By Lasantha Pethiyagoda –

Prof (Emeritus) Lasantha Pethiyagoda

Ever since foreign tourism was introduced to Sri Lanka, this epithet developed in scope and regularity with the ever-depreciating rupee against hard currencies. For poor people along the coastline tourist areas, this was what parents wished for the children.

Most luxury homes in fishing villages are either owned or funded by white foreigners or offspring through their often-dubious relationships with local boys, girls, women or men. No longer did fishermen, sculptors or mask-workers train their kids to follow their own trade or seek educational qualifications. Latching onto a white-skinned foreigner became the life goal.

It did not matter to poor parents if their boys offered their derrières to ageing gay white men or their adolescent girls to foreign paedophiles. Boys fare better as they do not get pregnant. AIDS and rectal tears or prolapses notwithstanding, as long as the foreigner is willing to set up their lives locally, even if only during the Northern winter season, all is kosher.

Wrinkled old hags with bellies protruding and everything else sagging are made happy by virile young studs who vigorously service them. The same goes for impotent old men who relish the local flavours in pubescent girls who they would never even dream of having in developed Western societies without risking long jail terms.

The villagers whose families manage to net white foreigners jealously guard their catch, not allowing other would-be suitors to approach them with their wares, saying “this is our white (may apey sudda)” almost as if he or she “belonged” to them. They are often treated like kings or queens, everyone deferring to them, constantly addressing them as Sir or Madam regardless of their lowly status back home.

Another common aspect of latching onto a white foreigner is to leave with him or her to the gold-lined glittering western cities they see on television, away from the sweat, dust or mud and mosquitos, traffic and daily struggles. Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, France, Italy, even America become halal for the star-spangled banner glowing in their starry eyes.

It is common knowledge that with these opportunistic paedophiles also come the latest most vile psychotic and hallucinatory drugs that ultimately destroy whole families. Until a few years ago, there was political patronage at the highest levels for the lucrative narcotic trade.

The sex trade is unfortunately not limited to the tourism industry. It is rife in garment factories where especially poor girls and women work for a pittance. Their major income is often derived from offering up their bodies on the streets at night, to rich merchants or other nocturnal blackguards.

In recent times, yet another avenue of illegitimacy and sex crime was exposed with the chief monk of the eight holy worship places in the north-central province. As another thug in robes recently remarked, it is a very common occurrence to service paedophile monks or priests with the often-coerced consent of parents. Although his remarks intended to dilute the gravity of the crime, it has been a norm that no one dared expose publicly as the saffron robe seemed to be above the law. It has been clear for decades that hypocrisy reigns supreme in our resplendent isle, where certain crimes are taboo while the most tragic ones are ignored.

With the momentous and revolutionary change of government from ruling class to working class power, it was expected that paradigm changes to long-held malpractices, unethical and grossly illegal practices would be severely curtailed using state power, which has been democratically and legally conferred to the people’s party.

Yet, there seem to be internal forces that pull against the progressive features of official policy. The future generations are the precious stones that lie hidden in the deep mines of society in our blessed motherland. That treasure should not be squandered.