De Sarana Fund A Worldwide Campaign to Support of
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Release From SPUR, Australia Dear Compatriot, This is an appeal to you to join in with us to assist the casualties of LTTE aggression. Spearheaded by SPUR, we are planning to collect A$100,000 within a period of two weeks to be used for the welfare of the dependants of those brave soldiers who laid down their lives or were injured and maimed in the latest battle at Kilinochchi. Before we go any further, we would like to tell you about SPUR and its activities to date. SPUR was formed nearly five years ago to fulfil the urgent necessity of countering the activities of the LTTE and its supporters within the Tamil diaspora. On a cold, blustery day in November 1994, a meeting was called in Melbourne to discuss what we expatriates could do to help our motherland at a time when most of our leaders were being bumped off with impunity by the LTTE. The country was battle fatigued and the LTTE seemed invincible. Overseas the situation was even worse. The western media, be it the press, radio or television, echoing LTTE propaganda, portrayed the Sri Lankan government as a war mongering autocracy and the Sinhala people as fanatical racists. What was required at this time was some method by which the vicious anti-Sri Lankan, anti-Sinhala invective spewed out by the LTTE propaganda machine could be countered. It was felt that Sri Lankan embassies overseas, in as much as they were government agencies, could not do tackle this problem satisfactorily as the western media had a tendency to brush off or gloss over statements issued by embassies. The discussion centred on whether action should be taken, if so what form this should take and a brain storming session was held. As an outcome of this meeting emerged a new association - SPUR, for the purpose of carrying out a programme to counter the propaganda carried out by the LTTE and its supporters, to lobby against the activities being carried out in Australia in support of this group of terrorists and most importantly, to expose the true nature of the LTTE. To a lesser extent, SPUR also recognised the necessity of providing assistance of a more material nature to the casualties of LTTE activities. The counter propaganda work got off to an auspicious beginning when massive support was shown by the Sri Lankan community in Melbourne who gathered in their thousands at a march and rally organised in June 1995. From then on the media, the Australian government and people began to hear the other side of the story, with the facts in true perspective. Since then, SPUR has been carrying out activities, which have had far reaching effects. By setting up a web page on the Internet, SPUR has been able to coordinate with expatriate organisations in other countries. In this manner, it has been possible to cooperate with each other and carry out simultaneous activities, which have a greater impact than if they were carried out in isolation. Recently, in London a massive rally and a 100-day vigil was carried out ending with a petition being handed over to the Prime Minister, Mr. Tony Blair. The campaign itself was organised by the expatriates in Britain, but with the assistance of SPUR in Australia, 5000 signatures were obtained from Melbourne alone, and signatories from as far away as Russia petitioned the British Prime Minister to ban the LTTE as a terrorist organisation. Through hundreds of thousands of letters written to politicians in Australia and other countries, media persons, church dignitaries, NGO organisations and many others, SPUR has been quick to always correct misconceptions, misinformation and downright lies about Sri Lanka in general and the situation prevailing in the country in particular. These are just too many to enumerate in this letter. Suffice it to say that they were successful enough to give rise to many a phone call with threats of dire disaster to each and every person who was rash enough to continue such activities. As more and more bombs were blasted in the south of the country killing many thousands of civilians the propaganda machine of the LTTE lobby went into high gear. In the one breath justifying the blast and declaring that Sri Lanka was not a safe place for tourists to visit, it was patent that these acts were aimed at hurting the economy of the country as much as disrupting normal civilian lives. It was then that SPUR had the idea of countering the success of the suicide bombers. After investigating the various possibilities, it was decided that sniffer dogs would be the most effective and least expensive way of countering the suicide bombers. More research followed to find out the best breed of dogs to be used for this purpose. Following this, a selection of Labrador and German Shepherd (Alsatian) puppies were sent to the Sri Lankan army to be trained as bomb sniffers. With the help of some of the many other Sri Lankan organisations and associations, to date 9 animals have been sent. The dogs are being trained by the army to sniff bombs and at this time may have already been sent into battle. SPUR also took the lead in donating a mobile blood bank unit to the army. Members of the Sri Lankan community in Melbourne and interstate generously contributed towards the purchase of this unit, either individually or through the associations of which they were members. SPUR also launched a project to provide artificial limbs to soldiers who had lost their limbs in the war. The response from the community to this project was so overwhelming that it is being continued even though the target of providing 25 limbs was met soon after the project was launched. To date 40 limbs each worth A$500 have been donated. In 1996, a door knock campaign was launched through the length and breadth of Melbourne to collect money to be donated to the Defence Fund. Dubbed the Sapumal project it was a massive exercise. Coordinators from each suburb organised groups of people to walk down each and every street knocking on the doors of Sri Lankans who willingly donated at least A$5, some even donated A$500 to this campaign. In this manner, A$41,000 was raised and donated to the Defence Fund. This money was used to build a garment factory in which disabled soldiers could work after rehabilitation. A few objections were raised by detractors who ostensibly were unwilling to contribute to the defence fund, but were in reality tools used by the LTTE to sling mud at SPUR and its activities. Undeterred by these objections, SPUR continues to work tirelessly for the welfare of our country. The latest project mentioned at the beginning of this letter is called the De Sarana campaign. We hope to collect as much as an A$100,000 within the space of two weeks through a door knock campaign similar to Sapumal. This money will be sent to the Kobbekaduwa Foundation to be used for welfare work among the casualties and survivors of the Kilinochchi campaign where at least 1,000 soldiers laid their lives down on our behalf. The campaign will be launched on the 1st of November starting with religious ceremonies at viharas and churches. We who are living far away from the trauma of this war have a debt to repay. This is the country that nurtured us, made it possible for us to work in a foreign land and bring up our children in safety. Our people living in Sri Lanka can sleep safely at night, because our brave soldiers hold the terrorists at bay in the jungles under extreme conditions. THEY NEED OUR SUPPORT. Let us now abandon our apathy and come forward to do what we can to help. It is time for us to repay the service rendered by these brave heroes. They went into battle to safeguard us and ours. They have left behind them wives and children, parents and siblings who depended on them. These unhappy casualties of a war not of their making may now face a life of destitution. It is our obligation, nay, our duty, to help them. Let each Sri Lankan association in every country take heed. You too can begin a “De Sarana” campaign to help our brave soldiers and their dependents. The funds can be sent to the Kobbekaduwa Foundation, which will give you feedback on how the monies were spent. You can select how the money is used and follow up. Please, let us make it a worldwide effort and show support for our brave soldiers by helping their families. Do not disregard this earnest appeal, please give, and give generously. Thank you. Ranjith Soysa Secretary of SPUR 22 October 1998 |
Media
Release From Dear Sri Lankans, In association with many patriotic Sri Lankan organizations worldwide, the Sinhala Community Development Foundation, USA is organizing a drive to observe November 1, 1998 as the Soldier Heroes Memorial Day in grateful remembrance of the armed forces personnel who fell defending our country in the recent battles at Kilinochchi, Paranthan and Mankulam. On this day, let us honor the patriotic soldiers who fell during these battles and remember that they died on our behalf to bring peace and security to Sri Lanka, to preserve this land as a one indivisible nation, and to prevent the cancerous growth of an aparthied 'Tamil-only' state in Sri Lanka. Let us pray for them and give them merit, where ever they are. Let us firmly resolve on this day to advance in every possible way the cause for which they died so nobly. However, remembering and honoring the dead is not enough. Thousands of maimed and mutilated soldiers languish without adequate medical treatment, long term rehabilitation, meaningful employment, basic material needs or human comfort. Hundreds of bereaved families have lost their breadwinners, small children their fathers, aged parents their hope for a secure future. The government cannot provide adequate assistance for all in need without our help. It is incumbent upon us, as fortunate expatriates in this country, to open up our hearts and our wallets and give generously to assist them in their hour of need.. We encourage contributions to the Sri Lanka Defence Fund through the Sri Lanka Embassy. However, there are many reputable non-governmental charitable organizations in Sri Lanka (such as the Kobbekaduwa Foundation, Shanodaya Foundation, Dharma Vijaya Foundation, Weera Widahana, Jayagrahanaya etc) that urgently need funds to expand their services to those affected by the war. These non-governmental grass roots organizations are reputable and are very effective in supplementing government sponsored programs. By giving generously to these programs we help expand and provide the services needed by these heroes and their families. The Sinhala Community Development Foundation has been formed to develop and
coordinate activities in the United States for the benefit of the Sinhala Community abroad
and in Sri Lanka. Currently, its highest priority is to raise funds for the benefit of war
casualties in Sri Lanka. In the future, the Sinhala Community Development Foundation
will also be developing additional community programs to help the Sinhala
Community in the United States and in Sri Lanka in many areas. These programs will be
described at the http://www.sinhalanet.org
website. In the near future, the Sinhala Community Development Foundation will be
incorporated in the State of California as a non-profit charitable corporation, thus
allowing US residents to make tax-deductible contributions to the Foundation. The bulk of
these funds, will be sent to welfare organizations in Sri Lanka to rehabilitate war
casualties and their families. Dr. Ananda Wijesinghe/ Sinhala Community Development Foundation, All contributions will be acknowledged by e-mail and will be included in the list of contributions at this website (contributor's name will be witheld at his/her option). When the Foundation is incorporated as a non-profit charitable corporation, the contributions will be tax-deductible to US residents who will be provided letters of acknowledgment for tax purposes. We also invite all patriotic Sri Lankans to join the Sinhala Community Development Foundation and actively participate in this humanitarian and community development work by enrolling online at this website. Dr. Ananda M. Wijesinghe |
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SPUR, Australia Dear Compatriots, |
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