Rajiva Wijesinha

“ The world has now recognized that such statism takes a country nowhere. But for Jaffna in particular, with its economic and educational traditions, those limitations were crippling.
That does not mean that the state should not have an active role in promoting prosperity. It must work actively, and in particular in deprived areas, to improve infrastructure. This means not only physical infrastructure, but also human resources. The commitment of the state to ensuring decent communications, providing proper utilities, ensuring health and education for all, must be absolute. ”

“ I thought in 2008, seeing the new Library building, watching the enthusiasm of the youngsters who thronged the stalls at the Exhibition, in particular those devoted to modern technology, that the wheel had come full circle, and we were seeing the beginnings of the prosperity that had been circumvented over three or four decades, unlike the land of promise I had visited twice during the sixties. ”

“ For decades those people were only permitted what is termed humanitarian assistance that did not help them to move their lives forward. Yes, humanitarian assistance is necessary in certain circumstances, but we must also provide people with the wherewithal to help themselves, to find and create productive employment, to be masters of their own resources as well as their lives. ”