• Relief on migration to Canada for tsunami affected

• The City Council in crisis

• Amateur and professional

• Discipline and bureaucracy

Relief on migration to Canada for tsunami affected

With the tidal waves destroying most of the coastal areas in Sri Lanka as well as in many other surrounding countries in the Indian Ocean, the whole world turned their eyes to the region for days following the disaster. I for one was glued to the TV almost all day during the holidays following Christmas, switching between different international news channels, and watching in disbelief, the catastrophe that shook South Asia.

I read with an aching heart an internet article written by a British volunteer medical student of Sri Lankan origin about the situation in the Mullativu hospital, the helpless situation of residents of Galle in down south, and about entire beach resort hotels being washed away along with staff and guests in many places along the coastline of the island.

These are only a few of the horror stories, which emerged following one of the greatest natural disasters the world has ever known. I know that many Canadian citizens and permanent residents personally know people who were affected by this horrific disaster and to them I send my most heartfelt condolences.

On a positive note, it was heartwarming to watch the response of humankind as a whole to the disaster, with so many offering their energy, time, and money, to try to assist those affected. Aid and donations from governments and private persons alike were flowing to the affected areas from both near and far. One can only hope that this spirit of helping those in need continues unabated as South Asia recovers from the disaster.

In response to the situation, the Canadian government immediately announced changes to its Immigration program in order to offer relief to tsunami-affected family members of Canadian citizens and permanent residents following the disaster.

Various relief measures were announced and information about these relief measures have been posted on the citizenship and immigration Canada website (www.cic.gc.ca), with toll free numbers set up to contact for assistance.

One of the changes announced by the government is that all family class sponsorship applications and applications of dependants of refugees who were affected by the disaster will now be fast-tracked.

As well, if a Canadian citizen or Permanent Resident who has a relative in the tsunami affected areas that falls within the definition of a member of the Family Class (such as parent, grand-parent, spouse, child, orphaned niece or nephew, etc.) and if you wish to sponsor your Family Class relative, such cases too will be processed on a priority basis.

Moreover, in cases where your relative does not fall within the definition of Family Class (for example an adult sister or brother, etc.), they may make an application for permanent residence in Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds provided that their Canadian relative is willing and able to provide an undertaking of financial support.

Finally, another form of relief granted by citizenship and immigration to Canada is that tsunami affected applications and sponsorships will be fee exempted.

While anybody can make an application on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, the CIC website tresses that applicant must meet certain criteria to merit consideration for special relief. Such criteria require that the applicant be directly, personally and significantly affected by the disaster.

A word of caution however for the interested applicants. I expect that the Canadian High Commission will be carefully scrutinizing the applications of persons who claim to have been personally and significantly affected by the disaster.

I also expect that the High Commission will be taking steps to verify the authenticity of every piece of information provided in support of such claims. As there is a lot of fraud involved in the immigration industry and as there are unscrupulous individuals waiting to capitalize on times such as now, the Canadian High Commission will be extra careful to keep fake claims at bay.

The disaster undoubtedly was unprecedented. Don't you think response from the world at large was unprecedented too?

For more information, you may surf the citizenship and immigration website.

Michael Korman, Senior Immigration Lawyer Toronto, Canada

The City Council in crisis

The UNP controls all the Municipal Councils in the country. The premier Council in the country is Colombo Municipal Council. All the local authorities look up to the City Council for leadership and governance.

During the period of Karu Jayasuriya as a Mayor he formed the National Chapter of Mayors of Sri Lanka.

This body shared experiences of the other and strengthened their own Institutions. Each Council learnt from the other and Colombo Council gave leadership and direction. The good work started during the period of Mayor Karu Jayasuriya was continued by his successor Omar Kamil for the next 3 years.

Many opportunities were offered to the National Chapter by International Institutions and Foreign Councils. Unfortunately under the present Mayor Prasanna Gunawardene the good work has come an end; Colombo no longer gives leadership nor direction.

The administration in the City of Colombo has fallen apart because of dissension and public complaints are not being looked into and resolved.

No one at the top, appears to take any action to bring the situation under control. The opposition too has joined the band wagon and making merry under the sun.

The rate payers and the officials have complained to the authorities concerned but no corrective action has been taken. In the meantime rate payers who have defaulted in their payment of taxes have had their premises numbers advertised in the local newspapers threatening seizure in the event they do not pay up their arrears within 30 days.

Rate payers ask what has the Council done in the past 3 years with all the monies being collected and hardly any improvement being done for the city. Will the authorities concerned appoint a Commission to look into these irregularities before a total break down of the services of the Council?

A. K. M. Jayapala, Colombo 7

Amateur and professional

It has become a badge of class in English-poor Sri Lanka for schools and music and dance teachers to put on public performances in English and hold them in leading city halls with tickets sold at relatively high prices.

I recently attended one of these performances with a ticket for Rs. 500 and the hall was full. It was striking to see some thirty or more children acting and singing with enthusiasm and ease in English. They danced too. All this was admirable.

On the other hand all the acting and music and dancing was at amateur level. The children were doing it as an extra curricular activity with a few weeks of occasional intensive practice. Whereas a professional would have gone for years of training in a college of the arts and have a repertoire of activities and he makes his living from public performances.

Amateur activities among school children is all to the good, as it is in adults too - so long as it is kept within limits. Amateur activity enriches the individual but the amateur must not mistake himself to be a professional, appear on public platforms and charge money from the public. He deceives himself and he deceives a gullible public. The distinction between amateur and professional must be maintained so as to keep low levels of performance separate from high. It is a part of everyone's education not to deceive or be deceived.

What then can schools and teachers do so as to encourage their students to perform without deceiving them and the public about standards of performance? The answer is to continue having student performances in their own school halls and to invite interested members of the public (and the parents) to attend the performance free of charge and to make voluntary donations to support the effort.

V. BASNAYAKE, Colombo 4

Discipline and bureaucracy

There is hardly any discipline in Government Departments, Local Authorities, Corporations and other statutory bodies, now a days, because no deterrent punishment is given to the miscreants owing to trade union interference.

The common sin of omission and commission is the breach of the three-days rule of replying to letters of the public or of at least sending an acknowledgement within three days.

I wish to relate a typical example: In the bill forms of the Ceylon Electricity Board you find on the reverse in cage 4 "Queries on the Electricity Bill and Service Connection should be referred to your Area Electrical Engineer."

Once I found the Meter Reader overcharging me by 30 units as a result of taking down the meter readings carelessly. I wrote to the Area Electrical Engineer, but I got from him not even an acknowledgement though I invited his attention twice.

On bringing this matter to the notice to the Chairman of the C.E.B., I received a reply from the General Manager (W.P., South) making all sorts of excuses for the mistake of the Meter Reader instead of taking disciplinary action as a deterrent to others similarly bent!

Obviously the Staff Officer is afraid to pull up his subordinates as there had been cases where the staff officer is transferred and the errant small fry is kept at the same office to carry on their nefarious activities uninterrupted.

F. J., Mt. Lavinia