Gajalakshmi
Paramasivam
26
March 2020
MALDIVES IS NOT
PART OF SRI LANKA
I
spoke to our Temple Priest in Northern Sri Lanka to conduct the necessary rituals
in relation to the death anniversary of Sri Premakumar, at his home-shrine. I
was firm about not being an exception to the Curfew. Sri’s wife Vathanee
arranges this in honour of her husband’s life to be conducted at our family
temple in Sangarathai, in Northern Sri Lanka. I made the arrangements with the
priest in February when we were physically there. After learning that the
curfew has been extended – I restructured the arrangements.
I was therefore shocked to read the report under the
headline ‘COVID-19: Sri Lanka agrees to
provide medical personnel as aid’ at
https://edition.mv/news/15730
The parallel of that here in Australia would be for
Australian medical personnel to go to New Zealand.
To my mind, this means that the Sri Lankan
government does not feel the threat of
Coronavirus to be serious. This is possible due to it distancing itself more
and more from the global leadership. This is fine if Sri Lankan government
feels that Sri Lanka is self-sufficient to protect itself from this enemy about
whose causal influences we seem to know very little. Those who are like family
to me in Northern Sri Lanka expressed much appreciation that I called often to ask
them how they were coping. I advised those with school-going children to do
home-studies and to not idle. Isolation breeds its own problems. Hence the ongoing
mind-sharing with those who are still recovering from the war.
Sri Lankans are entitled to the full and complete
services of fellow Sri Lankans. This is the reason for self-isolation at National
level. Maldives is NOT part of Sri Lanka.
When
there is nothing I think I can do to make it better for someone, I pray. When
my prayers are heard, I feel more calm. When Gwen Harrigan, who is part of my University
of NSW (UNSW) family expressed appreciation for my article ‘Value of Pain
Sharing ’ I connected
it to my self-isolation pain during the ownership challenges I faced at UNSW in
which Gwen also shared.
I do not have the medical expertise to cure the
victims. But I do have the depth of mind to share and ease the mental pain of
the new victim.
In 2003, during the time I got ready to go to Sri
Lanka on a UNDP mission, my maternal uncle from Myanmar about the torture
experienced by my uncle Ratnum Durai:
STATEMENT OF CAPTAIN RAYMOND A.MALONEY OF
THE US AIR CORPS TO THE U.S. O.S.S IN 1945
DEATH OF RATNUM DURAI. O.S.S. AGENT CODE NAMED REX
ON 22 JANUARY 1944 BY
JAPANESE KEMPEITAI’S DAILY TORTURE & BEATINGS
Q:
Do
you have any information concerning the death of one RATNAM DURAI at the New
Law Courts Building, Rangoon, Burma? If so, please state what you know of your
own knowledge concerning the incident?
Capt.
Maloney: When I
was placed in the New Law Courts Building, RATNUM DURAI was already confined in
a cell adjacent to the one to which I was assigned, and was moved to my cell in
about 10 days. On nearly every day for several weeks after I arrived, one or
more interrogators, usually the interpreters, would come to the cell and ask
him questions. I understood from the questions that they were seeking
information as to the radio frequencies and codes he used as an agent for the
United States intelligence, where he was trained, and the names of other
natives trained with him. The interrogators would frequently beat him with a
heavy club or rubber hose while in the cell. At other times he would be taken from
the cell and be gone for a period of from a few hours to 2 days. When he was
returned to his cell his body would show evidence of very severe beating, and
frequently he had been so badly mistreated that he could not walk. About half
the time he was given nothing to eat and did not recover. He died in January
1944, about 6 weeks after I arrived. He had no diseases or injury, except from
apparent beatings, when I first arrived.
Q: State what was told to you concerning this mistreatment and of the
background of RATNUM DURAI?
Capt.
Maloney: I was told that DURAI was a Hindu and a citizen of
Burma, but had been trained by the United States Intelligence and dropped from
a plane behind the Japanese lines in Burma as an agent; that he was captured
during the latter part of November 1943 and immediately brought to the New Law
Courts Building.
DURAI told me that he was always beaten when he was
taken from his cell for interrogation and that on several occasions he was hung
by his feet from the ceiling of the interrogation room, so that his head was
barely above the floor, and that water was then poured in his nose.
Q: Can you give any information as to those responsible for the
mistreatment resulting in the death of RATNUM DUARI?
Capt.
Maloney: There was one Japanese interpreter who was on the
case continuously and gave many of the beatings. He was about 25 years old,
about 5’5” tall and could speak good English. He said he knew a little about
boxing and that he was one of the few Japanese there who wore their hair long
as in Western style.
Signed : RAYMOND A.MALONEY,
Captain, AC. ASN 0-726056
I
read this when I feel there is nothing more I can do. By dying in custody in a
global war, my uncle protected those who share in his pain from experiencing
that pain. That is the way of belief. I now feel sad but not anxiety for war
victims. All those who suffer deep pain in this Coronavirus war would protect
all of us who feel their pain as ours.
Self-isolation at physical level helps us to focus on our commonness which
protects us from particular pain.
Sri
Lankan government’s first duty is to Sri Lankans. Until the end of Coronavirus
war – they have no moral right to use Sri Lankan resources to help foreigners. Quid
Pro Quos have led to this pathetic situation.
The
deepest mind connects to the truth in Nirvana (Nakedness) where there is no mind; Just absolute
stillness of truth. As
Saint Yoga Swami of Jaffna said – Summa Iru/ Be Still.
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