දුක මේ ටික මේ මීහරක්ට නොතේරෙන එකයි.

පුතාලා යන්නේ එන්නේ රේන්ජ් රෝවර් වල.

දුව රට ඉදන් මළගෙදරට එන්නේ විශේෂ ගුවන් යානයකින්.

මුන්ට බලය දෙන එකාලා තාමත් යන්නේ එන්නේ පයින්.

ඉන්නේ ලැයිමේ.

කන්නේ පොල් රොටී පුච්චල වැඩි දවසක.

පඩිය රුපියල් 1000 ක් වත් නැහැ දවසකට.

එදා මේක Bracegirdle දැක්කට, තාම අපේ එකෙකුටවත් මේක නොපෙනුන හැටිනේ පුදුමේ.

මේක මේ වතුකරයේ ලැයිම වලට පමණක් සීමා වෙච්ච කතාවක් නෙමෙයි.

මේක නගරෙත් එකයි ගමෙත් එකයි.

තමන්ගේ චන්දේ වටිනාකම සාමන්‍ය එකාලට තේරෙනකම් මේක වෙනස් වෙන්නේ නැහැ.

දුක මේ ටික මේ මීහරක්ට නොතේරෙන එකයි.

සම හරක් සඩ්ඩම්බිරාළලාට නොතේරුනාට !

සම හරක් සඩ්ඩම්බිරාළලාට නොතේරුනාට, just look at the number of other people who have shared this post on their own walls.

The shared figure has risen and I am sure that it had some bearing on the life of many of those who have decided to share it on their own walls.

My only supplication is to use your vote wisely next time.

Sri Lankan Migrant Workers (රට විරුවන්) do not Deserve the Step-motherly Treatment

The coronavirus has decimated most of the industries and aviation is one of the hardest hit among many.

The other night, one of my friends and a former colleague gave me a courtesy call but apparently what he wanted to convey was that he and many of my former colleagues have been made redundant recently due the epidemic spreading at unprecedented levels.

Now they are stuck in a foreign land with no job and no hope of returning home anytime soon.

Thanks to the initiative taken by the host nation, they will be paid an allowance to cover their rent and food expenses by their former employer until their repatriation.

This initiative is something we should admire.

He did not sound overtly desperate but I can pick up the message in his undertone immediately when I asked him whether the Sri Lankan Embassy there is aware of their plight.

He and the rest have already contacted the Sri Lankan Embassy as well to the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment to get them repatriated as soon as possible but hitherto they have not heard anything substantial and or positive from either of them.

That made me think as to why they have not been given any priority status in selecting dispatching mercy flight to bring stranded Sri Lankans back home from all over the world.

Many aircraft were dispatched to far-flung places including to the place of birth of this plague but not to the Middle East or even to South Korea.

Most of those flights were to pick up students stranded in those places and they belong to the network of well-connected people.

How much they have been charged is not in the public domain but the aircraft sent to pick up students stuck in India were overcharged as per the information appearing in many social media platforms.

And if the only criteria to decide where the next flight should be sent is the monetary factor, then the Middle East & South Korea should be given priority over any other places.

Studying overseas and trying to acquire new skills and knowledge has a huge financial strain on the country’s coffer unless they all are on 100 % scholarships.

But it is not the case in most of the case.

They pay tuition fees in foreign currency taken from here.

However, the migrant workers go aboard to send much needed foreign currency to the country and in a pandemic situation like this, if they have been overlooked and a few privileged lots were entertained, it tells a lot about our choices and priorities.

We had been dealing with the Middle East for so long and with so many bilateral agreements including air agreements between respective countries, landing an aircraft and picking the standard Sri Lankans up in the country will not be that difficult.

The next question bothers me is that who will foot the cost of the mercy flight fare.

In that context, my friends are luck because their employer is legally bound to provide them with a free repatriation ticket at the end of their contract but many are not as fortunate as my former colleges.

Many are toiling in those places on the so-called Free Visa, where the sponsor is not the employer and the employer is not legally bound to provide them with the end of service repatriation ticket, let alone other benefits.

This is where the SLBFE comes into the picture.

All those who are going abroad for employment are subjected to a levy and this levy being charged as an insurance cover to bear the costs, if in case if a person is unable to return back on his or her own due to any reasons and or to airlift the remains of anyone who loses life while working in a foreign country.

How the authorities will respond to Rata Weeruwan's pleas turning into real action is something yet to be seen in the ground level but my only hope is that they will not be given the short end of the stick at the end.

Sri Lankan Migrant Workers (රට විරුවන්) do not deserve the step-motherly treatment, especially at a time like this for their healthy and continued contributions to the country’s economy for so many years.

I sincerely hope the authorities will soon do them the justice they do deserve for their contributions.

Over to you, if anyone is reading this.

Walk to Bank or Ride to Prison ?

I gave up watching Television News for a long time for a few reasons.

The first one being that all channels are very badly politicized and no accurate picture would never be portrayed by them.

The second reason that most of them are being funded and run by ill-gotten money.

However, yesterday I was forced to watch one such channel and at that time they were telecasting the Sri Lanka Police spokespersons statement about lifting the curfew in most part of the island.

Unfortunately for us, we are still not out of the woods and that he was advising us not to use our private vehicles, instead to walk to go and get essentials from the closest possible outlet and the last number of the NIC rule still applies too.

Thanks to this unwise and prolonged lockdown and curfew; we survived simply by dipping into our “In Case of an Emergency” money jar hidden in some secured place in the kitchen.

Now do not waste your time by trying to figure out the location of the hidden money jar.

The jar is depleting fast and replenishment is badly needed soon to avoid it having the same fate as the famous Titanic.

And I do not expect an unknown person to come and leave a sack full of crispy 5000 notes on my doorsteps either.

From my home to the nearest bank branch is more than 3 miles away.

I am a senior citizen now and someone who has contributed to the country’s economy immensely while working by earning in foreign currency, something we were badly in need of during the protracted civil war,.

If we were living in any developed country in the world, we would have been treated with much more respect and dignity for our contributions.

But sadly it is not so in this country.

Three miles one way to the bank and back by foot is not a joke and I am sure the spokesperson was not really meant it.

Now I am left with two choices.

Either walk to the bank or ride to the prison.

And if you do not see me posting here from tomorrow, you can expect the worst-case scenario.