A gift of love manifests many folds

"Christmas was fast approaching and after arriving in Jaffna they visited some of the villages and townships badly affected by the civil calamities. There were several families who had lost their breadwinners, orphans and elderly without any family to take care of them."

by Christie Richards

(December 22, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Past midnight and with a flight to catch from Winnipeg to Vancouver at 9 30 AM and then onwards to Colombo via Singapore, Jebo and Harini called it a day having ensured all travel matters were in order. The children quite excited about this journey, reluctantly went to bed two hours earlier. Prem had done his first degree in bioscience and Priya completed her high school with excellent grades. She was looking forward to her university days. This was the first time they were going back to Sri Lanka after twelve years. Despite problems there, they were determined to visit their birthplace, Anaicottai.

Although they had planned this holiday well ahead, Jebo and Harini had serious reservations. But they could not go against the wishes of their children who had nourished this dream for some years. It was Christmas 2003, a year before the tsunami. There was also the question of traveling to Jaffna with the options being flying to Palali from Ratmalana or by road transport that involved considerable checking formalities along the way.

Prem and Priya had packed a lot of toys in their strollers which they wanted to give to children in Jaffna and would often imagine themselves as Santa from the icy north. Except for essentials, they hardly carried anything other than toys, clothes and lots of chocolates.

They checked in early next morning and with an overnight stay in a posh Singapore hotel began their Sri Lankan adventure. They managed to get seats on a flight for the return journey from Jaffna but had to take a ramshackle coach for the onward one. After several delays and time-consuming check-ups, they arrived absolutely exhausted at the Jaffna Bus Stand where their good friends Bavan and Jeya had waited four hours for them.

Once they reached their home and had a good shower and welcome food, they began to plan their visit to Anaicottai. Prem and Priya were shocked and most disconsolate that their home or what used to be a home was totally gone; not even any signs of the foundation. Then they went to a school which had functioned as a refugee camp. The school was in extremely bad condition. But in other areas they saw some schools had become total ruins.

Jebo and Harini found the Old Park, the residence of the Government Agent looking like the forlorn castle in the tale of the Sleeping Beauty. It was entirely covered by overgrown trees, creepers and hedges.

Harini was from the Eastern Province and she did not want to go there. She met Jebo at school in Jaffna where she studied as a hostel student. They had left Sri Lanka in the late 1960s in their separate ways and renewed their school day friendship in Canada and took their matrimonial vows in 1971. Until 1977 they had visited their parents, relatives and friends in Sri Lanka but their next visit was in 1989 which they considered as an extremely risky one but nevertheless a necessary venture.

Christmas was fast approaching and after arriving in Jaffna they visited some of the villages and townships badly affected by the civil calamities. There were several families who had lost their breadwinners, orphans and elderly without any family to take care of them.

Jebo and Harini wanted to reach out to as many as they could but the task was astronomical and emotionally they were utterly devastated. On Christmas Eve, they decided to spend the whole evening and the night in a home that was taking care of many needy folks supported by a group of Tamil families in England. Most of the residents were either the elderly or children. There were cases of six, seven and eight year-olds taking care of their younger siblings having lost their parents in the war.

It was a night Jebo and Harini will never forget for all the anguish they experienced and the joy their little act of kindness gave the residents of this refugee home. They lavished on them to the utmost. There was a lot of singing of carols and the children especially relished them and the local priest conducted a service of blessing. It was this home in particular they wanted to visit with Prem and Priya on their 2003 trip. Prem had good memories of all that happened in 1989 but Priya was not able to recollect anything.

But this visit had a major impact on them and now that they were 22 and 18 years old they committed themselves to return to Sri Lanka, especially Jaffna and help their people to recover from the terrible ordeal they had suffered. They had already made contacts with two schools one of which was where their parents studied and the other in a really backward area and offered their services as volunteers.

Eventually, their plans were to make their professional careers meaningful and beneficial to their people in Jaffna. A week after their arrival, Bavan and Jeya saw them off at the Jaffna office of the airline company that was flying them back to Colombo. There, they were going to have their New Year attending the Watch Night Service of their church and then visit friends dear and near to them.

At the end of the service that night, the priest a dear friend of Jebo and Harini, walked up to Prem and Priya and hugged them very tightly. There were tears pouring out of the parson’s eyes and both Jebo and Harini also joined in this warm, affectionate tearful embrace. Their feelings flowed like a mighty stream back to Anaicottai 1989.

It was this priest who had baptized Prem and Priya at Anaicottai on the day they were adopted as children by Jebo and Harini from the refugee home. Prem, 8-year old at that time was everything to Priya. She was two years old when they lost their parents and grandparents through tragic circumstances.

New Year 2004 dawned as unforgettable as Christmas 2003. They said their thanks to the priest for the gift of love in 1989 and the children dedicated the New Year to their people in Jaffna as a challenge for the two to give their best to rehabilitate them. They considered themselves very fortunate to have Jebo and Harina as their parents and the priest virtually a third parent and counselor of the family.

Author’s Note: People in many villages in the north and east have their kith and kin in fortunate circumstances in the developed countries. This is a time to make a very special effort to give some cheer to them. This is possible through dozens of ways. Ideally, we should, if possible deal directly with them or seek the help of people who could be trusted.

Courtesy: JDCSI December Newsletter - Sri Lanka Guardian