Anglican Communion News Service - Digest News

Justice Delayed is Justice Denied
 
The killing of the seventeen aid workers and the disappearance of Fr Thuraingham Jimbrown and his associate Mr Vimalathas have shocked the nation and even the world. Pertinent questions are being raised for which answers are imperative. The reputation and image of the nation is also at stake .To date, there has been no official explanation regarding the circumstances of these very serious and tragic events. We are no doubt in a very critical impasse of justice.

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Many Sri Lankans were shocked and dismayed with the ugly scenes at the anti-war front peace rally shown on TV on the 17th.

The manner of intervention by the monks was unfortunate and unacceptable.

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A call for truce and dialogue

The current escalation of hostilities is alarming and has spread immense human suffering and sorrow overnight. If it continues, it can lead to a large scale war that very few Sri Lankans want.
 
It is most disappointing that the differences that sparked off these hostilities were negotiable and could have been resolved amicably. The Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE have a long and much appreciated tradition of negotiating the sharing of facilities and natural resources. The A9 road was opened up this way and is used by all communities. It is regrettable that we were unable to draw on this tradition to deal with the Maavilaru water issue, and its spillover effect in Muttur.

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Signs of Hope and A Call to Repentance

On a recent pastoral visit to Mannar and Kebettigollawa we were greatly distressed at the deadly violence that has been unleashed against fellow Sinhalese and Tamils living on either side of the A9 road.  Many innocent, unarmed civilians have been killed, injured and displaced, not by accident but by fellow Sri Lankans.

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Anglican Bishop Duleep de Chickera of Colombo, Sri Lanka, says he will not visit Britain unless it lifts the mandatory fingerprinting of visa applicants from his nation, or applies it to citizens of all countries.

'This is discriminatory and an insult to the Sri Lankan citizens,' said Chickera, as he described his campaign against British fingerprinting requirements for Sri Lankan visa applicants, along with citizens of several African nations. 'I know this decision is a costly one for us as our mother church is there. But, my conscience does not permit me to honor this partisan requirement.'

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From the Relief and Rehabilitation Desk

Dear Friends,

It has been one year since that tragic day last December when each and every Sri Lankan lost a piece of our heart.

Twelve months on, even as the waters have long receded, the pain and suffering for many victims continue. Our programmes in housing reconstruction, livelihood support, trauma counselling, child care and human rights are in progress and we anticipate that they will continue well into the coming year.

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Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD) is providing access to counseling services for Sri Lankans recovering after the tsunami. Many survivors lost family members and remain traumatized by the disaster.

ERD is working with the Diocese of Colombo to coordinate a trauma stress relief and rehabilitation program for people in need of counseling. David Baughn MD and Jennifer Baughn PhD, a physician and clinical psychologist trained in the field of trauma, will be stationed in Sri Lanka for three months. There, they will train local counselors, educators, and social service workers on post traumatic stress disorder methods and interventions.

"Many people in communities throughout the diocese are in need of counseling," said the Rt Revd Duleep de Chickera, the Bishop of Colombo. "'The sea that sustained us took everything from us,'" quoted Bishop Chickera. "This comment from a fisherman applies to people too. Both have the potential for nourishment and destruction."

More here: http://www.er-d.org/tsunami

The Mission to Seafarers plans to restart a full-time ministry in the port of Colombo, Sri Lanka.

The move follows the decision last month by the Mission's trustees to set aside ?500,000 for the relief of seafarers and their families affected by the Boxing Day tsunami in the Indian Ocean region.

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