.
While I was shifting the poultry after my grandmother the artillery shells were falling everywhere and blasting like thunder.
I had hardly seen people in the streets on my way. Even I couldn't see the dogs in the streets. Broken branches of the trees caused by artillery shelling, littered the streets. The exploding shells were at times deafening my ears while I was riding on the pushbike and I thought I might have ended up in a disaster very soon. But nothing happened fortunately and I escaped from the shelling range. I managed to sell the poultry to a farm and joined with my grandmother.
The old events were just like yesterday rolling into mind when our vehicles were moving on the Palaly Road.
The German Praktikum (Internship) students were keenly gazing at the surroundings.
We were passing the junction where once thirteen Sri Lankan soldiers died in an LTTE ambush and the event thereafter erupted into terrible violence in the South of the Island where at least thousands of Tamils were massacred by the angry mob in 1983 and turned the ethnic crisis into one of international import. Sri Lanka also became one of the world's severe examples where lack of political system to govern the different ethnic, religious, language groups harmoniously led to chaos.
The colonial forces that united different politico-cultural territories and people together failed to come out with a suitable political system when they left their colonies and left us with mess and chaos.
Our vehicles were moving near Kondavil, a sleepy village in the Peninsula where my family was there for more than a decade.
Once in the very beginning of the war in the early eighties, we some friends were talking under a large shady tree. When a jeep was turning at the junction some hundred meters away and coming towards us, the speed we showed out of panic to escape was a silent witness to the horror of the war and the terror under which we were living then.
In the middle of the war in the late eighties one day, we all were highly puzzled by the fast moving supersonic jets circling around over the Peninsula in the sky. We were wondering which country had entered the sky and was wondering whether it was India, China or the US. While we were in highly anxious speculation, we had seen number of cargo planes in the sky releasing parachute-aided cargo everywhere in the Peninsula. We realized in a while what was happening.
The Indian Government had sent the message to then Sri Lankan government to halt its operation in the Peninsula.
The military offensive had caused hundreds of civilian casualties in the Peninsula. India sent initially by sea the food and medicines but the Sri Lankan Government prevented it. This led to the so-called "Operation Garland" that we had seen over the Peninsula on June 4, 1987; the air-drop of 24 tons of relief supplies by five AN-32 Russian Antanov cargo planes escorted by four French Mirage 2000H Supersonic fighter Jets.
Later on Rajiv Gandhi, then Indian Prime Minister visited Sri Lanka and signed the Indo-Lanka Agreement on July 29, 1987 with then Sri Lankan President J.R. Jayewardene. Immediately after the announcement of the Agreement through media, we had seen India's superiority in the region by the flight of large Jets over the sky towards the Palaly Airport.
The LTTE leader was airlifted from India to the Jaffna Peninsula.
The Sri Lankan Army arrested LTTE senior members in the shallow seas of the Bay of Bengal. When they were forcibly taken to Colombo for investigation, they swallowed cyanide and died instantly.
In the Jaffna peninsula warring clouds started to loom once again. The LTTE blamed the Indian forces for their cadres' death and started to attack the Indian troops. Indian troops also started to attack in a massive way. Diplomacy was at its lowest ebb.
The IPKF commenced its operations, code-named 'Operation Pawan' on the night of October 11, 1987 in the Peninsula against LTTE. The Indian Army started to advance towards LTTE-controlled Jaffna Fort from all directions from the Palay Airport and other areas.
Soviet infantry BMP-1 fighting vehicles and Soviet-designed main T-72 battle tanks were rolling over the Palaly Road which was heavily mined.
The LTTE used snipers from the buildings, treetops and even coconut palms equipped with powerful telescopic infrared sights causing heavy casualties to the IPKF.
The events were moving like a Hollywood action- thriller.
People were fleeing from the heart of the peninsula leaving the Palaly Road and other major roads to interior areas. My mother, brother and sisters fled to the nearest small Islands. I was left alone with my sick grandmother and the poultry, which I was rearing as a hobby and for my pocket expenses.
While I was shifting the poultry after my grandmother the artillery shells were falling everywhere and blasting like thunder.
I had hardly seen people in the streets on my way. Even I couldn't see the dogs in the streets. Broken branches of the trees caused by artillery shelling, littered the streets. The exploding shells were at times deafening my ears while I was riding on the pushbike and I thought I might have ended up in a disaster very soon. But nothing happened fortunately and I escaped from the shelling range. I managed to sell the poultry to a farm and joined with my grandmother.
The old events were just like yesterday rolling into mind when our vehicles were moving on the Palaly Road.
German Memories in Asia - A Tsunami Mission to Northern Jaffna
We reached closer to the high security zone of the expanded Palaly Army camp area.
Our vehicles stopped near a military barrier manned by the Sri Lankan Army. There were two pick-up vehicles coming towards us, and the officers started to check our identification. Thereafter one pick-up vehicle drove in front of our vehicles and the other one came behind. We were travelling under military escort towards the Palaly Army camp, the main base in the Jaffna Peninsula.
We could see both sides of the road-abandoned houses once occupied by the Jaffna residents. By the on-going war, they deserted those houses and after the consecutive governments declaration as the high security zone, the one residential area had become a ghost - area. Only the Army points at every other few meters were seen. The destruction resembled worse than that of the Bosnian and Afghan ghost towns.
Our vehicles were passing the abandoned houses into the military camp area negotiating many bend and curves and reached near the Airport area. The Palaly Airport had turned into a domestic Airport and an Air force base. It doesn't have a long runway. Those days the Airport was a stopover for many school-going students on visits.
I had visited in the school days nearly three decades ago that area. I had hardly seen any military base at that time. Even near the runway, we could have seen farmers busy in cultivation. But those days were beyond recall now.
Our vehicles were finally stopped near the military hospital in the base. The German relief team was waiting for the visit of Major General Sunil Thennakoon, the Sri Lankan Army Commander of Jaffna.
The students started to unload the medicines and handing them over to the Army officers. But Fredrike Wagner suddenly interfered and asked other intern students to stop for a while the unloading. She told, "We should wait until Dietmar Doring comes". He had gone to meet the Maj. Gen. at his office with Dr. Jayalath.
When Maj. Gen. came to the premises and met the German Praktikum (Internship) students and others, I had a good conversation with him for a while. He told us how a Sri Lankan Army soldier helped to rescue a Tamil boy when he was carried away by the tsunami waves, but he died by subsequent heavy waves.
We finished our mission in the Army base and proceeded to the next destination, a collecting center for tsunami victims in a far-flung northern part of the Jaffna Peninsula. We were passing nearly a three-mile long road passing over the Jaffna Lagoon in its both sides.
Sea gulls were in the distant vicinity circling over the Jaffna lagoon with other small seabirds and creating various sounds. The kites in their turn in the distant sky were moving and turning like gliders in slow motion and making the evening lagoon a carnival of birds. We were moving enjoying nature's wonder along the narrow and lengthy passage.
For the German internship students the tropical Asian beauty of different kinds might have created a joy in their mind. They were filming the beautiful scenes with much enthusiasm.
We had finally reached the last destination of our northern mission. The collecting center was looking after various camps, which was harbouring some of the affected families in the Northern coastal areas facing the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean.
Dietmar Doring and Dr. Jayalath were having a meeting with the relief coordinators there. The students were keenly watching, pondering on what they were discussing. After the meeting the students were once again busy in their relief work by unloading the final stock of medicines and equipment. Once the unloading was over a smile of satisfaction seemed to dwell on every face.
We began our journey back to the south.
Our vehicles stopped near a military barrier manned by the Sri Lankan Army. There were two pick-up vehicles coming towards us, and the officers started to check our identification. Thereafter one pick-up vehicle drove in front of our vehicles and the other one came behind. We were travelling under military escort towards the Palaly Army camp, the main base in the Jaffna Peninsula.
We could see both sides of the road-abandoned houses once occupied by the Jaffna residents. By the on-going war, they deserted those houses and after the consecutive governments declaration as the high security zone, the one residential area had become a ghost - area. Only the Army points at every other few meters were seen. The destruction resembled worse than that of the Bosnian and Afghan ghost towns.
Our vehicles were passing the abandoned houses into the military camp area negotiating many bend and curves and reached near the Airport area. The Palaly Airport had turned into a domestic Airport and an Air force base. It doesn't have a long runway. Those days the Airport was a stopover for many school-going students on visits.
I had visited in the school days nearly three decades ago that area. I had hardly seen any military base at that time. Even near the runway, we could have seen farmers busy in cultivation. But those days were beyond recall now.
Our vehicles were finally stopped near the military hospital in the base. The German relief team was waiting for the visit of Major General Sunil Thennakoon, the Sri Lankan Army Commander of Jaffna.
The students started to unload the medicines and handing them over to the Army officers. But Fredrike Wagner suddenly interfered and asked other intern students to stop for a while the unloading. She told, "We should wait until Dietmar Doring comes". He had gone to meet the Maj. Gen. at his office with Dr. Jayalath.
When Maj. Gen. came to the premises and met the German Praktikum (Internship) students and others, I had a good conversation with him for a while. He told us how a Sri Lankan Army soldier helped to rescue a Tamil boy when he was carried away by the tsunami waves, but he died by subsequent heavy waves.
We finished our mission in the Army base and proceeded to the next destination, a collecting center for tsunami victims in a far-flung northern part of the Jaffna Peninsula. We were passing nearly a three-mile long road passing over the Jaffna Lagoon in its both sides.
Sea gulls were in the distant vicinity circling over the Jaffna lagoon with other small seabirds and creating various sounds. The kites in their turn in the distant sky were moving and turning like gliders in slow motion and making the evening lagoon a carnival of birds. We were moving enjoying nature's wonder along the narrow and lengthy passage.
For the German internship students the tropical Asian beauty of different kinds might have created a joy in their mind. They were filming the beautiful scenes with much enthusiasm.
We had finally reached the last destination of our northern mission. The collecting center was looking after various camps, which was harbouring some of the affected families in the Northern coastal areas facing the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean.
Dietmar Doring and Dr. Jayalath were having a meeting with the relief coordinators there. The students were keenly watching, pondering on what they were discussing. After the meeting the students were once again busy in their relief work by unloading the final stock of medicines and equipment. Once the unloading was over a smile of satisfaction seemed to dwell on every face.
We began our journey back to the south.
German Memories in Asia - The Memorable Moments of Our Tsunami Mission
We were moving fast and in a few minutes we reached the military barrier. We didn't have any difficulty crossing the military and LTTE barriers.
While on our way the kerosene-lit houses made us wonder whether we were in this century or some centuries behind. By the time we reached the Kilinochchi town the German Praktikum (Internship) students were in a sleepy mood.
We stopped at the "Pandyan" restaurant for dinner. We savoured the hospitality of the restaurant during the last two-day stay in Kilinochchi. I was sitting next to Dr. Jayalath and at our table were Fredrike Wagnar, Dietmar Doring and some other German intern students.
Fredrike Wagnar had had stomach up-set for a few days since her visit into the jungle interior. The spicy foods might have caused it. But one cannot rule out that the micro-organisms in the water too might have contributed to it. Some of the micro-organisms in the small ponds were deadly and caused even deaths in the past. Fredrike was using canned mineral water and there was no chance micro-organisms got into her system.
Dr. Jayalath was telling me "why you can't advise her that what she is eating is not good for her". But I kept silent not wanting to spoil her appetite. Though Dr. Jayalath repeatedly asked me to advise her, I refrained.
One could not help watching Fredrike's care and concern at the restaurant garden when she was tending to an infant who was with the mother inside a van. Fredrike extended one of her fingers into the tiny palm, and the infant immediately seized Fredrike's finger as tightly as possible. I noticed Freidke was enjoying those moments. The basic mother-child instinct was reflected in those moments.
We began our departure from Kilinochchi and our vehicles sped along to reach the barriers of the LTTE and Sri Lanka Army. The students were in a drowsy mood. We reached the LTTE barrier in a couple of hours and passed it without difficulty.
We were moving in the no-man-zone, a one-time heavily mined territory. Though at the LTTE barrier a huge board gave warning of land mines, there were casualties. A herd of cattle and wild animals were maimed or killed. Such deadly mines around the world were laid even in deserts. Ironically while the cost to produce a landmine is as little as three US dollars removing it cost much more than thousand US dollars.
We approached the military barrier and again we had to stop for the clearance. The military officers were coming to us in a jovial mood and trying to talk to some of the German students. We couldn't use the usual main highway and had to deviate from it before we joined the highway again. It was likely that the highway could have been mined.
I was worried when the students stepped into the side-ways as though to satisfy an adventurous instinct or may be out of happiness. The landmines issue is a global problem. These deadly landmines kill and maim hundreds of civilians every year in Iraq.
In the Kurdistan territory of Northern Iraq about one person a day steps on a mine. Afghanistan is boasting ironically having the largest industry not other than the de-mining.
We finally cleared from the last barrier of our northern mission and were moving further towards South. Our vehicles in a few minutes drive, stopped near the Vavuniya town once again for having tea break. Vavuniya is the heavily guarded last town in the northern mainland of the Island, which is controlled by the Sri Lankan Government. But the town is under the heavy influence of LTTE.
As it was midnight, and the streets were deserted, We could hardly see people in the streets. Some of the students roamed the streets leisurely. They awed by the eerie atmosphere of the war-ravaged town's calm. We had short eats and tea at one of the few open hotels.
After a while of relax we started our journey once again. We reached a junction in Anuradhapura, an ancient historical city of the Island, where one road led to the hill country and the other towards the western coastal area of the Island.
The time had now come to bid goodbye. I wished them all and when Freidka's turn came I observed that she looked uncomfortable. Her soft nature once again confirmed her emotional reactions.
I got in to Dr. Jayalath's vehicle, which was going to Colombo. Dietmar Doring, students and others were heading towards western direction to Aquarius Sports Resort Hotel in Maravila where the AGSEP in operation.
Our memorable tsunami relief mission had thus come to an end.
While on our way the kerosene-lit houses made us wonder whether we were in this century or some centuries behind. By the time we reached the Kilinochchi town the German Praktikum (Internship) students were in a sleepy mood.
We stopped at the "Pandyan" restaurant for dinner. We savoured the hospitality of the restaurant during the last two-day stay in Kilinochchi. I was sitting next to Dr. Jayalath and at our table were Fredrike Wagnar, Dietmar Doring and some other German intern students.
Fredrike Wagnar had had stomach up-set for a few days since her visit into the jungle interior. The spicy foods might have caused it. But one cannot rule out that the micro-organisms in the water too might have contributed to it. Some of the micro-organisms in the small ponds were deadly and caused even deaths in the past. Fredrike was using canned mineral water and there was no chance micro-organisms got into her system.
Dr. Jayalath was telling me "why you can't advise her that what she is eating is not good for her". But I kept silent not wanting to spoil her appetite. Though Dr. Jayalath repeatedly asked me to advise her, I refrained.
One could not help watching Fredrike's care and concern at the restaurant garden when she was tending to an infant who was with the mother inside a van. Fredrike extended one of her fingers into the tiny palm, and the infant immediately seized Fredrike's finger as tightly as possible. I noticed Freidke was enjoying those moments. The basic mother-child instinct was reflected in those moments.
We began our departure from Kilinochchi and our vehicles sped along to reach the barriers of the LTTE and Sri Lanka Army. The students were in a drowsy mood. We reached the LTTE barrier in a couple of hours and passed it without difficulty.
We were moving in the no-man-zone, a one-time heavily mined territory. Though at the LTTE barrier a huge board gave warning of land mines, there were casualties. A herd of cattle and wild animals were maimed or killed. Such deadly mines around the world were laid even in deserts. Ironically while the cost to produce a landmine is as little as three US dollars removing it cost much more than thousand US dollars.
We approached the military barrier and again we had to stop for the clearance. The military officers were coming to us in a jovial mood and trying to talk to some of the German students. We couldn't use the usual main highway and had to deviate from it before we joined the highway again. It was likely that the highway could have been mined.
I was worried when the students stepped into the side-ways as though to satisfy an adventurous instinct or may be out of happiness. The landmines issue is a global problem. These deadly landmines kill and maim hundreds of civilians every year in Iraq.
In the Kurdistan territory of Northern Iraq about one person a day steps on a mine. Afghanistan is boasting ironically having the largest industry not other than the de-mining.
We finally cleared from the last barrier of our northern mission and were moving further towards South. Our vehicles in a few minutes drive, stopped near the Vavuniya town once again for having tea break. Vavuniya is the heavily guarded last town in the northern mainland of the Island, which is controlled by the Sri Lankan Government. But the town is under the heavy influence of LTTE.
As it was midnight, and the streets were deserted, We could hardly see people in the streets. Some of the students roamed the streets leisurely. They awed by the eerie atmosphere of the war-ravaged town's calm. We had short eats and tea at one of the few open hotels.
After a while of relax we started our journey once again. We reached a junction in Anuradhapura, an ancient historical city of the Island, where one road led to the hill country and the other towards the western coastal area of the Island.
The time had now come to bid goodbye. I wished them all and when Freidka's turn came I observed that she looked uncomfortable. Her soft nature once again confirmed her emotional reactions.
I got in to Dr. Jayalath's vehicle, which was going to Colombo. Dietmar Doring, students and others were heading towards western direction to Aquarius Sports Resort Hotel in Maravila where the AGSEP in operation.
Our memorable tsunami relief mission had thus come to an end.
German Memory in Asia - Crossing the War-Torn Border
German Praktikum(Internship) students were keenly watching the evening phenomenon over the Jaffna Lagoon. Twilight was in its last moments of our Northern Mission for the second day.
We reached the LTTE checking point in another half an hour's time and the night was upon us. We all parked our vehicle for clearance. Though we had a clearance from the LTTE in a few minutes, the LTTE had to determine from the Army checking point which was few meters away, whether they could allow us to enter into the Sri Lankan Army-controlled territory as we were past the deadline of the day to cross the No Mans Zone.
The new development in having a direct rapport between two points of the frontiers of the warring factions was a credit to the Ceasefire Agreement between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government, which was facilitated by Norway with the backing of the international community. There were times they used to infiltrate into opposite areas and inflicted heavy casualties and losses.
We had come near the barrier of the LTTE's exit point, but had to wait as we were still not given clearance to enter into the Army's front. Some of the students got down from the vehicle. I too got down from the vehicle and went near the barrier, which was heavily guarded by LTTE male and female cadres.
Some female LTTE cadres in their unique uniform approached us. The German female students smiled at them and developed cordiality with them. The students gifted some chocolates, which they had brought with them to the LTTE's female cadres. I introduced the Singhalese couple to the LTTE's female cadres.
They were trying to speak to the Singhala couple with the few Singhala words they knew.
The female cadres had shown more interest to acquaint themselves with the German female students.
While we were passing our time so leisurely and joyfully, we could sense a fusion of the different cultures and tastes. It was a fascinating moment on our northern tsunami relief mission.
The LTTE officer in charge of the point informed us that we could move towards the Sri Lankan Army-controlled area. The German female students and female LTTE cadres greeted each other once again.
Our vehicles started to move towards the military checkpoint. Two officers came towards us and Dr. Jayalath spoke to them. We were allowed to get in. Passing the barrier we stopped near a military camp.
A captain who was in-charge of the point came near us and was talking to Dr. Jayalath and Dietmar Doring. The students alighted from the vehicle and were taking in the surroundings with much enthusiasm.
For them it was such a strange experience. They were quite young when the Berlin Wall, a vestige of the Second World War was demolished after the reunion of both Germanys at the end of the cold war and the collapse of the USSR. They didn't experience the hostility of the occupied forces and the trauma, which was caused by the erection of the Berlin Wall, but had only heard about it.
After the European Union emerged as the central body to keep Europe free of wars and economically united, it further removed hostilities between the adjoining European countries and to the German students the past nightmare was mere recall.
But when they were exposed to the military points and the warring hostility in a foreign land, they might have harked back to the events in Germany several decades ago, giving them a feel of the experience of a past coming alive. They were startled whenever they closed in on military camps.
We were talking to few of the junior officers about our mission. The hostile environment was still prevailing. The area was so vulnerable to confrontation though there had been a written Ceasefire Agreement with a new development where after the General Election in 2004, the Government, which signed the agreement with LTTE, lost at the polls.
The change of governmental power impacted on military affairs as well, and created chaos in the warring fronts. The Army gave us clearance and we started journeying towards Jaffna.
We were moving fast as there were no vehicles around which would have made our progress slow.
We reached the LTTE checking point in another half an hour's time and the night was upon us. We all parked our vehicle for clearance. Though we had a clearance from the LTTE in a few minutes, the LTTE had to determine from the Army checking point which was few meters away, whether they could allow us to enter into the Sri Lankan Army-controlled territory as we were past the deadline of the day to cross the No Mans Zone.
The new development in having a direct rapport between two points of the frontiers of the warring factions was a credit to the Ceasefire Agreement between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government, which was facilitated by Norway with the backing of the international community. There were times they used to infiltrate into opposite areas and inflicted heavy casualties and losses.
We had come near the barrier of the LTTE's exit point, but had to wait as we were still not given clearance to enter into the Army's front. Some of the students got down from the vehicle. I too got down from the vehicle and went near the barrier, which was heavily guarded by LTTE male and female cadres.
Some female LTTE cadres in their unique uniform approached us. The German female students smiled at them and developed cordiality with them. The students gifted some chocolates, which they had brought with them to the LTTE's female cadres. I introduced the Singhalese couple to the LTTE's female cadres.
They were trying to speak to the Singhala couple with the few Singhala words they knew.
The female cadres had shown more interest to acquaint themselves with the German female students.
While we were passing our time so leisurely and joyfully, we could sense a fusion of the different cultures and tastes. It was a fascinating moment on our northern tsunami relief mission.
The LTTE officer in charge of the point informed us that we could move towards the Sri Lankan Army-controlled area. The German female students and female LTTE cadres greeted each other once again.
Our vehicles started to move towards the military checkpoint. Two officers came towards us and Dr. Jayalath spoke to them. We were allowed to get in. Passing the barrier we stopped near a military camp.
A captain who was in-charge of the point came near us and was talking to Dr. Jayalath and Dietmar Doring. The students alighted from the vehicle and were taking in the surroundings with much enthusiasm.
For them it was such a strange experience. They were quite young when the Berlin Wall, a vestige of the Second World War was demolished after the reunion of both Germanys at the end of the cold war and the collapse of the USSR. They didn't experience the hostility of the occupied forces and the trauma, which was caused by the erection of the Berlin Wall, but had only heard about it.
After the European Union emerged as the central body to keep Europe free of wars and economically united, it further removed hostilities between the adjoining European countries and to the German students the past nightmare was mere recall.
But when they were exposed to the military points and the warring hostility in a foreign land, they might have harked back to the events in Germany several decades ago, giving them a feel of the experience of a past coming alive. They were startled whenever they closed in on military camps.
We were talking to few of the junior officers about our mission. The hostile environment was still prevailing. The area was so vulnerable to confrontation though there had been a written Ceasefire Agreement with a new development where after the General Election in 2004, the Government, which signed the agreement with LTTE, lost at the polls.
The change of governmental power impacted on military affairs as well, and created chaos in the warring fronts. The Army gave us clearance and we started journeying towards Jaffna.
We were moving fast as there were no vehicles around which would have made our progress slow.
German Memories in Asia - An Exploration Into Ancient Jaffna
When we reached Jaffna, the German students were gazing at the surroundings of the Jaffna city. My mind went far back when looking at those war-ravaged buildings to the times where the Naga Kingdom was flourishing in various parts of the Jaffna Peninsula.
But the Jaffna Peninsula since then had a hazardous time for long periods as history tells us.
It is said that Lord Buddha visited Jaffna to resolve a crisis over a jewel between the Naga Chieftains and introduced Buddhism to them. Archeological findings in Kantharodai, Nagadeepa, and Vallipuram areas in the Jaffna Peninsula are evidences to prove the existence of Buddhism. Long before Buddhism crept into some areas of the Jaffna peninsula the Nagas who lived in Jaffna were worshiping Lord Shiva. The Nagas were good sea traders and Ptolemy who lived between 85 A.D. and165 A.D. and travelled around the Island observed that one of the oldest seaports of Sri Lanka was in the Northern part of the Jaffna Peninsula and was used since 6th century B.C.
Though the Nagas ruled the North of the Island, a formal Jaffna Kingdom came into being by the ambitions of two chieftains, one Kalinga Magha from Orissa, India and Chandrabhanu from Malacca in the Malay Straits region of Malaysia.
In 1215 the aggressive Kalinga Maga conquered Sri Lanka with his powerful army from Kalinga. Kalinga was an ancient Indo - Aryan Kingdom of central-eastern India, in the province of Orissa. The kingdom had a formidable maritime empire with trading routes linking Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, Borneo, Bali, Sumatra and Java. Colonists from Kalinga settled in far away places such as Sri Lanka, Burma as well as the Indonesian archipelago. Even today Indians are referred to as Klings in Malaysia because of the early Indian invasions from Kalinga into Malaysia. Many Sri Lankan kings, both Sinhalese and Tamil, claimed to have descended from Kalinga dynasties.
TheYakkas and Nagas might have become the outcasts as bondsmen and slaves, after the Indo-Aryan immigrants conquered them and became the lords and aristocrats. And finally they might have assimilated within the dominant society.
What happened to Nagas and Yakkas in the Island points to the ultimate cause of the rise and fall of the civilizations are according to their racial homogeneity and nothing else - a nation can survive wars, defeats, natural catastrophes, but not racial dissolution.
Jaffna Peninsula under Kalinga Maga's rule was so controversial. His rule was the worst marauding regime that had existed in the Island according to historians.
In 1247 Chandrabhanu invaded the Island with the aid of Indian armies from the Malayan peninsula and inflicted heavy damages on the Kalinga Maga domain. Although Chandrabhanu's invasion was repulsed in 1263 he managed to capture the areas in the Jaffna Peninsula that were then under Kalinga Maga.
The Jaffna Kingdom was dominated by the South Indian Pandyan Empire, a dravidic empire in the 13th Century after they defeated Chadrabanu. The development of the Dravidic tribes in the past twenty centuries gave rise to states like Pallava, Pandy, Chola, Chera and Vijayanagar kingdoms in Southern India. From time to time one or the other of these Dravidian states reached pre-eminence but indubitably the greatest of these was the Chola Empire, which encompassed not only south India but the entire region up to the Ganges in Northern India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives to the south to Malaya and Sumathra in the east.
The political socio-economic and cultural impact and influence of this empire was very great. All these Dravidian kingdoms had a lasting political socio-economic and cultural impact and influence on Sri Lanka and in the region to a very great extent.
After lasting for over 400 years the Dravidian influenced Jaffna Kingdom finally lost its independence to the Portuguese in 1621. The Portuguese captured the King of Jaffna Sangili Kumaran and had taken him to Goa in India along with his sons. After trial, the Portuguese found him guilty of treason and hanged him along with his sons. With the Jaffna Kingdom's demise, the only indigenous independent political entity that was not Sinhalese and Buddhist in character came to an end in the Island.
While we were moving along the Jaffna streets, the repercussions of the fall of Jaffna Kingdom seemed to reverberate with a mysterious silence everywhere.
But the Jaffna Peninsula since then had a hazardous time for long periods as history tells us.
It is said that Lord Buddha visited Jaffna to resolve a crisis over a jewel between the Naga Chieftains and introduced Buddhism to them. Archeological findings in Kantharodai, Nagadeepa, and Vallipuram areas in the Jaffna Peninsula are evidences to prove the existence of Buddhism. Long before Buddhism crept into some areas of the Jaffna peninsula the Nagas who lived in Jaffna were worshiping Lord Shiva. The Nagas were good sea traders and Ptolemy who lived between 85 A.D. and165 A.D. and travelled around the Island observed that one of the oldest seaports of Sri Lanka was in the Northern part of the Jaffna Peninsula and was used since 6th century B.C.
Though the Nagas ruled the North of the Island, a formal Jaffna Kingdom came into being by the ambitions of two chieftains, one Kalinga Magha from Orissa, India and Chandrabhanu from Malacca in the Malay Straits region of Malaysia.
In 1215 the aggressive Kalinga Maga conquered Sri Lanka with his powerful army from Kalinga. Kalinga was an ancient Indo - Aryan Kingdom of central-eastern India, in the province of Orissa. The kingdom had a formidable maritime empire with trading routes linking Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, Borneo, Bali, Sumatra and Java. Colonists from Kalinga settled in far away places such as Sri Lanka, Burma as well as the Indonesian archipelago. Even today Indians are referred to as Klings in Malaysia because of the early Indian invasions from Kalinga into Malaysia. Many Sri Lankan kings, both Sinhalese and Tamil, claimed to have descended from Kalinga dynasties.
TheYakkas and Nagas might have become the outcasts as bondsmen and slaves, after the Indo-Aryan immigrants conquered them and became the lords and aristocrats. And finally they might have assimilated within the dominant society.
What happened to Nagas and Yakkas in the Island points to the ultimate cause of the rise and fall of the civilizations are according to their racial homogeneity and nothing else - a nation can survive wars, defeats, natural catastrophes, but not racial dissolution.
Jaffna Peninsula under Kalinga Maga's rule was so controversial. His rule was the worst marauding regime that had existed in the Island according to historians.
In 1247 Chandrabhanu invaded the Island with the aid of Indian armies from the Malayan peninsula and inflicted heavy damages on the Kalinga Maga domain. Although Chandrabhanu's invasion was repulsed in 1263 he managed to capture the areas in the Jaffna Peninsula that were then under Kalinga Maga.
The Jaffna Kingdom was dominated by the South Indian Pandyan Empire, a dravidic empire in the 13th Century after they defeated Chadrabanu. The development of the Dravidic tribes in the past twenty centuries gave rise to states like Pallava, Pandy, Chola, Chera and Vijayanagar kingdoms in Southern India. From time to time one or the other of these Dravidian states reached pre-eminence but indubitably the greatest of these was the Chola Empire, which encompassed not only south India but the entire region up to the Ganges in Northern India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives to the south to Malaya and Sumathra in the east.
The political socio-economic and cultural impact and influence of this empire was very great. All these Dravidian kingdoms had a lasting political socio-economic and cultural impact and influence on Sri Lanka and in the region to a very great extent.
After lasting for over 400 years the Dravidian influenced Jaffna Kingdom finally lost its independence to the Portuguese in 1621. The Portuguese captured the King of Jaffna Sangili Kumaran and had taken him to Goa in India along with his sons. After trial, the Portuguese found him guilty of treason and hanged him along with his sons. With the Jaffna Kingdom's demise, the only indigenous independent political entity that was not Sinhalese and Buddhist in character came to an end in the Island.
While we were moving along the Jaffna streets, the repercussions of the fall of Jaffna Kingdom seemed to reverberate with a mysterious silence everywhere.
German Memories in Asia - The Portuguese Jaffna
When we joined with the German relief team in a few minutes, Dr. Jayalth and Dietmar Doring were in a rather relaxed mood planning the day's mission.
Having finished our breakfast, a delicious Jaffna dish quickly, we all started to move towards the Bishop House of Jaffna.
While I was walking in the back corridor of the church with the German university students, my memories went back to my meeting with then Bishop of Jaffna Dr. Thiyogupillai in my school days several years ago. His caring nature very much impressed me though I did not belong to the Catholic religious sector but had a faith in Jesus.
The Bishop of Jaffna Rt. Rev. Thomas Saundranayagam had a lengthy chat with all of us in the conference hall and praised the students for their kind service to the tsunami victims.
While I was returning in the corridors with the students, I was reminded of the era of Portuguese rule and how Catholism was introduced into Jaffna.
The conquest of Jaffna by the Portuguese under Captain General Constantine de Sa under the command of Philip de Oliveira in 1620-21 spelt the demise of the independent Kingdom of Jaffna. A pretext to capture Jaffna presented itself when the King of Jaffna, cruelly murdered about six hundred newly baptized Catholics in the Island of Mannar. Constantine de Braganza led an expedition and captured Mannar in 1560.
The King of Jaffna sued for peace and promised to pay tribute, so that the King could remain independent in Jaffna. But the tributary status came to an end in 1591 and the Portuguese undertook the missionary work of conversion despite the obstruction from the Kings of Jaffna. After the last ruler of Jaffna was captured in 1620, Jaffna became part of the Portugal's Overseas Empire.
The main contribution of the Portuguese rule in Jaffna was the introduction of Roman Catholicism.
The Portuguese wantonly destroyed quite a number of Hindu temples and introduced many other measures against the Hindus. At one time historians say during the Portuguese rule in the 17th century, the Tamil-speaking Jaffna peninsula, a bastion of orthodox Shiva worshipping Hindus was entirely Catholic. Fernao de Queiros, the renowned Portuguese chronicler described Jaffna as being "wholly Christian".
The reasons for the en masse conversion of Jaffna Tamils were the unquestioned military and political power that the Portuguese exercised over the population of Jaffna, due to a variety factors one of which was that the Jaffna masses were non-aggressive, non-militarised and leaderless. Although St Francis Xavier had begun conversion in 1543 itself, it was only after the complete takeover of Jaffna that the conversions took place on a mass scale.
In order to increase the number of converts rapidly, they resorted to "general baptism".
A typical case of general baptism in a village was first the announcement of the arrival of the
Portuguese missionaries made by tom-tom. The villagers in question would be asked to assemble and then a missionary would ask them to reject their "false" gods and accept "one true God". It was not a request; it was almost a command backed by the authority of the Portuguese government. This is because the missionary would invariably be accompanied by the local Portuguese officials and the native chiefs who supported them. Fear of a fine or corporal punishment with cane and stock would ensure their regular attendance at church on Sundays and feast days.
An un-named writer is quoted as saying that the Hindus believed under force that there were different paths to salvation and that there was nothing wrong in accepting Catholicism.
The Portuguese rule ruined Jaffna and burdened the Jaffna peasant as he had to pay heavy taxes, which the Portuguese kept hiking from time to time. The cash from the Jaffna treasury was being used to fund Portuguese settlements elsewhere. Nothing was ploughed back into the local economy. According to Fernao de Queiros, the people of Jaffna had been "reduced to the utmost misery" under
Portuguese rule.
In the absence of the possibility of waging war or revolting, the only option for the people was to migrate. They migrated to the Wanni jungles in the South of the peninsula and by crossing the Palk Strait to India.
The people of Jaffna were immensely relieved when the Dutch overthrew the Portuguese in June 1658.
The refugees not only came back to Jaffna, but shed Catholicism and reverted to Hinduism en masse. Some of course, took to the Protestant religion of the Dutch.
The converts who believed there were different paths to salvation, reverted back to Hinduism. Only the people from coastal areas of the Gulf of Mannar and some coastal areas in the Jaffna Peninsula saw Catholicism as a liberating path and stuck to it.
Though the Jaffna Peninsula today is a Hindu-dominated area in population, the Bishop of Jaffna is highly respected by all communities irrespective of their religious differences. And still the Church is playing a powerful, influential and healthy role in the life of the Tamils in the Peninsula.
Having finished our breakfast, a delicious Jaffna dish quickly, we all started to move towards the Bishop House of Jaffna.
While I was walking in the back corridor of the church with the German university students, my memories went back to my meeting with then Bishop of Jaffna Dr. Thiyogupillai in my school days several years ago. His caring nature very much impressed me though I did not belong to the Catholic religious sector but had a faith in Jesus.
The Bishop of Jaffna Rt. Rev. Thomas Saundranayagam had a lengthy chat with all of us in the conference hall and praised the students for their kind service to the tsunami victims.
While I was returning in the corridors with the students, I was reminded of the era of Portuguese rule and how Catholism was introduced into Jaffna.
The conquest of Jaffna by the Portuguese under Captain General Constantine de Sa under the command of Philip de Oliveira in 1620-21 spelt the demise of the independent Kingdom of Jaffna. A pretext to capture Jaffna presented itself when the King of Jaffna, cruelly murdered about six hundred newly baptized Catholics in the Island of Mannar. Constantine de Braganza led an expedition and captured Mannar in 1560.
The King of Jaffna sued for peace and promised to pay tribute, so that the King could remain independent in Jaffna. But the tributary status came to an end in 1591 and the Portuguese undertook the missionary work of conversion despite the obstruction from the Kings of Jaffna. After the last ruler of Jaffna was captured in 1620, Jaffna became part of the Portugal's Overseas Empire.
The main contribution of the Portuguese rule in Jaffna was the introduction of Roman Catholicism.
The Portuguese wantonly destroyed quite a number of Hindu temples and introduced many other measures against the Hindus. At one time historians say during the Portuguese rule in the 17th century, the Tamil-speaking Jaffna peninsula, a bastion of orthodox Shiva worshipping Hindus was entirely Catholic. Fernao de Queiros, the renowned Portuguese chronicler described Jaffna as being "wholly Christian".
The reasons for the en masse conversion of Jaffna Tamils were the unquestioned military and political power that the Portuguese exercised over the population of Jaffna, due to a variety factors one of which was that the Jaffna masses were non-aggressive, non-militarised and leaderless. Although St Francis Xavier had begun conversion in 1543 itself, it was only after the complete takeover of Jaffna that the conversions took place on a mass scale.
In order to increase the number of converts rapidly, they resorted to "general baptism".
A typical case of general baptism in a village was first the announcement of the arrival of the
Portuguese missionaries made by tom-tom. The villagers in question would be asked to assemble and then a missionary would ask them to reject their "false" gods and accept "one true God". It was not a request; it was almost a command backed by the authority of the Portuguese government. This is because the missionary would invariably be accompanied by the local Portuguese officials and the native chiefs who supported them. Fear of a fine or corporal punishment with cane and stock would ensure their regular attendance at church on Sundays and feast days.
An un-named writer is quoted as saying that the Hindus believed under force that there were different paths to salvation and that there was nothing wrong in accepting Catholicism.
The Portuguese rule ruined Jaffna and burdened the Jaffna peasant as he had to pay heavy taxes, which the Portuguese kept hiking from time to time. The cash from the Jaffna treasury was being used to fund Portuguese settlements elsewhere. Nothing was ploughed back into the local economy. According to Fernao de Queiros, the people of Jaffna had been "reduced to the utmost misery" under
Portuguese rule.
In the absence of the possibility of waging war or revolting, the only option for the people was to migrate. They migrated to the Wanni jungles in the South of the peninsula and by crossing the Palk Strait to India.
The people of Jaffna were immensely relieved when the Dutch overthrew the Portuguese in June 1658.
The refugees not only came back to Jaffna, but shed Catholicism and reverted to Hinduism en masse. Some of course, took to the Protestant religion of the Dutch.
The converts who believed there were different paths to salvation, reverted back to Hinduism. Only the people from coastal areas of the Gulf of Mannar and some coastal areas in the Jaffna Peninsula saw Catholicism as a liberating path and stuck to it.
Though the Jaffna Peninsula today is a Hindu-dominated area in population, the Bishop of Jaffna is highly respected by all communities irrespective of their religious differences. And still the Church is playing a powerful, influential and healthy role in the life of the Tamils in the Peninsula.
German Memories in Asia - The War-Ravaged Germany
The Aquarius Sports Resort Hotel in Marawila, a sleepy western coastal town of Sri Lanka is always a fascinating place to me.
The beach-end restaurant of the resort facing the scenic Indian Ocean will become at times a forum for various international issues.
I had a good discussion with Marita Kantar at the beach-end restaurant of the Aquarius Hotel. The sun had started to go further and further towards the deep-end of the Indian Ocean's horizon. The evening sunlight shone on Marita's face as she was seated facing the ocean directly and I asked her whether she would like to seat opposite the ocean at the rectangular table. She smiled and opted to stay where she was enjoying the glorious sunset in the Indian Ocean.
While I was talking to her on various issues, I asked her how she felt about the massacre of Jews by Adolf Hitler. She said, "They are only the victims for a person who was mad and power-hungry." She further continued, "He managed to brain-wash many for his unjustified cruelty on Jews and others in the Germany and neighbouring nations." She burst out at one point by saying that the act of one lunatic had the effect of giving a bad image of them.
I placated her saying the act of one megalomaniac does not necessarily tarnish all Germans. I told her not only in Germany even in other countries by the act of some of the reckless leaders, their nation and people have become untouchables or villains for other communities and nationalities.
In our recent past, we have seen many like them. Saddam Hussein in Iraq for his marginalization of Kurds and Shi'ite Muslims and some of the leaders from then Yugoslavia for their violation of Bosnian Muslims and Croatians are too the perpetrators of crimes against humanity in their own way. Some of the culprits had been prosecuted by the International Criminal Court for War-Crimes, but others escaped. Still there are many war criminals around the world at large.
I told her, "These culprits are either hiding or not punished yet or still the law is not strong enough or its enforcement is too weak".
As Marita was a Diploma student and doing her field of studies in managing social science, I asked about the unification of Germany which created a lot of unemployment problems in Germany and some Germans in the former West German part are uncomfortable about it. I knew as she is from the former East German part, she might feel uncomfortable at my question. Her eyes had gone really blurred over my question and answered with a sobbing emotion, "the Germans won't like them to be seen as East Germans and West Germans."
She further went on that she had been all over the Germany and saw minor changes in their dialects and couldn't identify any major differences.
What she said is correct. Even East Germany is only a creation after the Second World War when the major allied forces divided Germany into two parts. East Germany had been left out with the communist USSR and their puppet East German administration. But when the cold war came to an end and the demise of the Berlin wall in 1989, the new united Germany had made East Germany part of the existing federal system in other parts of the Germany as a new territory. The capital of the new unified Germany was shifted from the then West German capital Bonn to the then East German capital Berlin.
The beach-end restaurant of the resort facing the scenic Indian Ocean will become at times a forum for various international issues.
I had a good discussion with Marita Kantar at the beach-end restaurant of the Aquarius Hotel. The sun had started to go further and further towards the deep-end of the Indian Ocean's horizon. The evening sunlight shone on Marita's face as she was seated facing the ocean directly and I asked her whether she would like to seat opposite the ocean at the rectangular table. She smiled and opted to stay where she was enjoying the glorious sunset in the Indian Ocean.
While I was talking to her on various issues, I asked her how she felt about the massacre of Jews by Adolf Hitler. She said, "They are only the victims for a person who was mad and power-hungry." She further continued, "He managed to brain-wash many for his unjustified cruelty on Jews and others in the Germany and neighbouring nations." She burst out at one point by saying that the act of one lunatic had the effect of giving a bad image of them.
I placated her saying the act of one megalomaniac does not necessarily tarnish all Germans. I told her not only in Germany even in other countries by the act of some of the reckless leaders, their nation and people have become untouchables or villains for other communities and nationalities.
In our recent past, we have seen many like them. Saddam Hussein in Iraq for his marginalization of Kurds and Shi'ite Muslims and some of the leaders from then Yugoslavia for their violation of Bosnian Muslims and Croatians are too the perpetrators of crimes against humanity in their own way. Some of the culprits had been prosecuted by the International Criminal Court for War-Crimes, but others escaped. Still there are many war criminals around the world at large.
I told her, "These culprits are either hiding or not punished yet or still the law is not strong enough or its enforcement is too weak".
As Marita was a Diploma student and doing her field of studies in managing social science, I asked about the unification of Germany which created a lot of unemployment problems in Germany and some Germans in the former West German part are uncomfortable about it. I knew as she is from the former East German part, she might feel uncomfortable at my question. Her eyes had gone really blurred over my question and answered with a sobbing emotion, "the Germans won't like them to be seen as East Germans and West Germans."
She further went on that she had been all over the Germany and saw minor changes in their dialects and couldn't identify any major differences.
What she said is correct. Even East Germany is only a creation after the Second World War when the major allied forces divided Germany into two parts. East Germany had been left out with the communist USSR and their puppet East German administration. But when the cold war came to an end and the demise of the Berlin wall in 1989, the new united Germany had made East Germany part of the existing federal system in other parts of the Germany as a new territory. The capital of the new unified Germany was shifted from the then West German capital Bonn to the then East German capital Berlin.
German Memories in Asia - Crossing the Elephant Pass
The highway and the surroundings were once heavily mined areas. When we were passing the once strategic military camp and the destroyed tanks were telling signs of the war. The horrors of the war and the heat of the battle could be seen around the Elephant Pass Camp which was finally lost to the hands of LTTE in 1999.
The German Praktikum (Internship) students were looking at everywhere the area of the once fortified Camp area and recalling the terror in their motherland some decades ago.
Elephant Pass has come a long way from being a stretch of shallow waters that separated the Northern Jaffna Peninsula from the rest of the island in pre-colonial days and has now evolved into a military epicenter of the civil war.
The shallow waters through which elephants once carried goods into the Jaffna peninsula, giving it the name Elephant Pass, have been a silent witness to the ebbs and flow of the northern conflict. Elephant Pass, the terrestrial gateway to the Jaffna peninsula, is now under the control of the Tigers. The fall of Elephant Pass has changed the military course of the whole conflict. The Dutch colonialists first built a small fortress in 1776, which was converted in modern times into a rest house for tourists. After Independence a permanent garrison was set up there to check illicit immigration, smuggling and unlawful transport of timber.
As the intensity of the ethnic conflict escalated, the strategic importance of Elephant Pass also increased. The small camp gradually expanded into a sprawling complex. At one time, the Elephant Pass base and the satellite camps covered an area of about 23 km long and 8-10 km wide. While we were proceeding along in close proximity to Elephant Pass the Jaffna Lagoon on both sides of the high way triggered my thoughts back to many of the personal experiences in the Jaffna Lagoon. I had traveled a number of times crossing the lagoon from the mainland to the peninsula and vice versa as travel through Elephant Pass was prohibited in 1995.
The presence of the Sri Lankan military at the Elephant Pass made passage unsafe what with heavy land mines laid everywhere around the camp area.
Even traveling on the lagoon was unsafe as the LTTE and the Sri Lankan Navy were warring with each other with heavy casualties on both sides. The small boats used to start just before midnight, as the journey through the lagoon would be invisible. The three hours journey crossing the lagoon was enjoyable to me with lot of thrill and suspense until we reached the other end. LTTE monitored the lagoon passage as they controlled both coasts, the Kilali in the peninsula and the Nallur in the mainland.
Crossing the Elephant Pass was more than a crossing and going back into the past to me!
The German Praktikum (Internship) students were looking at everywhere the area of the once fortified Camp area and recalling the terror in their motherland some decades ago.
Elephant Pass has come a long way from being a stretch of shallow waters that separated the Northern Jaffna Peninsula from the rest of the island in pre-colonial days and has now evolved into a military epicenter of the civil war.
The shallow waters through which elephants once carried goods into the Jaffna peninsula, giving it the name Elephant Pass, have been a silent witness to the ebbs and flow of the northern conflict. Elephant Pass, the terrestrial gateway to the Jaffna peninsula, is now under the control of the Tigers. The fall of Elephant Pass has changed the military course of the whole conflict. The Dutch colonialists first built a small fortress in 1776, which was converted in modern times into a rest house for tourists. After Independence a permanent garrison was set up there to check illicit immigration, smuggling and unlawful transport of timber.
As the intensity of the ethnic conflict escalated, the strategic importance of Elephant Pass also increased. The small camp gradually expanded into a sprawling complex. At one time, the Elephant Pass base and the satellite camps covered an area of about 23 km long and 8-10 km wide. While we were proceeding along in close proximity to Elephant Pass the Jaffna Lagoon on both sides of the high way triggered my thoughts back to many of the personal experiences in the Jaffna Lagoon. I had traveled a number of times crossing the lagoon from the mainland to the peninsula and vice versa as travel through Elephant Pass was prohibited in 1995.
The presence of the Sri Lankan military at the Elephant Pass made passage unsafe what with heavy land mines laid everywhere around the camp area.
Even traveling on the lagoon was unsafe as the LTTE and the Sri Lankan Navy were warring with each other with heavy casualties on both sides. The small boats used to start just before midnight, as the journey through the lagoon would be invisible. The three hours journey crossing the lagoon was enjoyable to me with lot of thrill and suspense until we reached the other end. LTTE monitored the lagoon passage as they controlled both coasts, the Kilali in the peninsula and the Nallur in the mainland.
Crossing the Elephant Pass was more than a crossing and going back into the past to me!
German Hamlet of Asia
The silent waves of Gulf of Mannar towards the sandy shores of Marawila, a western coastal town of Sri Lanka was creating a symphony of ecstasy, made by mind often in a state of standstill.
Watching the horizon of the shiny blue sky, above the Indian Ocean, while sipping blended coffee is always an unforgettable experience at the beach-end restaurant of Aquarius Sports Resort Hotel, which is surrounded by greeneries of scenic view, which is unique only to this Island-paradise.
More than enjoying the taste of the nature's gifts around there, conversing on the issues of world affairs focusing Germany and rest of the Europe will become always a hot topic in the restaurant and will make at times, the environment into a German hamlet of Asia.
The Aquarius Sports Resort Hotel, which hosts the Asian-German Sports Exchange Program (AGSEP), a Non-Governmental Organisation, operating in the development political sector with a partner office is in Essen, Germany.
The Resort also accommodates the Sri Lanka division of the International Institute for Ratings and Consultancy (IIRC), a German based Think-Tank, which facilitates surveys and consultancy and currently carrying out a survey on the tsunami devastations for presenting donors around the world.
My association with these institutions after the tsunami disaster has made me to visit often there and gave me a chance to know more about the German history, economy and cultural issues through my conversation with students of leading German universities who are in their exchange programs and doing their undergraduate and postgraduate studies in the fields of economics, political science, social science, engineering and other disciplines.
Dietmar Doring, the founder/director of the AGSEP and the country director of the IIRC was an amateur national coach for the table tennis team of Sri Lanka and could be proud of his decision to use the sports events as a medium for encouraging peace in this island, has gone a long way.
He has salvaged his personal trauma of the war-torn experience by the decades-long civil war in Sri Lanka and beyond that by the lasting trauma caused by the destructions in Germany in the major world - wars.
The dedication of Dietmar Doring and his AGSEP students who have done a memorable service to this Island in the tsunami period and thereafter, by importing goods and medicines directly from Germany which is worth more than US$ 5 Million cannot be forgotten by Sri Lankans forever.
Their kind and caring nature has prompted me to associate with AGSEP in number of ways and it is an unforgettable experience in associating with them.
Recently we had a joint event of the AGSEP and the PDIP: A Think-Tank on Post Conflict, Economic and Gender issues at the restaurant of the Aquarius Sports Resort Hotel, the "Night of a Thousand Dinners", an initiative of Adopt-A-Minefield, a program of the United Nations Association of the USA and the Canadian Landmine Foundation that began as an opportunity for people and institutions globally to come together on a single night, enjoy a meal and help solve the global landmine crisis with discussions on world affairs.
The event was observed a couple of years ago first time in Sri Lanka by the PDIP with the participation of its Patron Dr. James W. Spain, a former US Ambassador for Sri Lanka and the UN with a global participation of the US State Department and its embassies, the Canadian Foreign Ministry and its consulates, the American Chambers of Commerce and Rotary International.
The event has given me an opportunity to address and share various international issues with German students and others and has taken me back to the Second World Era of Germany.
Even in Germany there had been acts of resistance against the Nazis by individuals or resistance groups throughout the years. They came from all walks of life. A bomb attack initiated by Graf Stauffenberg and other resistance fighters on July 20, 1944 failed: Hitler survived and had more than 4,000 people executed in retaliation. The war continued, claiming huge casualties on both sides, until the Allies occupied the entire German Reich. Hilter committed suicide on April 30, 1945 and a week later the darkest chapter in the history of Germany was brought to an end with the country's unconditional capitulation.
The hardship, which German people suffered and underwent thereafter, has left them into a lasting trauma, which is so difficult to overcome even in the next centuries.
When I was quoting in my brief speech at the dinner that the tragedy where by March, 1945 as the advancing Soviets under the slogan, "There will be no pity. They have sown the wind and now they are harvesting the whirlwind" tortured at east two million German women in an undisciplined advance that is now acknowledged as the largest case of mass violation against women in history, I too experienced the horror of many decades back in Germany through the eyes of those young female German students who were participating in the event.
Now the search for inner-peace by finding peace in other countries and helping others who are affected by the war and natural disaster, is the only objective for these young Germans.
Consequently achieving a positive contribution to the re-establishment of peace in the war-ravaged country with the help of sporting events the AGSEP aims to help the divided ethnic groups to become closer together and to give an impulse towards peace and spread the message beyond the shores of this Island.
Watching the horizon of the shiny blue sky, above the Indian Ocean, while sipping blended coffee is always an unforgettable experience at the beach-end restaurant of Aquarius Sports Resort Hotel, which is surrounded by greeneries of scenic view, which is unique only to this Island-paradise.
More than enjoying the taste of the nature's gifts around there, conversing on the issues of world affairs focusing Germany and rest of the Europe will become always a hot topic in the restaurant and will make at times, the environment into a German hamlet of Asia.
The Aquarius Sports Resort Hotel, which hosts the Asian-German Sports Exchange Program (AGSEP), a Non-Governmental Organisation, operating in the development political sector with a partner office is in Essen, Germany.
The Resort also accommodates the Sri Lanka division of the International Institute for Ratings and Consultancy (IIRC), a German based Think-Tank, which facilitates surveys and consultancy and currently carrying out a survey on the tsunami devastations for presenting donors around the world.
My association with these institutions after the tsunami disaster has made me to visit often there and gave me a chance to know more about the German history, economy and cultural issues through my conversation with students of leading German universities who are in their exchange programs and doing their undergraduate and postgraduate studies in the fields of economics, political science, social science, engineering and other disciplines.
Dietmar Doring, the founder/director of the AGSEP and the country director of the IIRC was an amateur national coach for the table tennis team of Sri Lanka and could be proud of his decision to use the sports events as a medium for encouraging peace in this island, has gone a long way.
He has salvaged his personal trauma of the war-torn experience by the decades-long civil war in Sri Lanka and beyond that by the lasting trauma caused by the destructions in Germany in the major world - wars.
The dedication of Dietmar Doring and his AGSEP students who have done a memorable service to this Island in the tsunami period and thereafter, by importing goods and medicines directly from Germany which is worth more than US$ 5 Million cannot be forgotten by Sri Lankans forever.
Their kind and caring nature has prompted me to associate with AGSEP in number of ways and it is an unforgettable experience in associating with them.
Recently we had a joint event of the AGSEP and the PDIP: A Think-Tank on Post Conflict, Economic and Gender issues at the restaurant of the Aquarius Sports Resort Hotel, the "Night of a Thousand Dinners", an initiative of Adopt-A-Minefield, a program of the United Nations Association of the USA and the Canadian Landmine Foundation that began as an opportunity for people and institutions globally to come together on a single night, enjoy a meal and help solve the global landmine crisis with discussions on world affairs.
The event was observed a couple of years ago first time in Sri Lanka by the PDIP with the participation of its Patron Dr. James W. Spain, a former US Ambassador for Sri Lanka and the UN with a global participation of the US State Department and its embassies, the Canadian Foreign Ministry and its consulates, the American Chambers of Commerce and Rotary International.
The event has given me an opportunity to address and share various international issues with German students and others and has taken me back to the Second World Era of Germany.
Even in Germany there had been acts of resistance against the Nazis by individuals or resistance groups throughout the years. They came from all walks of life. A bomb attack initiated by Graf Stauffenberg and other resistance fighters on July 20, 1944 failed: Hitler survived and had more than 4,000 people executed in retaliation. The war continued, claiming huge casualties on both sides, until the Allies occupied the entire German Reich. Hilter committed suicide on April 30, 1945 and a week later the darkest chapter in the history of Germany was brought to an end with the country's unconditional capitulation.
The hardship, which German people suffered and underwent thereafter, has left them into a lasting trauma, which is so difficult to overcome even in the next centuries.
When I was quoting in my brief speech at the dinner that the tragedy where by March, 1945 as the advancing Soviets under the slogan, "There will be no pity. They have sown the wind and now they are harvesting the whirlwind" tortured at east two million German women in an undisciplined advance that is now acknowledged as the largest case of mass violation against women in history, I too experienced the horror of many decades back in Germany through the eyes of those young female German students who were participating in the event.
Now the search for inner-peace by finding peace in other countries and helping others who are affected by the war and natural disaster, is the only objective for these young Germans.
Consequently achieving a positive contribution to the re-establishment of peace in the war-ravaged country with the help of sporting events the AGSEP aims to help the divided ethnic groups to become closer together and to give an impulse towards peace and spread the message beyond the shores of this Island.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
German university students donate a boat and engine to an affected fisherman.
Germans university students with Dietmar Doering (centre) at Marawila beach.
blogging