Saving eyesight

It is indeed alarming to hear that four percent of schoolchildren in Sri Lanka suffer from some kind of eye defect.

According to a news item we carried yesterday, quoting Deputy Director General, Public Health Dr. Palitha Maheepala, over 160,000 children suffer from different types of visual defects. It has been found that schoolchildren from all social classes suffer from visual defects. The most common eye diseases in Sri Lanka are Cataracts, Glaucoma and eye ailments associated with diabetes.

Unfortunately, some of these children eventually go blind. This is a pathetic situation because most eye ailments can be treated to prevent blindness. They do not have to spend their lives in darkness if they seek treatment early. In some cases, the solution could be as simple as wearing spectacles for life.

Sri Lanka commenced a program in 2000 to upgrade eye care facilities countrywide and a five-year plan was formulated. We are told that the program is being conducted in collaboration with the International Eye savers Association and Vision 2020.

One must not lose sight of the fact that children are the future of the country. Saving their eyesight must be given priority. But the program seems to be moving rather slowly, in contrast to the urgent need to save their eyesight. Only around 1,000 students have received spectacles last year.

It will take several years to attend to the needs of all children with visual problems if the program continues at this pace. What is required is a swifter response to this challenge, as the students' future is at stake. Health authorities should not be so blind as not to see the impact that inaction can have on the student population.

Another negative aspect is that research on eye diseases and blindness is lacking in Sri Lanka. The lacuna has negatively affected the health of the nation. It is generally believed that low levels of nutrition contribute to visual impairments, but more research is needed to come to a definite conclusion.

More rural hospitals should be equipped with eye care facilities so that residents do not have to travel to Colombo for even minor eye ailments.

The Government should consider setting up an 'Eyecare Fund' to help poor patients to get spectacles and undergo certain eye operations. The media should be used extensively to educate the people on eye care, eye diseases and how to prevent blindness. The eyes are our windows to the world and protecting eyesight should be a priority.

Prabhakaran's fate

It was always known that the LTTE has international links. Many countries have banned the LTTE, which is believed to have clandestine operations in Tamil Nadu, South East Asia and several other parts of the world. Now with the Security Forces knocking on the gates of Mullaitivu, several countries are facing another spectre: Velupillai Prabhakaran himself.

The whereabouts of Prabhakaran and his next moves are the subjects of intense speculation in the media and among the ordinary people. Is he still holed up in a deep underground bunker as the Forces surround all LTTE facilities or has he already fled Sri Lanka? Is any country sympathetic to the Tigers giving him asylum?

These are unanswered questions, but the Security Forces would do everything in their power to capture Prabhakaran, a man who has brought untold misery on the Sri Lankan people, mostly on the very community that he claimed to 'liberate'. Sri Lankan courts have already sentenced him to 200 years in jail for the Central Bank bombing and a number of other atrocities.

Has he gone to neighbouring India? Rumours are afloat in Tamil Nadu that Prabhakaran has crossed the Palk Straits to India to recuperate from wounds inflicted by the Army. Following the rumours, the Tamil Nadu government has strengthened the law and order machinery to check all hospitals across the state for persons with unexplained wounds.

Tamil Nadu has every reason to be concerned - Prabhakaran is wanted in India over the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Besides, the LTTE is still active in Tamil Nadu and it might not be difficult to find a safe house there for Prabhakaran.

Malaysia has also sounded an alert for the LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran after reports that he may have entered the country. Thailand too is considered as another country, which Prabhakaran may try to enter.

The Malaysian Police Chief had ordered a nationwide alert and tighter security at all entry/exit points. However, these might not be the only countries where he could try to go.

If Prabhakaran has not already gone, it will certainly be difficult for him to escape.

The Navy is maintaining an effective blockade and the Air Force are engaged in constant reconnaissance over the Mullaitivu skies. The Army, of course, is closing in on his lair. But one thing is certain - no country can and should provide shelter to Prabhakaran, who has an international Interpol arrest warrant against him for countless crimes against humanity.