First two days in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is a wonderful country! I'm here for only a week and my dear friend Amal KarunaRatna, with whom I started my PhD program with about 20 years ago, is my host.

It's also a poor country. Crippled by a constant war between the Singhalese Sri Lankans and the Tamil Tigers in the North for the country, plus inept and corrupt government and inefficient bureaucracy, the country has only rudimentary basic infrastructure: roads, schools, and other services. Bureaucrats are so poorly paid that things get done only when they're bribed, or they're commanded to by their bosses, who have been bribed. Teachers and hospital employees are terribly poorly paid. Today our driver, Mohinda, was picked on by a tired and frustrated police officer and was fined 1000 Rupees (about $13), about two day's pay. To take care of the fine, we had to go to one place to get the forms to fill out, then another place to actually hand over the cash, and a third place to recover the driver's license that was confiscated to ensure the fine was paid. These offices were blocks apart.

Of course the situation was not helped with the terrible tsunami in December 2004. Last evening we drove past the railway line section that was washed away, causing a train to overturn, killing 1000 people. We're staying at a seaside resort hotel near the Southern city of Galle (pronounced Gawl) where there are still the remains of destroyed boats, and the cracked foundations of buildings that were washed away that day. This hotel has rebuilt or refurbished most of the ground and first floors. No one knows how many thousands of people died from that tsunami. It must have been terrible. The famous cricket grounds at Galle are still under repair. Despite the donations of cricket fans around the world and the special campaigning from the Australian team, little money has yet arrived to finish the job. Fortunately, the reconstruction of villages has been good, and a campaign to build and supply replacement fishing boats to villages around the country has been very successful. More importantly, the sense of community in all of the villages has helped the shattered lives of those who lost family, or were orphaned. The people have shown extraordinary resilience.

I was privileged this afternoon to visit Mohinda's village and meet his two beautiful children, plus his aunt, who brought him up, and cousin, whom he calls his brother, plus various other children, family members and friends. I couldn't really follow who was what. And that was the point - when Mohinda's wife was dying last year, people from all over the village came to help take care of the children and his wife when Mohinda was had to work and was unable to be there. This is not just because Mohinda is so well respected and well liked in the area, this is the normal and expected thing here. At least in the villages and towns.

This post must seem awfully bleak. But the country is definitely not like that at all. The people are friendly and helpful and always smiling. And despite the poverty, they are extraordinarily generous. Most villages have little traveller's booths on the edge of the village where people can have food and drink at no cost. It's simply a responsibility taken on by the village to help others who are on a pilgrimage. It's a part of the Buddhist philosophy that has been a part of the Sri Lankan culture for more than 2000 years.

And the food is fantastic!

More very soon.