The day cricket came back to Jaffna! Aravinda in Jaffna!

I am sure many of us have our own ideas of what Jaffna would be like these days. After years of war and being under the ruthless LTTE terrorists, it's now finally under the full command of Sri Lankan Forces. I wasn't sure what it was like, specially when the western media where we live, continues to describe a genocide and a dangerous scenario for the Tamils living in the North East. Not according to my friend, as he went on to explain how Jaffna is now revitalized with life, energy and hope. The life has come back to normalcy to this city, with children back in schools, people going about their work and no more sounds of shelling or gun fire. He asked me if our friends in the west knew what had transpired in Jaffna since the Sri Lankan Forces chased out the LTTE terrorists. Needless to say he was aware that in this part of the world, the propaganda work of the LTTE showed a different side to the public. A bleak future, bogus atrocities by the army, while in reality the same Sri Lankan Forces have been rebuilding the city. He told me in detail, some of the interesting things they had achieved in Jaffna.

Future Minds of Jaffna

One of the first events had been a major Industrial Exhibition & Trade Fair, jointly organized by the Security Forces and the Peace Secretarial, which was held in December of last year. Leading private companies from Colombo had joined local businesses in displaying the latest technology, providing information on vocational training opportunities and offering bargains in consumer goods and food ahead of the Thai Pongal festival, demonstrating their confidence in the future development of the Jaffna peninsula. Over 300,000 people had attended this EXPO during the three days it was held. That's a lot more than Toronto attracts during a Grand Prix weekend in Toronto. Don't forget this is Jaffna, where according to the pro LTTE and western media, the Sri Lankan Tamils are facing a genocide at the hand of the Sri Lankan Army.

The future minds of Jaffna had offered plenty of fun and games in addition to the Exhibition and Trade Fair. The Vembadi Girls School and Jaffna Central College grounds were full of carnival rides, the like of which the majority of Jaffna children had never seen before. Crowds were entertained by local artistes performing alongside their South Indian counterparts and the music and dancing had continued on late into the night, with the normal curfew in Jaffna town having been lifted for the occasion. One of the main attractions was the ‘North Star’ competition organized by Derana TV, aimed at finding the most talented singer in the Jaffna peninsula. This followed the nationwide success of the Derana TV ‘Dream Star’ competition.
You can read more about the complete event by downloading the 4 page PDF with images.
Cricket returns to JaffnaThat was last year. This year, he told me that they had panned to introduce cricket in Jaffna schools. Now, from my days in school I know we had teams visiting Jaffna and vice versa, but I couldn't imagine, after all the bombings and destruction of the city infrastructure, how could they even have a cricket ground in Jaffna, for kids to play. My biggest surprise was when he eluded to me that not only cricket grounds were there, but that he was also talking to former Sri Lankan vice captain and star cricketer, Aravinda De Silva. For a minute I thought he was pulling my leg. After all our cricketers had been attacked in Lahore, Pakistan not even a month ago. But it was true, he had in fact got Aravinda flown to Jaffna to train school boys, on a 3 day residential coaching camp. This news was later confirmed to me by a colleague of mine, the CEO of Ogilvy Action, the Advertising Agency responsible for conceptualizing the program with Coca Cola as the main sponsor.

According to her, Coca Cola Cricket Pathway (CCCP) program has been in operation for the last one year and 8 such camps had been held in different provinces of the country before. As their corporate commitment to unearthing hidden cricketing gems amongst Sri Lankan school boy cricketers, Coca Cola along with Aravinda de Silva had provided all the technical support and management. Although the original plan was to accommodate the Northern and the Eastern boys in a camp in Dambulla, at the request of Sri Lanka Army and the cricketing body in Jaffna, Coca Cola had taken a bold step by deciding to hold the 9th camp in that city. It had been an unbelievable experience for everyone involved, starting with the warm welcome from the schools and authorities in Jaffna, the thanks giving service by the Bishop of Jaffna and the Pooja organized at the Nallur Kovil which had been especially heartwarming. Most of all it was the kids who had experienced something they'd never expected before in their lives. When the LTTE terrorists were in town, forcing these same kids to become child soldeirs, none of them would have ever thought of holding a bat and playing cricket, let alone meeting Aravinda De Silva. But there they were, with smiles wide as ever, full of passion and love, getting the autographs from one of the greats in Sri Lankan cricket.

Click on the images to enlarge them

The residential camp was held at St John’s College where all the facilities were provided for the boys. A 20/20 game was played at the Jaffna Central College. The unexpected welcome the Southerners received had been very touching. When the President of the School Boys Association for Cricket in his speech said that they felt alienated in all these activities, Aravinda gave him a personal commitment to continue this partnership into the future, and word is that Sanath Jayasuriya may also be interested in joining him. The 7 finalist boys who were selected at this camp will be brought to Colombo for the super camp and I am sure will be treated with the same warmth and friendship they treated their southern friends.

This is not fiction, as it really happened! I didn't hear it from the GOSL, nor did I grab it from any of their web sites. This was directly related to me by 2 friends who wanted the rest of the world to know that, there is still hope in Sri Lanka for everyone, including Tamils. This is a story of how far they would reach to help their fellow citizens in trouble. The Sri Lankan Government and the Armed Forces are doing the same, trying to save the Tamil people from a ruthless terrorist. Not so long ago, many of these people were also evacuated from their homes (making them IDPs) when the SL forces came calling for the ruthless LTTE murderers. Today not only these citizens of Jaffna are back in their own homes, but their kids get to visit exhibitions, enjoy musical shows, play cricket and lead a normal life.