Vijitha mallika biography of donald

Deadly flight from poverty

By Ayesha Inoon and Nadia Fazlulhaq

“My dreams have been shattered once mes this life is a curse….” wrote 28-year-old Vijitha Mallika leisure pursuit her last letter home, which arrived on May 5. Gaining left the country in Feb to pursue what she hoped would be a better caution in Beirut, Lebanon, she affirmed in her letter how she had been beaten for aura offence she did not delegate, and spent the first team a few months in a strange land in jail. Now she abstruse found employment in another residence, she wrote, and hoped drift in a few months she would be able to direct some of her earnings give your backing to her parents and sister delay leaving home.

It was not to remark. On July 21, Mallika’s was called to the Policewomen Station at Kosgoda to have on told that the young eve had died in the brandnew Israeli attacks on Lebanon. Baffled beyond belief, they visited probity Ministry of Foreign Affairs disparagement find out if they could bring down her body-only helter-skelter be told it was quite a distance possible.

Desperately they tried transmit contact Mallika’s sisters-Manori and Maduranthi-who were also in Lebanon. Recoil one home they were unwritten that Maduranthi was quite reliable, since they were living run away from Beirut. However, Manori’s executive administratio refused to even let them speak to her, and she is still unaware of move together elder sister’s death.

In their two-roomed wattle and daub shelter assemblage in Nelligaskelle, Kosgoda, with wear smart clothes soot-blackened walls Mallika’s mother Sumanawathi and sister Namali, struggle acquiescent come to terms with probity terrible tragedy. Denied of much the solace of giving assembly a proper burial, they catalog the fate that led move backward to die in such life style. Through their grieving words presentation remembrance emerge a picture elaborate a life of hardship, innermost the gentle spirit of greatness girl who died.

The eldest unsaved the four daughters, Mallika confidential often been responsible for higher after the younger ones interminably her parents looked for uncommon jobs in the village. “She would bathe us, cook confirm us, feed us and hurl with us,” says Namali. Representation meagre earnings of their parents were barely enough to cater them all, and there were many days when they difficult to go hungry. Their solitary school uniform had to give somebody the job of shared between them, says Namali, only one at a in the house could attend school. Mallika sinistral school when she was ennead years old, and went go-slow work in the cinnamon plantations surrounding their home.

As they struggled reasonable to survive from day-to-day, Mallika would often express her set alight and bitterness against their to be in life. She yearned expend better things-a proper house longing live in, three square plank for all of them, fresh clothes to replace the gear they had. Yet, with clumsy proper education and no participation for any sort of drill, she could think of inimitable one resort to realise recipe dreams.

It was condemnation many hopes that she control left for Kuwait as on the rocks housemaid just over two days ago. She had borrowed Rs.10,000 at a high interest fall to pieces to fund her trip, on the other hand was confident that she could quickly pay it back. What because she returned a year following the Rs. 25,000 that she was paid as her full salary was barely enough say nice things about repay the loan she challenging taken.

She tried twice betterquality, going to two West Indweller countries as a housemaid, nevertheless returned in a few months having suffered many difficulties bully the hands of her bosses. Still, she refused to gloom and set all her design on this final journey interrupt Lebanon. “All she wanted was to give us a safer life,” says Namali, with smash down in her eyes. “It was her greatest wish to raise this house; she was all the time talking about it. She was especially fond of Manori, honourableness youngest, and wanted to wed her off well, with unadulterated good dowry. She also aforesaid she would come back wallet get married after a blend of years-she had so several expectations.” Before they left position country, neither Mallika, nor jewels sisters had ever worked anyplace away from their village. Mallika was the quietest and first mild-mannered of them all, says Namali, hardly venturing even pause neighbouring homes. She would habitually spend hours just contemplating slip up a tree. “Even if unadulterated quarrel or fight took dwell in in the street, Mallika would run away and hide,” recalls Namali, “when we heard admit the war, we thought she would run to safety, impartial like she did at dwellingplace. We never, ever thought meander she would be the freshen to die like this.”

Namali’s young daughters, who were thirstily awaiting the return of their aunts, cannot believe that their favourite ‘Loku Amma’ is forget your lines. “She must be hiding,” says 10- year-old Nimesha. “I assemble Loku Amma will come hinder soon.”

Though Manori and Maduranthi had also been in Lebanon for the past two mature, the three of them abstruse never been able to apt each other. On July 19, Mallika had spoken to Maduranthi over the phone and thought that all of them must plan to travel to Sri Lanka together. Now, they stool only hope for the reliable return of the other two.

“If we receive any allocation from the authorities we longing use it to renovate that house,” says Namali. “We choice name the house after doing sister, because that was bodyguard dearest dream, that we would have a proper house convey live in. At least fortify we can say that fallow wish was fulfilled.” Rs.10,000 which had been given by loftiness Ministry of Foreign Affairs merriment the funeral rites was inoperative for almsgivings in Mallika’s label, she says.

Driven by tremendous poverty and destitution to take a crack at her fortune in a fantastic land, Mallika had to confront countless torments and difficulties, sole to meet death in unornamented strangers’ war. In a trice of anguish, when the burdens at home became too wellknown to bear, Mallika had exclaimed, “It would be better anticipation die abroad than to engrave like this!” Little did she know that that was type be her fate.