An Alarming Arrival
After a long wait filled with anxiety and dismay, the United States had finally sent their share of aid. Some in the form of human resources. To be precise: the Marines. A contingent of U.S. Marines arrived here in Sri Lanka last evening to perform preliminary tasks of their mission. They were to have been followed by 1500 troops on the USS Bonhomme Richard and another warship to clear roads and airfields and build shelters for refugees after repairing supply lines. But things didn't seem to go the way they expected. After all, everything that has been happening in the past few days or weeks can only be explained as unexpected events.
The local picture
Locals have already come to their view of things after seeing 42 US Marines landing in Sri Lanka posing for cameras , almost forgetting the fact why their here. It's a country devastated and extremely vulnerable, so whether or not these troops would engage in humanitarian tasks, which I believe they would, they have already made a bad impression on the helpless group of locals.
So, are they welcomed?
Well, I'm not too sure about that. Today, I just heard that a huge US military relief force had been rejected. More than 1,300 Marines ready to disgorge from a US warship with emergency equipment and shelters for the tens of thousands made homeless were simply given the message "No thanks!".
Why all this?
The prospect of US troops hitting the beaches has scared not only Colombo but the entire country which stand on a sensitive political situation. Days before the US Marines landed, the President made a public announcement stating that troops are here strictly on humanitarian missions and nothing beyond that. Seems like it did little good or nothing at all.
At a moment when millions of Sri Lankans have been displaced and badly in need of assistance, I'm surprised at the sudden turn of events. Not that this wasn't anticipated by many locals. Sri Lanka is a poor country, already devastated by the wrath of nature. The last thing she wants in the middle of this mess is an outbreak of war. I hoped the Marines would have been granted permission to carry out their task. Even after re-considering, it appears as if the decision is firm. The Bonhomme Richard has now joined the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln and its battle group off Sumatra.
Naz 
Wednesday, January 05, 2005 | 
Comments (12)
Comments
This is why I HATE politics!!!
This and many more..
Hold on there my friend.
We trust that help will not be used and abused otherwise the whole world will not forgive them.
The world is with the victims.
Sending away 1,500 "volunteers" is not a luxury the Government has at this time. Who will now be expected to replace all the materials the Marines were to land? Who will now build the roads, bridges, homes, schools, etc. if these men and women are sent packing for political reasons. I bet the person who made the decision is not sleeping on the beach. Put a little bit of your pride aside and accept this help while it is available for it will not be long until we are dealing with some other major crisis.
Apparently, Sri Lanka is not the only country to turn off US troops. How much more suffering would they want the citizens to go through just for the sake of sick politics?
a strict rule of thumb: "GIVE US MONEY NOT MILITARY"
Even in the faraway places we think of you and will send help. Hold on everyone.
This religious geopolitical marginalisation of Muslims in times of extreme need has nothing to do with God or George Bush.Don't stare a gift horse in the mouth ,lest you are willing to go shovel the shit!
Actually this has nothing to do with Muslims either. The problem arised after the LTTE began to act resistively. I read that they had accused the government for bringing US troops to spy on them. Well, so I guess there was no doubt of an imminent potitical clash. They didn't want to risk it, specially now that we are on a ceasefire.
On the other hand, it all doesn't make sense. We are talking about saving lives and building their future. How on earth can anyone steal that right?
That's what I thought. But if they are so worried about spying, the troops should have atleast been assigned to areas free from the rebels. It could have been a major upliftment to the destroyed villages.
True. But I don't think there will be any change. Not now at least. It's the poor ones who will have to go through more suffering until they find comfort, if it ever reaches them.
things have gotten a bit hot here
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