The bunkers—complete with guys in camouflage holding automatic weapons—positioned sporadically along the runway at Bandaranaike International Airport, stunned me when I landed in Sri Lanka for the first time in December, 2004. I looked for them this time as soon as we touched down, and they were still there. On this visit to Sri Lanka, though, I definitely noticed a much more visible military presence throughout the country than I did back in 2004. I had heard that the troubles between the Tamil Tigers (LTTE*)and the government had intensified several different times since my last visit, to include some suicide bombings in Colombo and, in March 2007, an attack by the LTTE on the Sri Lanka Air Force Base situated right beside the international airport.
New Year’s Day—a day which ended up marking another bombing in Colombo, by the way—Jennell and I departed Sri Lanka on a 7:00am flight. In the wee dark hours of the morning we experienced firsthand the security procedures the government/military had instituted at the international airport: All potential passengers are deposited at a bus stop beyond the terminal area, and any good-byes to people remaining in Sri Lanka must be said there. Tickets (maybe passports, too, in some cases, but no one was interested in seeing ours once they saw our faces) are then viewed and marked before individuals are allowed to board an airport bus to the terminal. Once at the terminal, all the security measures typically run at an airport begin.
During the time we traveled in Sri Lanka, we passed checkpoints along every road. Most of the checkpoints had police and/or military people present. Our driver always slowed at these checkpoints, and, as soon as the men glimpsed Jennell and me in the back seat, they motioned us on. In fact, no one ever signaled us to stop until we arrived in Colombo; there we were stopped at every checkpoint! Our vehicle had a license plate indicating a Galle registration (southern Sri Lanka), not a Colombo one. The soldiers would motion us into “stop queue,” speak Sinhala to our driver while reviewing his paperwork, look at Jennell and me, ask us where we were from, and then smile and wave—as in hello—when we said “America.” In Colombo we stayed at the Ceylon Continental, located in the financial/diplomatic district along with the Hilton, etc., and there were checkpoints everywhere for road traffic and for pedestrians. I had to pass through one when I walked across the street from our hotel to go to an ATM in a building just down the block. They waved me through the curtained cubicle with smiles, didn’t ask for identification or anything, but it all felt a bit eerie!
No Sri Lankan was anything but gracious to us. People we met all along our way mentioned how “the troubles” receiving so much press in the world had really frightened away many potential tourists, causing financial stress and hardship for many employed in enterprises supported by tourists. The Christmas/New Year time frame is Sri Lanka’s peak tourist season. This one, though, did not usher in any crowds. For Jennell and me the deficiency in tourist numbers certainly had advantages; sadly, for many Sri Lankans, it meant profoundly tougher economic times.
These photos were taken from the window of our room in the Ceylon Continental in Colombo.
* The LTTE holds the dubious distinction of being the originator of the suicide bombing strategy.
1 comment:
I had a feeling before you left that this was not a very safe place to go. gwh
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