Filed under life stories, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, unusual people
Courtesy of KEITH BENNETT
SOME INTERESTING AUSTRALIAN MIGRATION STATISTICS….
Out of the top ten countries where migrants came from in 2024, England was on top with 963,000 migrants (3.5%) and Sri Lanka 10th with 172,000 migrants(0.6%).
In second and third place were India and China
Australia’s total population in 2024 was 27.1m
PS: The Rest of this Item sent to me by Keith Bennett did not reproduce. Till I insert it, let me present data derived from Wikipedia and the internet.
Channa Wickremasekera in Facebook, … [where items disappear into the depths] … with highlighting imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi
A close friend recently sent me the link to Louis Theroux’s documentary ‘The Settlers’. He was moved by it, he said. I was too, not only by the documentary, but also by the fact that my friend was moved. He is hard to move. He is very cynical about all the protests I go to. How many bombs have you stopped? He asks jokingly. He hates what Israel is doing in Gaza but he cannot see how ordinary people like him or me can change anything.
ITEM in Groundviews, 20 January 2011, entitled “Responding to a Facile Appeal: Galle Literary Festival and Freedom of Expression”
Michelle de Kretser signing. Photo by Sharni Jayawardena, courtesy Galle Literary FestivalThe Editors of Groundviews received via email this morning intimation of an international appeal made by Reporters Without Borders and Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka (JDS), a network of exiled Sri Lankan journalists. The Galle literary festival appeal notes inter alia,
“We believe this is not the right time for prominent international writers like you to give legitimacy to the Sri Lankan government’s suppression of free speech by attending a conference that does not in any way push for greater freedom of expression inside that country.”
Filed under life stories, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, unusual people
Michelle De Kretser’s Acceptance speech on Winning the STELLA PRIZE, .. May 2025
Thank you all so much for being here. The 2025 Stella Prize does my work great honour, and I’m so happy to accept it. I wish I could join you in person to celebrate all the long and shortlisted writers. As that’s not possible, I’m recording this on land stolen from the Gadigal people of the Eora nation. I pay my respects to Gadigal elders past and present, and acknowledge that their connection to country is unbroken. Always was, always will be Aboriginal land.
To Amy, Samah, Jumaana, Santilla and Melanie, my heartfelt thanks for the honour of your company, and for the many ways in which you reconfigure our understanding and our literature.
Filed under life stories
AVERSION is due to be launched in July 2025 …. and there are some special pre-launch offers
‘Aversion’ is a book about a country renewing and rebuilding itself. The main character is an investigative journalist, initially on assignment in Sri Lanka, where her extended family live. Initially overwhelmed by negative news and the chaos she comes into, she witnesses the country reinventing itself after terror attacks, civil war, natural disaster and economic crisis, and reinvents herself in response, reframing her perspective to appreciate the resilience of the country and even in herself.
A NEWS ITEM in The Island, 25 May 2025 …Final rites of veteran actress Malani Fonseka to be held with state honours on Monday, 26th May at Independence Square”
The final rites of veteran actress and iconic queen of Sri Lankan cinema, Malani Fonseka, will be held with state honours on Monday, 26th May 2025, at the Independence Square.
DEAUVILLE, FRANCE – MARCH 05: Sri Lankan actress Malani Fonseka awaded during the Deauville film festival on March 5, 2014 in Deauville, France …… Photo by Dominique Charriau/WireImage
A discussion regarding the arrangements forthe state funeral was held this afternoon (24) at the Presidential Secretariat, under the leadership of Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, Dr. H. M. Sunil Senevi and Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake.
Harry Solomon’s Item in FACEBOOK, May 2025, entitled “Togetherness For Survival: A Lesson from the World of Ants” … presented by David Attenborough
Sir David Attenborough opens Woodberry Wetlands on April 30, 2016 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Danny Martindale/WireImage)
Everything · dnrspeootS7h4t7736a210a614tcfl8mg1cahauth929fua89mgtl013c74a ·
Once, waking up in nature early in the morning, I noticed something surprising. Several dozen ants had fallen into a five-liter bottle of water that had been left open the night before. They waved chaotically in the transparent water, as if each one was fighting for its life.
At first, it seemed to me that they were drowning each other, saving themselves at the cost of the death of others.
This thought made me repulsed, and I turned away, deciding not to intervene.
Filed under life stories, self-reflexivity, world events & processes
thuppahi
