{"id":117219,"date":"2013-12-22T00:01:33","date_gmt":"2013-12-21T18:31:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=117219"},"modified":"2013-12-28T00:47:11","modified_gmt":"2013-12-27T19:17:11","slug":"and-a-merry-christmas-to-you-too","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/and-a-merry-christmas-to-you-too\/","title":{"rendered":"And A Merry Christmas To You Too!"},"content":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Emil van der Poorten<\/a><\/span>\u00a0–<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Emil<\/a>

Emil van der Poorten<\/p><\/div>\n

Being a glutton for punishment from the usual sources of racist rhetoric, I thought I\u2019d take a short jog down memory lane to provoke them into another frenzy of bad grammar and syntax!<\/p>\n

Since my return to Sri Lanka<\/span><\/a> a few years ago, my partner and I have chosen to celebrate the festive season with a little get-together with our neighbours in the (spacious) premises that we occupy.\u00a0 We only have one couple and their children resident on our land now and depend for workers, both full-time and casual, on those living on the informal \u201ccolonies\u201d which have grown out of squatter settlements which, in turn, came into existence after the collapse of the estates that the State placed under its management after one of the most inappropriately named pieces of legislation in Sri Lanka\u2019s post-colonial history \u2013 \u201cLand Reform.\u201d<\/p>\n

I have on previous occasions referred to the economic and social damage done by legislation that was driven by malice and revenge and I am not about to repeat the facts again.\u00a0 Those of my vintage who have observed what became of agriculturally productive land in the mid-country of Sri Lanka, in particular, can speak far more eloquently to that bit of history.<\/p>\n

A half-century ago, as a \u201cnewly-wed\u201d with an infant daughter, we decided to have a \u201cChristmas Party\u201d for the children of those who were employed by us.\u00a0 Given the extent of replanting and rehabilitation of the ancestral land I was working at the time, the number of children of those engaged in this work was quitesubstantial.\u00a0 In any event, that occasion nearly ended in a calamity when someone decided that the person chosen to be Santa Claus should wear a pair of the cricket boots of that era.\u00a0 These had canvas uppers, hard leather soles with metal hob-nails on them.\u00a0 In any event, when \u201cSanta\u201d entered the front door, his feet which were not usually shod with footwear of any description, took off from under him and he reflexively reached out for some source of support.\u00a0 This happened to be the Christmas tree which had the usual adornment of that time of yards and yards of tinsel.\u00a0 This would have been fine except that the electricity supply to the festive lights on the tree wasn\u2019t perfect and had a few \u201cleaks\u201d that made the tinsel decorations \u201clive!\u201d\u00a0 As a result, Santa received a fairly significant jolt of electricity, let go in a hurry and landed in a heap on the polished floor.\u00a0 No serious damage done, but that was one of the more ill-humoured Santas of my recollection and the children collecting their presents from him were not greeted with an excess of bonhomie. Those who, disconcerted by Santa\u2019s (awful) face mask, raised any kind of protest while collecting their girfts were given (very) short shrift by him!\u00a0 However, all was well that ended well with lots of food and fizzy drinks which we didn\u2019t realize at that time constituted a dentist\u2019s nightmare!<\/p>\n

A half-century later, we decided to do away with the \u201cSanta\u201d bit, pile the gifts under a \u201ctwig-tree\u201d with (electrically-safe!) illuminations and play many of the parlour games that have endured over the years.\u00a0 These are admittedly of \u201cwestern\u201d origin but certainly don\u2019t appear to offend even those determined to enforce the political and cultural \u201ccorrectness\u201d that appears to be the Sri Lankan \u201creality\u201d today.\u00a0\u00a0 The innocuous \u201cpassing the cushion\u201d and \u201cblind man\u2019s buff\u201d were among the juvenile amusements into which the participants \u2013 parents and grand-parents included \u2013 entered with gusto.\u00a0 Silly, inoffensive games have a tendency to provoke that kind of response, it seems!\u00a0 The \u201cpenalty\u201d for getting caught with the cushion on one\u2019s lap when the music stopped, was having to perform a song or a dance, with pretty well everyone opting for the former.\u00a0 Interestingly, there had to be the occasional intervention by the listeners to gently remind some of the performers that every<\/b> verse of every song did not have to be sung!<\/p>\n

In any event, the dentists\u2019-nightmare food and drink was consumed, Christmas crackers were pulled and the presents piled under the tree were handed out to all the young people.\u00a0 Mind you these were of a very simple kind, not of the \u201cdesigner\u201d variety which are a \u201cmust-have\u201d among the political and \u201cpandam\u201d class in this country.\u00a0 The balloons decorating the room were untied to be taken home by the children and a few of the parents lingered, after expressing their thanks on behalf of their children, to clean up the debris that is generated at times like this.\u00a0 As for us and those who live on our premises, the evening wasn\u2019t complete without a recounting of its highlights, accompanied by the little bits of gossip that go with such chat!<\/p>\n

What struck us as most sad about an event such as this was the fact that despite half a century having elapsed, there has been virtually no improvement in the financial and economic status of the families.\u00a0 If anything, the gap has widened significantly between the \u201chaves\u201d and the \u201chave nots\u201d in the matter of living standards.\u00a0 The economic divide, no matter how congenial the personal relationships might be, has become a veritable chasm and there are the unmistakable signs of deprivation aggravated by the fact that our rural neighbours are prevented from growing food of any description with which they can supplement their incomes and\/or improve their nutrition by the depredations of vermin of various kinds.\u00a0 On the visual evidence, it is quite apparent that the children are malnourished and smaller than they should be for their ages.\u00a0 That they maintain a bright and sunny outlook on life is probably attendant on the fact that they are children without the onerous task of keeping the family\u2019s literal and metaphorical body and soul together.<\/p>\n

I expect that, as in the past, the usual horde of chauvinists will heap their abuse on me with the demand that I, personally, have to \u201cfix\u201d this problem.\u00a0 Sorry, folks, individual charity is NOT where it\u2019s at in these circumstances.\u00a0 The only hope for these and millions like them in rural Sri Lanka is not acts of charity by the \u201chaves\u201d but societal change to create a fairer and more equitable society for all.\u00a0 The bandit capitalism of the Yankee Dick years has continued to accelerate, with the assistance of such as the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, denuding the country of all the social supports that were a reality in even the early twentieth century trumpeting \u201cgrowth\u201d figures that have no positive impact except on a miniscule percentage of the population of this country while the vast majority of the citizenry are victimized by that very \u201cgrowth.\u201d\u00a0 Organizing Christmas celebrations for the children of those who work for one or are one\u2019s rural neighbours seems only to bring home the injustice and unfairness of a system that is being burnished and expanded while one looks on.\u00a0 We are certainly on the way to being crowned The Debacle of Asia and no matter how many messengers are shot by the sycophants of this regime, THAT is the reality, festive season notwithstanding.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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