Hi Colleagues,
I think, we are all asking ourselves, of what is going on in Galle Face.?The answer is not clear but the call is clear. A few days ago Victor Ivan , the journalist in a post mentions the name of Dr Pathum Kerner as the man behind the call.. I have never heard of him and hence researched him.Interestingly, he has been active on FB for quite sometime following his war time posts in Sinhala on his FB. These posts have since beenu translated into English.The title,A healer in the war zone.The memoirs of a doctor in Sri Lanka’s last Eelam war.I sourced the book and read it. Dr Pathum is the product of a burgher father and a Sinhala mother. His father died early and it was his mother who brought him up in a sinhala buddhist environment.From Kelaniya to Nalanda and Medical college. In his final year he decided to join the army to save the country from the LTTE.It is an interesting read of the experiences of a young doctor in the ” Advance dressing unit “. He has seen it all and the book is worth a read. Until he saw the suffering on both sides he did not know what the other side was about. The war taught him that everyone was the same, each fighting for their cause and the only difference was that they could not communicate effectively with each other, as the language was the barrier.He idolised Sarath Fonseka and Shavendra Silva and was comitted to the cause and was there at Nandikadel lagoon at the end of the war.
In the prologue of his book , he says ” The book is a collection of true stories….own experience….only truth…..There are some things that are better unsaid…..things that will not bring any good to the world with their disclosure…….and these will eventually be buried as someone’s memories.”
Soon after the war ended, he absconded from the Army as it would not release him.He scooted off to Singapore and worked in the Orthopaedic department of Changi hospital for 4 years. After 4 years he plucked up courage to re enter BIA from where he was taken into custody and then released after paying LKR 800,000 which was the security payment for his training.He now lives in UK, following a Masters in Public Administration in Birmingham university. He is still active on FB.In 2020 he contested as an independent from Gampaha and secured 5780 votes.He is the man behind the National Green Front. http://www.ngf.lk.
This is an interesting story that I came across a few days ago and I thought of sharing it with all of you. To many of you, it may be old news but all the same it is invigorating to know that young people are trying to make changes.There are many young women too ,Hirunika Premachandra, Amarasuriya and Lihini Fernando and they are all worthy of mention.What the future holds.? Que sera sera.
Regards to all. Eddie.
News, Views and More from Batch'64, Faculty of Medicine, Colombo, SriLanka 