Colombo (AsiaNews) – For Sri Lanka’s Christians, this year’s Christmas was ill fated, marked by natural disasters and many road accidents that filled hospital beds. Many people were unable to celebrate the birth of Jesus, but in Colombo Caritas and a local priest tried to bring some hope to needy people.
During the festive season, more than 210,000 people (more than 56,000 families) were affected by floods and heavy rains, the country’s Disaster Management Center (DMC) reported. Batticaloa and Trincomalee in the Eastern province and Vavuniya, Mannar, Jaffna, Kilinochchi and Mullathivu in the Northern and Northern Western provinces as well as Kandy were among the most touched districts.
H.A. Sumanthiran, a Member of Parliament with the Tamil National Alliance, said that most people in Vavuniya, Mannar, Jaffna, Kilinichchi and Mullathivu did not get any help from the government. At the same time, because of the flooding, many Christians were unable to attend to Christmas Mass on 24 and 25 December.
Dr Pushpa Ramyani, senior nurse at Colombo’s National Hospital, said that 551 people were injured in accidents, mostly in the home or due to reckless driving. A total of 156 of road traffic accidents were in fact reported, many alcohol related. In addition, 105 people suffered injuries caused by firecrackers, sports or self-inflicted.
On the positive side, about 100 Tamil carders were released after undergoing a rehabilitation course, happy to be back with their families after many years.
Fr Hilary Peiris, chaplain for the Colombo Catholic Prison Ministry, also launched a fund raising campaign, called the Prisoner Release Fund, for poor prisoners who cannot pay their fines.
According to Fr Peiris, more than 7,000 people are still in prison because they cannot pay small fines ranging from 1,000 to 3,000 rupees.
The clergyman personally contacted other Churches and donors seeking financial aid for his project, which should provide help to prisoners already in the first half of next year.
Colombo’s Caritas Seth Sarana has also brought Christmas gifts to children in hospital and inmates in prison. It has handed out school textbooks to 1,500 poor children in the archdiocese, and provided food rations to 500 families in need.