My SAITM Story

By Sahani Koralage –March 11, 2017

Sahani Koralage

Laying their life story bare in public in order to urge a government to take a policy decision is not something any student, studying anywhere in the world should ever have to face. In the face of wholesale lies that’s been spread around, We; the long suffering students of SAITM had no choice but to do this. This post has absolutely no intention of seeking public sympathy and I humbly request all who are prejudiced otherwise, to kindly not read any further.

#MySAITMStory
 #මගේSAITMකතාව

I was born as the first child in a middle class family. Luckily enough, to a father who’d do anything in his power to give his daughter the best life possible and to a mother who’s enlightened thousands of students including me in their way forwards in the academic world.

Both my parents being government workers, their collective salary rarely exceeds 60,000/= lkr per month.

I went to a private Montessori (1996-1997) (fee levying) before starting school in 1998. With utmost difficulty my father managed to enroll me in a then prestigious government girl’s collage. For thirteen years since then, I enjoyed ‘free’ education at Viharamaha Devi Balika Vidyalaya, Kiribathgoda. 
Was it entirely free of charge? No. My father had to spend for various stuff each year.

My parents strongly believed against tuition during the period of my primary education so, as a consequence, I was blessed with the best imaginable childhood filled with storybooks, fruits off the trees I used to climb, skinned knees and a bunch of friends to go crazy with. Up until I finished grade 5 scholarship exam (2002) my parents never made me sit and study anything unless I did it on my own. Having scored 135 where the pass mark was 134, I remember my father doing his first serious talk with me the night of the results day ,amidst the hype of receiving phone calls( 90% of them starting with “අයියෝ අපරාදෙ ටිකක් මහන්සි උනා නම් කොළඹ ඉස්කෝලෙකට යන්න තිබුණා” ) 
[Which I find strangely similar (and just as disgusting) to “අපරාදෙ තව පාරක් කලා නම් medicine යන්න තිබුණා” that I get from many even today ]
But my father told me , “This mark is 100% yours and you have done well. Don’t compare it with anyone elses’ cause your circumstances and theirs are not the same. Just remember a scholarship exam is by no means decisive of your capability. ”

With that planted strongly in the back of my mind I started my secondary studies in the same school in English medium. We were the first batch to face O/Ls under the new syllabus and the second batch of the school to face it in English medium. Teachers were fairly new and for some subjects we didn’t have a teacher for a whole year. I faced my GCE O/Ls in 2008 December and got my results ( 9As) on April 4th 2009 (Yes. After four months, cause our system is ‘that’ efficient.)

By that time I was set up on doing Biology for A/Ls just because I was fascinated by science, specially human anatomy since I was 12 and I loved making my own notes, referring books that were meant for people much older than me. My father wanted me to do languages (Apparently because I kept on scribbling ever since he can remember and managed to secure all island merits in literature and composition) but didn’t force me in to anything. Only thing he said was, “don’t do bio just because you fancy a steth around your neck” which was fine by me since I never had a doctor fantasy ever in my life. My father made me look at it like just another job which is falsely glorified in the Sri Lankan context. I’d rather fancy being a scientist, I told him.

My school started classes for A/Ls in 2009 August (four months after O/L results) I was set to do my A/Ls in English medium as well.(despite the lack of resources in my school) because I was so used to referencing and making my own notes , that it drove me crazy trying to adapt to Sinhala specially when it came to Biology. (by this time, I’ve tried a month of Sinhala medium classes with no luck.) Again we were the first batch to face A/Ls under the new syllabus so our teacher’s guides and curricula came sickeningly late. ( just how efficient the free education system was) To be exact, the chemistry curriculum only came out six months before the exam.

For my A/Ls I never attended a mass tuition class. For two reasons 
1. There were no proper tuition classes in English medium in my area. 
2. I was making my own notes based on the teachers’ guides and curricula.

Nevertheless for biology I had the help of this amazing lady Mrs. Kalupahana and for physics, that of very kind and dedicated sir from St. Thomas’ collage; Mr. Upali. 
I faced my A/Ls in 2011 August and waited for months before the release of results on 26th December, Which was without a doubt, the most epic fail in the history of all results’ releases. Fun fact- I have four different printouts from the doenets.lk website carrying four different sets of results in each. Amongst all the havoc, I applied for biology, applied biology and Indigenous medicine degrees offered by the state with the B,C & S I got that time since there were only two ways I could get where I wanted to go , one being a BSc in biology and a masters in molecular biology leading to a career in medical research the other being an MBBS which can directly lead to a career in medical research. For everything to get processed and for the system to take us in to universities it took forever! I’ve completed my second shy with BBC and CIMA (cert BA ) by the time University of Kelaniya offered me the BAMS degree for free. Even though I’ve already applied for a Russian scholarship for MBBS and for SAITM by that time, I thought I’d give this free degree a try since I loved the field and I could still go in to medical research with that. Got enrolled on 23rd April 2013 and spent three months in pure hell in the name of ragging where there was no freedom of education AT ALL. By this time I’ve received a vacancy for BSc in applied biology at University of Rajarata. I got enrolled there having left the hell hole in UOK and at about the same time I got called in for interviews at SAITM.

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Inamaluwe Sumangala neglected the statues; more corruption of his surfaces ;new custodians tend towards same lethal infection

(Lanka-e-News -09.March.2017, 11.55PM) Following the exposure made by Lanka e news pertaining to the massive robbery committed by the saffron robed monk Inamaluwe Sumangala who is by now confirmed as a record breaking robber who stole a whopping Rs. 19700 million over a period of 20 years out of  the income earned from foreigners who visited the Dambulu Vihara , we are deluged with information in regard to more corruption committed  by him . 

These corrupt activities are beyond ears and eyes can believe !

Inamaluwe Sumangala who functioned as the chief of Rangiri Dambulu Vihara , at the beginning in 1996 , that is about 20 years ago got rid of the officers of the  Central Cultural Fund who were in charge of the Vihara . It is after that he took  the sale of tickets under his control. 

Unbelievably during this whole of the period of 20 years of his robbery amounting to Rs. 19700 million ,this robed rogue has spent as small  as only Rs 280,000.00 for the renovations  of the Dambulu Vihara from that time until  now.  This is something most astonishing and cannot be believed by any true Buddhist  . Yet this is the incredible truth . These revelations were made by the present new chief incumbent of the Vihara Ven. Rahula Thera .

Yet another shocking truth !

Following  reports that the statues in Dambulu Vihara were  in a deteriorated condition ,the ex archeological commissioner ,  Durandara professor has visited the Vihara to inquire about it. Having realized some of the statues were indeed in a bad condition , the professor had told Inamaluwe that those statues shall be immediately refurbished  .

Inamaluwe who is by now a  confirmed robber  has replied ‘ Buddhism is an ancient religion. Those are things that are subject to destruction like our own lives’. This answer was given by the robed rogue because he feared when  the archeological department visits  the Vihara , Inamaluwe’s colossal thefts could become known. The professor however has not given in . ‘ Ven.Thera , yet , when there is a person dying , what we do is , provide medicines and try to prolong that person’s life even by a day’ the professor had replied. After returning  without success , the professor has in his records mentioned this incident. 

Commissioner for Buddhist affairs again to the rescue of the robed rogue …

Meanwhile  when the fudged accounts pertaining to the early period of the 20 years long robbery  were presented at the meeting of the archeological  advisory council held on the 7 th, it is reported once again  the commissioner General of Buddhist affairs Nimal Kotawelegedera had come forward to   rescue Inamaluwe who robbed Rs. 19700 million unconscionably and profanely . At the meeting the commissioner has fiercely  defended his spurious report , desperately citing  grounds to justify it.

His defense was , it is a conceptual  report .With regard to accounts of the past , there is no such thing as a conceptual report . Such conceptual reports can be forwarded only concerning accounts of the future .In any case accounts and accounting are not like light foretelling. 

It is therefore clear , the present Commissioner of Buddhist affairs Nimal Kotawalagedera  has produced fudged accounts to the government and is persisting  in   that evil habit . Hence it is the duty of those responsible to interdict him forthwith , which is also our request. This is because the sum  of Rs. 19700 million robbed  ought to have come into the coffers of the government , which is no trifling issue. Though the greater amount of robbery was not committed during the period of the present Commissioner , the latter’s attempts to justify the crime is a most serious offence and a dangerous trend. Fortunately , during the meeting of the archeological advisory council meeting on the 7 th , the Commissioner was given the treatment he deserved- he was chased out. 

New custodians too getting  infected with the same contagion ….

Meanwhile doubts have proliferated whether the new custodians who have taken over the Rangiri Dambulu Vihara have become greedy over the huge collections based on sales of tickets. The new group  commenced their first ticket sale on the 2 nd of March . On that occasion both parties have agreed that the officers of the Central Cultural Fund shall monitor it. As was revealed by Lanka e news earlier on regarding ticket sale proceeds based on calculations  , on that day there was a collection of Rs. 2.7 million on ticket sales , and the number of foreigners who visited the temple was about  1800, according to records. 

Yet , the new custodians have driven away  the officers of the Central Cultural Fund.   This is a grave situation with dangerous portents. It will be best if a cure is found before the lethal infection spreads .

Connecteed Reports:
Inamaluwe Sumangala saffron robed monk robs Rs. 19700 million of sacred funds ! journalists and Buddhist affair Commissioners involved !

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by     (2017-03-09 23:32:06)

Chief Minister Sabaragamuwa Province burdens family health issues to provincial health ministry!

Mar 11, 2017

It is reported that the Chief Minister of Sabaragamuwa Province and all his family members obtain health facilities at the expense of the provincial health ministry.

In this regard it is learnt that the Chief Minister for his illness seeks medical attention from a hospital in Singapore where all expenses are borne by the provincial health ministry.

In order to bring the monthly medicine prescription a vehicle needs to be sent from Ratnapura to Kollupitiya private medical institution and is returned to his residence in Kegalle.This wastage at the expense of people’s money which is not given any consideration. It is spoken that even for obtaining worm treatment tablets a vehicle is deployed without any concern to travel to Kollupitiya and back to his residence in Kegalle.

It is reported that under this Chief Minister purview several institutions have been identified as having misappropriated funds and have had involved in corrupt activities for the past 10 years or so. The employees of these institutions have accused and conveyed their unpleasantness to authorities of not having conducted proper audit to surface these obvious deficiencies.

Chinese workers in BIA project nabbed with Rs. 6m worth of fags



2017-03-11


Four Chinese workers attached to the runway renovation project at the Bandaranaike International Airport were nabbed by Customs while attempting to smuggle some Rs.6 million worth of foreign cigarettes into the country. 

They were checked when attempting to use the 'green channel'. 

Customs Deputy Director Parakrama Basnayake said the Chinese were searched on suspicion and the cigarettes found in their baggage.

 He said they had 600 cartons of two Chinese brands of cigarettes with each carton valued at Rs.10,000. 

The suspects worked for a private construction firm handling the renovation of the runway. 

This has been the second biggest detection of smuggled cigarettes at the BIA this year since the arrest of a Chinese woman on February 12 when she attempted to smuggle into the country 300 cartons of Chinese cigarettes worth Rs.3 million.

 Mr. Basnayake said the 300 cartons of cigarettes was said to have been for the use of Chinese labourers engaged in various construction projects in Colombo.

 “There is a high demand for Chinese cigarettes among Chinese workers, but we cannot allow them to bring in foreign cigarettes, because the import of tobacco products is banned,” he said.

 One of the suspects who admitted to having brought the contraband was fined Rs.100,000. 

Customs Superintendents Jagath Pushpakumara and Ananda Rathnakumara made the detection on the instructions of Mr. Basnayake. 

The contraband was confiscated and the Chinese workers released. (Kurulu Koojana Kariyakarawana)

New York federal prosecutor Preet Bharara says he was fired by Trump administration

New York federal prosecutor Preet Bharara said on March 11 that he had been fired, one day after the Justice Department asked him and 45 other federal prosecutors who had served under President Obama to submit their resignations. (Reuters)

By Devlin Barrett, Sari Horwitz and Robert Costa March 11 at 3:08 PM

Preet Bharara, one of the most high-profile federal prosecutors in the country, was fired Saturday after refusing to submit a letter of resignation as part of an ouster of the remaining U.S. attorneys who were holdovers from the Obama administration, according to people familiar with the matter.

“I did not resign,” Bharara said on Twitter. “Moments ago I was fired. Being the US Attorney in SDNY will forever be the greatest honor of my professional life.”

On Friday, acting deputy attorney general Dana Boente began making calls to 46 prosecutors asking for their resignations. Such requests are a normal part of a transition of power from one administration to another, and about half of the 94 Obama-era U.S. attorneys had already left their jobs.

But Boente’s call to Bharara, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, appears to have left some confusion in its wake, in large part because President Trump met with Bharara soon after the election and had asked him to stay on.

During Friday’s call, Bharara asked for clarity about whether the requests for resignations applied to him, given his previous conversation with Trump, and did not immediately get a definitive answer, according to a person familiar with the exchange.

After meeting with President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower on Nov. 30, 2016, Preet Bharara, the former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said he agreed to stay remain in his role in the Trump administration. (C-SPAN)

When asked Friday whether Bharara was also being asked for a resignation letter, one White House official not authorized to speak publicly said, “Everybody’s gone,” and would not engage further on the issue. Two people close to Trump said the president’s chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon and Attorney General Jeff Sessions want a clean slate of federal prosecutors and are unconcerned about any perception that the White House appears to have changed its mind about Bharara. The ouster of former president Barack Obama’s federal prosecutors is about asserting who’s in power, these people said.

The Justice Department declined to comment.

Bharara, based in Manhattan, had a particularly powerful perch in the criminal justice system. He had pursued corrupt politicians, global terrorism suspects and corporate malfeasance.

There is no indication that the ousting of Bharara stems from a disagreement about a particular case or investigation. The president complained on Twitter earlier this month that Obama had ordered wiretapping of Trump Tower during the election season — an accusation that multiple federal law enforcement officials have said is untrue — partly because presidents cannot order the FBI to wiretap Americans, and also because no such surveillance was undertaken. But Bharara was not drawn into that debate, which principally revolved around Justice Department headquarters and FBI headquarters.

After Trump won the presidency, he met in late November with Bharara. The meeting came about, according to people familiar with the matter, after Mr. Trump called Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and congratulated him on becoming the leader of the Senate Democrats. In that conversation, Trump brought up Bharara, and said he was thinking of keeping him in his job, these people said. Schumer praised Bharara and Trump then arranged a meeting with Bharara at Trump Tower.

During the conversation, Trump told Bharara to call Sessions, his nominee for attorney general, who also asked Bharara to stay.

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has asked the remaining 46 chief federal prosecutors left over from the Obama administration to resign "in order to ensure a uniform transition," the Justice Department said (Reuters)

When Bharara was leaving, according to one person familiar with the meeting, he asked the president-elect what he should tell the reporters in the lobby. Trump told Bharara to tell them he was staying on, this person said.

Matt Zapotosky and Rosalind Helderman contributed to this report.

Banksy's West Bank hotel raises ire among Palestinian activists

Palestinians say hotel normalises region's conflict, 'feeds into Israel's narrative' and is just plain 'childish'

Banksy's Walled Off Hotel was set to open on 11 March (MEE/Sheren Khalel)

Sheren Khalel-Saturday 11 March 2017

BETHLEHEM, West Bank - When Banky’s Walled Off Hotel made itself known in Bethlehem, the news spread quickly. While the hotel seemed to garner praise internationally, some Palestinians quickly took to criticising the artist’s latest stunt as a "normalisation" project that supports conflict tourism.

Suspicions of the project, which is backed by UK-based graffiti artist Banksy, centres primarily around the project’s lack of transparency. The international community and Palestinians learned of the hotel's existence together as the hotel's developers kept the project secret until the big reveal.

No one seems to know where the profits from the hotel will go, or if developers had to get permission from Israeli authorities to make renovations for such a controversial project in the administrative region of the West Bank known as Area C, where on average only 1.5 percent of all Palestinian building permit requests are approved, according to the UN.

On the hotel's website, developers addressed the question of whether the hotel is "making a profit off of other people’s misery," but they assured guests not to worry, as "Banksy won't see a penny".

"The artist paid for the installation costs and has now handed it over as an independent local business. The aim is to break even and put any profits back into local projects," the website reads.

Day before grand opening of hotel (MEE/Sheren Khalel)

Locals critical of the hotel are not convinced, telling Middle East Eye that the explanation is vague and complaining that the artist, known for secrecy, is not being up front about the financial aspect of the hotel's business model.

One hospitality manager in Bethlehem, who asked to remain anonymous, told MEE that he had heard rumours about the hotel's finances. 

"There's absolutely something weird about the hotel. I know someone who works there and they're paying their employees three and four times more than the normal salaries for people working in hospitality, and we want to know where the money is coming from, first thing, and also, where it is going," he said.

The day before the grand opening of the hotel, tourists and journalists lingered outside, taking photos of the exterior, but were refused entry. Staff and management at the hotel declined to speak to MEE about the criticism the hotel has faced from the local community.

"Anyone can come back tomorrow and come inside; today no," one security guard answered repeatedly to any questions asked.

'Worst view in the world'

Situated mere metres from a section of Israel’s separation wall, the hotel boasts it has "the worst view in the world".

A point of major contention lies in the sign posted at the entrance of the hotel, which reads:

"You made it! Welcome to the West Bank – a place steeped in history and conflict. Now might seem a good time to pick a side – except don't. The Wall is a lie. It sells the idea there is a simple divide between the people here, but there isn't. Most Palestinians live in great disadvantage to their neighbors. Many Israelis are opposed to the cruelties inflicted by the wall, but other Israelis are deeply fearful for their security. This exhibition looks at the wall from many angles, and so contains material some people may find upsetting."

Amjad al-Qaisi, an adviser at Al Haq Center for Applied International Law, told MEE that, at best, the hotel supports "normalisation" and trivialises the plight of Palestinians everywhere.

This whole idea of let's drink coffee or have a beer together that the hotel seems to be suggesting doesn't reflect at all the situation on the ground

- Amjad Al Qaisi, Al Haq Center for Applied International Law

"At first I thought it was a nice idea that would shed some light on the wall, occupation and the human rights violations connected to it, but then I saw that sign and it really disgusted me," said Qaisi, who is also a member of the Legal Support Network of BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights.

"This whole notion of 'many Israelis' being against the wall and having a problem with the wall, and this whole idea that there are two sides and both sides want peace but there are just a few extremists on each side is really problematic, and that is how this sign reads."

Qaisi said he believes other people involved in the project, including locals, should have known better, but that "unfortunately there are people looking for personal gain out of it".

"This whole idea of let's drink coffee or have a beer together that the hotel seems to be suggesting doesn't reflect at all the situation on the ground. The situation here is a brutal form of colonisation, which goes hand-in-hand with forcible displacement and the erasure of the Palestinian identity. 

"In such a situation, to talk about bringing people together from both sides is so unfortunate. The biggest harm is that it feeds into the Israeli narrative and stereotypes present all over the world - when internationals come and see such a project, the first reaction of the majority of the people will be 'wow, this is such a nice project because it brings two people together who have a problem with each other for probably no real reason,' but that is such a dangerous simplification of what is going on."

'Wall Mart'

The hotel was set to open 11 March, and the second installation of the project, a gift shop called "Wall Mart," which will sell graffiti supplies to tourists wanting to put their mark on the wall, will open on 20 March.

Foreigners coming to paint the wall have long been criticised by some Palestinian activists - a fact that the hotel's website acknowledges with a bit of tongue-in-cheek.

"Some people don't agree with painting the wall and argue anything that trivialises or normalises its existence is a mistake. Then again, others welcome any attention brought to it and the ongoing situation. So in essence - you can paint it, but avoid anything normal or trivial," the website reads.

Qaisi was appalled by the idea of the graffiti shop, calling it "childish" and "naive".

"It is just really so disgusting," he said. "This whole idea that you are invited to create art on the wall. The wall is not just a wall, it's a symbol of decades-long oppression of a whole people and several generations of Palestinians that are limited and oppressed by that regime, and to just think that you go and see that wall and spray that graffiti text on it, means that you've come here to support freedom, self-determination and justice is so childish.

"It's like you can come here as an international and spray graffiti and sleep well that night thinking you did something for the world," he said. "It's so naive on one hand and harmful on the other because projects like this create obstacles for people who are actually trying to work toward justice and protection of rights."

The hotel has had two sneak peaks, where locals and tourists were allowed to go inside and take a look, one on the first day of the project's reveal and the other a few days later.

Muhannad Adaal, a Palestinian activist who visited the hotel during the first opening, told MEE that he thought the hotel could be good for Bethlehem because it could bring in more tourism and money to the city. But he also felt that people were profiting off the Israeli occupation and was concerned tourists will not walk away from the hotel with a true understanding of the conflict.

"Using the occupation for personal benefit, to make money from the hotel, is wrong," he said. "And also the general idea of the hotel is problematic. Even painting on the wall in the first place is a problem - it makes the wall look better, it turns it into art, so people are coming to see what Banksy is doing, but not seeing the actual wall.

"Since they built this hotel, the name of Banksy has taken more space than the wall itself. It shouldn't just be about the view of the wall from the hotel, it should tell more stories about the wall and how it has affected people's lives."

Using the occupation for personal benefit, to make money from the hotel is wrong

- Muhannad Adaal, Palestinian activist

Other activists are upset that Banksy and his projects are not supporting the Boycott, Divest and Sanctions movement, because of his previous works, and the invitations to musicians who have played in Israel before.

The Banksy website had previously featured an event on 13 March featuring DJ Fatboy Slim. The website said the show was cancelled due to road construction, but several activists told MEE that because of the DJ’s previous shows in Tel Aviv, the hotel was warned that demonstrators would shut down any event that featured the artist.

"It looks like Banksy doesn’t understand what the boycott means or doesn't support it, and BDS is one of our main struggles. If he really supported Palestinians he would stand with them, and not allow artists that are against BDS to come here," Adaal said.

"And then to have these signs talking about letting Israelis and Palestinians come to the hotel together is messed up. I love any idea of peace, but it has to be built on justice first. We can't open our hotels and houses to Israelis to come here easily and normalize the situation before we actually work on the steps that come before that. 

"Until there is a real movement toward peace, Israelis can see the wall from the other side if they want," he said. "They don’t have to come here."

Gaza’s red poison

Gaza police say that the amount of illegal drugs which they seized so far this year is higher than the quantity seized during all of last year.Mohammed AsadAPA images

Hamza Abu Eltarabesh-7 March 2017

Fatima’s marriage started to fall apart in its early days.

Her husband began selling her jewelry, claiming that he was raising funds to set up a small shop. It soon transpired that he needed the money to buy a drug called Tramadol.

“I didn’t know at first that my husband was a Tramadol addict,” said Fatima (not her real name). “But then I couldn’t find the only gold ring that I owned. I knew then that he was desperate for money.”

According to Fatima, her husband would become aggressive if he did not have his daily fix of Tramadol. On one occasion, he started to beat his wife and children, ordering them to go out and find some money for him.

“He was like a monster,” Fatima said. The incident occurred three years ago; her husband has not called to see his children since then.

There are two versions of Tramadol in Gaza.

One is prescribed legally as a painkiller by the health services. The other, more potent form, is traded on the black market.

Colloquially known as the red poison – because of the color of Tramadol pills – the drug is very much associated with the siege that Israel imposed on Gaza a decade ago and that remains in place to this day.

In December 2008, it was reported that up to 30 percent of Gaza’s males between the ages of 14 and 30 were using Tramadol regularly.

Later that month, Israel began a major three-week offensive against Gaza. An increase in drug-taking was noted by a United Nations survey undertaken in Gaza following Operation Cast Lead, as that offensive is known.

Pills for breakfast

Taking Tramadol was seen as a way to relieve stress by some people. Many of its users soon became hooked.

One student recalled how she was given Tramadol by a friend, whose brother was the most active drug dealer in their area.

The student took her first pill with breakfast before her first lecture at university.

“I kept doing this every day for a month,” she said. After a while, she had run out of money to feed her habit, so she sold a gold chain that her father had given her when she passed her secondary school exams.

The woman, aged 22, recently stopped attending classes. Her family had found out about her addiction.

“Fewer women are addicted to Tramadol than men,” said Muhammad Abu al-Sabih, a therapist with the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme. “But addiction among women is increasing in a way that is quite worrying.”

His colleague Khalid Dahlan said: “I treat one female addict for every three male addicts. That is a high proportion.”

Most of the women treated for Tramadol addiction are in their early 20s, Dahlan added.

Tramadol addiction is a problem found among both the poor and the better-off.

A doctor in southern Gaza halted paying his son an allowance after learning that he was a Tramadol addict.

The son then began stealing items from their house before breaking into the home next door and attacking a woman who lived there. The woman died as a result.

“He did a lot of bad things,” the man’s brother said. “And he ended up killing an innocent woman.”

“Easy to kill”

Hassan al-Sweerky, a spokesperson for the anti-narcotics division in the Gaza police, alleged that Tramadol is being smuggled into Gaza by locals working in cooperation with Israeli criminals.

Although Gaza is sealed off from the outside world, police have identified a number of what they call “yellow areas” through which contraband is entering the strip. The “yellow areas” include a few locations along Gaza’s boundary with Israel.

According to al-Sweerky, the smugglers receive drugs from Israeli dealers at certain spots in the boundary which are under full Israeli control. “This means that Palestinian security forces cannot go there,” he said.

While many smugglers have been arrested, the police spokesperson said, others evade surveillance by constantly changing the SIM cards in their mobile phones.

One smuggler admitted that the Tramadol trade is “very profitable.”

“We are always trying to change and develop our methods of bringing drugs in – so that we are one step ahead of the police,” the smuggler added. “But it’s also very dangerous. We live in fear. There is a lot of greed in our business and we are always fighting with each other. It is very easy to kill in this job.”

On occasion, caches of illegal drugs have been found by the authorities. Around 400,000 Tramadol tablets were destroyed in Gaza during the last three months of last year, according to the local police.

Yet the flow of drugs has continued. Police say that the amount of illegal drugs which they seized in Gaza so far this year is higher than the quantity seized during all of last year.

Rehabilitation

Tramadol has also been brought into Gaza via Egypt. In recent years, Egypt destroyed many tunnels that Palestinians had dug in order to access the Sinai region of the country. The tunnels were used to bring goods into Gaza that Israel prevented from being imported above ground.

The systematic destruction of tunnels has not had a discernible effect on the availability of Tramadol. Police believe that it is still coming into Gaza via those tunnels that remain in use.

In an attempt to help Tramadol addicts kick their habits, the local ministry for health has set up a rehabilitation center in central Gaza. The center is called Amal, the Arabic word for hope.

“With the number of addicts increasing in recent years, it was vital for an official body to take care of them and treat them in a specialized center,” said Abdallah al-Jamal, a psychologist at Amal.

The center runs rehabilitation programs that last from 15 to 90 days. There is much emphasis on sport and on healthy diets. Addicts are encouraged to give up drugs altogether but, in certain cases, are allowed to take legal painkillers as a substitute for black market Tramadol.

The police work closely with the center.

“Many addicts have asked for help with treatment,” said Hassan al-Sweerky, the police spokesperson.

“Some of them didn’t want their families to find out about their addictions. So we started to deal with these people as medical patients. They are treated for free and without having any criminal charges brought against them.”

Hamza Abu Eltarabesh is a freelance journalist and writer from Gaza.

At least 40 killed in Damascus bombing targeting Shi'ites

People inspect the damage at the site of an attack by two suicide bombers in Damascus, Syria March 11, 2017. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki--Syrian army soldiers and civilians inspect the damage at the site of an attack by two suicide bombers in Damascus, Syria March 11, 2017. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki

Blood stains the ground at the site of an attack by two suicide bombers in Damascus, Syria, in this handout picture provided by SANA on March 11, 2017. SANA/Handout via REUTERS--People inspect the damage at the site of an attack by two suicide bombers in Damascus, Syria March 11, 2017. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki

By Tom Perry and Kinda Makieh | BEIRUT/DAMASCUS-Sat Mar 11, 2017

A double bomb attack targeting Shi'ite pilgrims in Damascus killed at least 40 Iraqis and wounded 120 more who were going to pray at a nearby shrine, the Iraqi foreign ministry said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Saturday's attack, which the Hezbollah-run al-Manar TV station said had been carried out by two suicide bombers.

Footage broadcast by Syrian state TV showed two badly damaged buses with their windows blown out. The area was splattered with blood and shoes were scattered on the ground.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been supported in the country's war by Shi'ite militias from countries including Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon.

The attack took place at a bus station where the pilgrims had been brought to visit the nearby Bab al-Saghir cemetery, named after one of the seven gates of the Old City of Damascus.

The second blast went off some 10 minutes after the first at around 10 a.m. (0800 GMT), inflicting casualties on civil defense workers who had gathered to tend to the casualties, the Damascus correspondent for al-Manar told the station by phone.

The pilgrims were due to pray at the cemetery after visiting the Sayeda Zeinab shrine just outside Damascus, he said.

Sayeda Zeinab - the granddaughter of the Prophet Mohammad - is venerated by Shi'ites and her shrine is a site of mass pilgrimage for Shi'ites from across the world. It has also been a magnet for Shi'ite militiamen in Syria.

Iran has backed Assad in the conflict that erupted in 2011. The Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah is also fighting in support of Assad.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based organization that reports on the war, said the number of dead was at least 44. The death toll was expected to rise due to the many serious injuries, it added.

Last June, Islamic State claimed responsibility for bomb attacks near the Sayeda Zeinab shrine. The last bomb attack in Damascus was in January, when a suicide bomber hit the heavily police Kafr Sousa neighborhood, killing at least seven people.

(Additional reporting by Maher Chmaytelli in Baghdad; Editing by Alexander Smith and Dominic Evans)

Maoist rebels kill 11 policemen in east Indian state of Chhattisgarh

The attack on the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel took place in the forested area of Sukma district, a known area of Maoist activity

File image: Indian army soldiers take part in training in Bangalore MANJUNATH KIRAN/AFP/Getty Images

Jatindra Dash Bhubaneswar- Sat Mar 11, 2017

Maoist rebels on Saturday ambushed a paramilitary patrol in India's eastern Chhattisgarh state, killing 11 policemen, regional police said.

The attack on the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel took place in the forested area of Sukma district, a known area of Maoist activity, about 400 kms from the state capital, Raipur.

"Around 100 CRPF personnel had gone to provide security to ongoing road construction work when the Maoists ambushed them," Inspector General of Police Sunder Raj P. told Reuters.

Four policemen sustained injuries in the attack, he said.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh condemned the attack in separate statements on Twitter. Modi said in his statement that Singh would be in Sukma to assess the situation.

In 2010, Maoist fighters ambushed and killed at least 75 police by setting off explosives and firing from hilltops around dense forest in Chhattisgarh, in one of the worst attacks by the insurgents in years.

India then launched its largest-ever security operation, involving tens of thousands of federal troops and policemen, following the attack.

Maoist rebels accuse the Indian government of plundering the mineral rich and underdeveloped east and central regions of the country at the expenses of the poor and landless among whom they draw support.

The level of Maoist violence, however, has fallen in recent years.