Mirihana Detention Centre

http://www.dailynews.lk/2008/06/26/news29.asp

Foreigner stabs 2 Policemen

Just to add to this - the man was a Iranian national who had come to the camp just over a week ago. He tried to stab one of the detention centre members first, then attacked the policemen as they came to help. Both policemen are now in hospital and so is the attacker as he fell out of a tree whilst trying to escape. The policemen are both known to me and are considered by the detention centre detainees as kind men.

Please pray for those who witnessed the attack as they are deeply shocked by what has happened.

On a happier note, I am pleased to say that 14 of the 17 Bangladesh men have now returned back to their country. Unfortunately the few left have not yet had their identities confirmed.

UNICEF are trying to help those from Myanmar to obtain refugee status in Sri Lanka, but who knows what will happen to these men. There futures are currently very uncertain.

Ramo - has now been released and has been reunited with her parents and son again.

We are still waiting to hear about an appointment for Sinthadurai's India visa, we have funding for his ticket though.

18 Indian fishermen were also recently repatriated back to India from the Detention centre.

Sri Lanka's Biggest Export

Concerns rise over treatment of migrant domestic workers in Lebanon Please see the BBC website for this story

Deja Vu

It all sound so familiar- Mirihana Detention Centre is currently hosting 18 Indian fishermen... India may release the 28 Sri Lankans soon The Sri Lanka Deputy High Commission in Chennai, India yesterday said talks with Indian authorities over the arrest of 28 Sri Lankan fishermen in Indian waters, were a success and expressed confidence that they would be released soon. As reported by the Daily Mirror, Sri Lanka

Meet Champa & Joel

Champa and Joel are members of my parish and have 2 boys: Timothy and Eran. Champa trained as a lawyer and Joel is a worker for the Christian mission organisation 'Campus Crusade for Christ', but recently life has been put on hold as Champa is battling with breast cancer. Having endured a first round of treatment, she discovered at the beginning of May another lump which the doctors say is malignant. She now faces the prospect of having a mastectomy. They are fortunate that they live closeby to the Mahargama cancer hospital which offers specialist treatment to all cancer patients irrespective of financial status.

Champa loves to garden and in order to help provide for the family, with Joel's help she has made a vegetable garden on the small balcony that runs around her house. Buckets of tomatoes, carrots, beans, chillis, aubergines and leafy vegetables jostle for space. In this picture I am proudly bearing a vegetable called 'snake gourd' which I was given the honour of cutting!

Please pray for them as Champa continues her chemotherapy and gets ready for this operation.

Unzipped - the Garment Trade

A BBC television programme to be aired tomorrow exposes how Sri Lankan children at a Tamil Nadu refugee camp were being used to stitch clothes for a huge fashion store in Britain. Primark has already sacked three of its suppliers last week after an investigation for the BBC’s Panorama and The Observer uncovered children labouring in Indian refugee camps to produce some of its cheapest garments.

Statement from Bishop Duleep

TARGETING OF INNOCENT CIVILIANS MUST END

A Statement by the Rt Revd Duleep de Chickera, Bishop of Colombo

CEYLON 080609-1 June 9, 2008

[The Church of Ceylon (E-P) - Ceylon] Over the past fortnight, we have had four senseless acts of violence targeting innocent civilians travelling in public transport. The bomb/claymore mine attacks at Dehiwala, Moratuwa and Polgolla were indiscriminate and have every appearance of having been planned and executed by the LTTE. I extend the sympathies and assurance of the prayers of our Church to the families of all those affected by these incidents. May God in God's mercy provide you with strength to face the loss of loved ones.

These attacks achieve nothing except to create a mood of anger in the minds of the people and to further distance our communities from each other. It will be callous and totally unacceptable if indeed the intention of these acts was to create such a mood and climate among the people in the south. Whatever their motive, these actions will only be counter-productive, pushing the prospect of a just and honourable political settlement further away. The deliberate targeting of innocent civilians going about their day's work must stop immediately.

I urge all parties to remain calm. Ethnic relations are fast spinning out of control in our country and exacerbate the economic hardships already faced by our people. I urge the Government and the Opposition to show greater political discernment and maturity to pull our country from this brink. I also urge the LTTE to collaborate with any and all steps towards peace.

With Peace and Blessings.


The Rt Revd Duleep de Chickera
Bishop of Colombo
9th June 2008

Wedding Update

Our wedding service will take place on Saturday July 26th at st Andrew's CSI church, in Pallom, just south of Kottayam.
We will be back in the UK, mid-September for a blessing to take place on Friday 3rd October at St John Baptist Church, Kingstone, Staffs.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers,
Becky & Shemil

Visit to Kelaniya Temple

A few weeks ago I took a trip to a nearby temple accompanied by an Anglican lady whose great grand-mother instigated and paid for much of the rebuilding. It is a very famous Temple as it is said that Buddha himself preached in its grounds. Within the main building there is a long statue of a reclining Buddha and some beautiful paintings which commemorate the arrival of the tooth relic into Sri Lanka - hidden in the princess's hair (look closely for her halo) and the arrival of a cutting of the Bo Tree that Buddha himself sat under and attained enlightenment. The tree sapling is accompanied by a female monk, a Bikhuni who can be seen on the boat.
There were many people in the grounds of the Temple, sitting and meditating, some were pouring water onto the Bo Tree, others were crouched on the floor sitting beside the saffron clad monks.

One week on....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7434886.stm

Another train bomb, same place as last week...