In a brilliant case of SCHADENFREUDE
yesterday, at the opening of the New Army Hospital in Narahenpita, the Army
Commander took great pleasure in belittling the US Soldier and Veteran and I
quote from the daily FT this morning (6th May 2014 page 2)
“criticized US policy towards its armed forces and Veterans, saying it compared
unfavorably with the way Sri Lanka treats its own war heroes and retired troops.
“America
spends heavily for war but it is sad to see the condition that the US soldiers
who have been involved in battles and those who have retired from the service
are in.”
How does he know? After all he has
obtained training courtesy of the US, and now he wants to suck up to “his
pomposity”. Has he heard of the Department of Veteran’s Affairs? When the
average US citizen has to buy health insurance, the Veteran and family in the
US has access to an incredible array of medical benefits that only he can dream
of in Sri Lanka, despite the flashy hospital that was opened. Remember it was a
construction with beds, not a hospital equipped with the latest technology. There
is a long way to go before that happens.
Just go to the hospital today, and see
how many patients it can see, and the quality of the doctors, nurses and
support staff to cover a 1000+bed hospital. Whilst the intention of its
construction is honorable it will take some time, possibly not with this
administration to get it to a standard that we can be proud of given the hype.
The US has a Right to Freedom of
Information Act, so we the public has access to all the information we need,
and the problems with Vets with PTSD and the psychological problems they have,
and which are highlighted in the press. WE HAVE NO such law in Sri Lanka and
therefore we have NO information relating to such vets, so we are unable to
prove if Daya Ratnayaka is hallucinating or suffering from PTSD!
How many psychologists does the Army have? What are their qualifications? I know psychologists who have minimal training and are let loose on our Armed Forces. Why do we build buildings to open, and not build building blocks of professionals. What the Army needs is NOT hospitals but better quality of doctor and nurse and other healthcare givers. The Kotelawala Defence Academy is also building a state of the art Hospital. Are we planning on invading India? We only have to protect our Island, so their don't fight external wars, so they are a National Guard that are called an Army just so that titles can be conferred!
If you really want to see an Army go to India just across the pond, and then you will know what they are all about. The whole nine yards. So Daya don't get ahead of yourself, just stay cool, and then you will become a Bank Chairman or a Ambassador when you are put out to grass. I know the Americans took umbrage at your words yesterday and immediately put out a statement, and as I write are in contact with Washington, to know what to do next if anything to display their displeasure.
I would tell them not to bother, just ignore the rantings of a sycophant in front of his master. He did not know what to say to please the audience, so he made a fool of himself in public. That is punishment enough.
It is further proof that we don’t have
sufficient mental health practitioners to help our vets with these problems,
and are suffering in silence. Our soldiers need more than just building houses,
and if one just picks up a paper one will read that most of the villages set up
for their homes are just falling to rack and ruin, as the Govt. only wants to make
a media show and not a real village.
Just go to the first 10 Ranaviru villages
that have been set up and just see for yourself how desperate they are for basics,
such as roads, water and power! Obviously the Army Commander is living in cloud
cuckoo land like all big whigs!
Just do a program to look into the state of ALL Ranaviru Villages and try and address the complaints of those residents first, without wasting money on hospitals. This will cost much less and use far less resources, and then you will be able at lower cost to be honest in your statements. Ironically the Americans have all those facts but don't want to insult your intelligence and theirs!
I know you will read this, so have the humility to apologize to them in private, and preserve your dignity.
Lets start where the Forces Medical care is weakest in. Namely psychological counseling for them to cope with disability, loss, injury, and then finally civilian life.
ReplyDeleteThis can improve the quality of life of veterans and even currently serving soldiers and until such time, Daya Ratnayaka just exposed himself as a loser, talking utter rubbish.