Colombo (AsiaNews) – A group of 150 children from Arippu, a town in Mannar District, in northwestern Sri Lanka were able to travel south on an educational trip that gave them the opportunity to admire the region’s natural wonders. They also visited the capital and saw its architectural marvels. Above all, they felt the love and solidarity of people who want to put decades of war behind them in order to rebuild and reunite the country. All this was made possible by the personal involvement of Jesuit fathers.
The initiative is the idea of the North-South Dialogue Desk at the Lanka Centre for Social Concern, a Jesuit-run organisation based in Sri Lanka. From 8 to 10 March, some 150 Tamil kids went on a three-day field trip to Colombo and Kandy, in south-central Sri Lanka. This made Fr Lasantha De Abrew SJ happy man because he had made such a promise to the children in a previous visit to Arippu.
The clergyman said that during the visit the students (pictured) went to Lake House and saw how newspapers are printed and distributed. They were overjoyed to visit the Zoological Gardens in Dehiwela, a shopping centre; see trains go by as well as planes land and take off. “They never had such experiences before, and for them it was a blast,” Fr Lasantha said.
On the second day, they visited the parliament building, and saw the house in session, went to the top floor of the 28-story Bank of Ceylon Tower in Colombo, and visited the Planetarium.
On the third day, the kids, who are all Catholics, visited the national seminary in Ampitiya, as well as the Temple of the Tooth Relic of Lord Buddha. They also travelled to the elephant orphanage in Pinnawela and the Peradeniya Botanical Gardens.
Two moments stand out in the young Tamils’ trip to the south. “The children were thrilled when they saw planes land and take off,” Fr Lasantha said. “The only time they had seen planes before was when government fighters attacked during the war”, a war between the Sri Lankan military and Tamil Tiger rebels that lasted 30 years. “You could see their small faces, scared by the planes coming down, memories of the cruelties of war brought back. All this cannot ever happen again.”
Finally, a young Tamil was involved in an act of solidarity and generosity during the visit at the zoo. “The student found a wallet with 5,000 rupiahs (about US$ 40). Although it was a lot of money, he gave it to me right away.” The next day we found out that it belonged to a zoo employee.
When he thanked the priest, the worker, Siripala, said, “That kind of thing happens rarely. Usually, children come to zoo to beg. This boy returned the money.”
The man also said that he felt ashamed when he found out that the boy was Tamil. “I always associated them with the Tigers. I am going to write to the school to thank the boy because I met an honest Tamil. I am not going to generalise anymore,” Siripala said.
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