| The word Serendipity means unexpected blessing | | | | crowd disburse. |
| and unsought forgifts. The word was coined in | | | | After awhile, when the crowd went away, |
| 1754 by Horace Walpole. In a letterto his friend, | | | | Thomas came in search ofme, and helped me to |
| Sir Horace Mann, Walpole wrote that he found a | | | | get back into the house. The next morning Ifound |
| Persian fairy tale about three princes in Serendip | | | | the crowd gathering and I concluded it was |
| (the ancient namefor Sri Lanka) . The princes | | | | unsafe to stay inthe village. I decided we should |
| happened to come across unexpectedgifts and | | | | make a dash for safety before thecrowd |
| fortunes and valuable things not sought for. Such | | | | became very large, because at any moment the |
| thingshappen occasionally to many of us. | | | | mood of thecrowd could change. I was |
| Sometimes the events start withthe appearance | | | | endangering the lives of my hosts andour own. |
| of calamity and we may not recognize that | | | | The roads were crowded with roaming Singhalese |
| pleasantsurprises are on the way. Let me quote | | | | searching forescaping Tamils. I was afraid that if I |
| some personal experiences. | | | | was caught driving in thedirection of the Tamil |
| I was in Nikaweratiya forest in Sri Lanka | | | | villages we may be caught, assaulted andeven |
| inspecting fence postsfor use in one of the | | | | killed. However, we had to escape because the |
| livestock farms. When I finished the work, thesun | | | | situation wasgetting worse. I got my family in the |
| was setting. I hastened on my bicycle along a wild | | | | Gal Oya Land Rover, given tome for my use, put |
| animalstrack under a canopy-like covering in the | | | | the blinds down to avoid being identified andgot |
| forest. I had to goabout five miles to get on to a | | | | ready for a dash to escape. |
| human foot path and another fivemiles to reach | | | | I had to go through the crowded road. I drove |
| the road. After going about two miles, | | | | slowly withdetermination to go through the crowd |
| Iencountered a herd of elephants. Immediately I | | | | at a steady, slow speedgiving time for the |
| back tracked andtried to find another trail to get | | | | unwilling mass to move and give room. The |
| away but could not find any. Theonly route was | | | | crowdmoved and we were out of the village. Still |
| the one blocked by the elephants. | | | | I had to go about 15miles to reach the safety of |
| Hoping the elephants would move off, I waited. It | | | | the Muslim village across a river. Idrove as fast as |
| was getting darkand I had only a three-cell torch | | | | I could. We safely reached the river and I left |
| for light. Luckily for me, a herdof water buffaloes | | | | therover as arranged, took my family across the |
| came along. I moved aside, allowed them to | | | | river in a canoe andsettled them in the house of a |
| pass,then followed them with the assurance that | | | | Muslim friend. |
| they would warn me ofthe elephants. Fortunately | | | | There were three Singhalese men in the Muslim |
| for me, the elephants had moved off andthe | | | | village who wereafraid for their lives from Tamil |
| buffaloes went along and I along with them until | | | | marauders. They begged me to savethem and |
| we got out ofthe heavy forest. I could ride my | | | | transport them to Uhana. They were in the same |
| bicycle and leave thebuffaloes. It was pure | | | | predicamentin this Muslim village as I was in the |
| serendipity that the buffaloes came alongwhen I | | | | Singhalese village. I agreedto take them within a |
| was in a predicament. | | | | mile or two of Uhana if there was no crowd |
| During the 1956 racial riots in Sri Lanka, I was | | | | onthe road. Otherwise I would drop them where I |
| caught up inanother dangerous situation. The racial | | | | felt unsafe and theywould have to find their way |
| riot started because the | | | | back to Uhana. |
| Government of Sri Lanka cleared about 100,000 | | | | I managed to come close to Uhana from where |
| acres of forest landin Batticaloa, a Tamil district. | | | | they could walk into thevillage. There was no |
| D.S.Senanayake, the then prime minister, | | | | crowd on the road. On my return trip, when Iwas |
| constructed a dam acrossthe Gal Oya river and | | | | about five miles away from Uhana, I saw dust |
| created a 35 square mile lake to irrigate thisland | | | | rising from asection of the road and realized that |
| and convert it into paddy fields. The government | | | | a lorry was coming from theopposite side. Not |
| distributedthe newly cleared land to Singhalese | | | | wanting to be caught in a narrow part of the |
| peasants from the south. Eachfamily got two | | | | roadwhere the two vehicles could not pass each |
| acres of dry land and three acres of wet land. | | | | other, I spotted a widearea where I would not be |
| Inthe beginning, the settlers occupied the upper | | | | blocked by the lorry, stopped and waitedfor the |
| valley. Later theywere given lands in the lower | | | | lorry to come. |
| valley, adjacent to the Tamilvillages. The Tamils | | | | Seeing the dust raised by my land rover, the |
| objected to their land being given to | | | | lorry driver stopped,evidently to block the road, |
| Singhalese. This created friction between the | | | | and waited. A while after the dustsubsided, the |
| Tamils and Singhaleseliving in the valley. The | | | | lorry came forward to investigate. When the lorry |
| Singhalese majority with a Singhalesegovernment | | | | sawthe rover, he stopped to block my track. On |
| and Prime Minister felt that they were superior. | | | | the lorry was a largegroup of men armed with |
| In the Gal Oya Valley the Tamils were the | | | | rifles, machetes, and clubs. By a |
| majority. So theythought they were more | | | | commandingwave of my hand I ordered the |
| powerful. Small discords between individualsspread | | | | driver to move out of my way. Mygesture was |
| to groups and it flared up into an uprising against | | | | so forceful that the driver moved the lorry to the |
| the Tamilsin the Gal Oya Valley. | | | | sideand I drove off with a cheer i o-wave. The |
| At this time, I was the veterinarian in charge of | | | | driver did not get a goodlook at me to ascertain |
| livestockdevelopment for the Gal Oya valley. I | | | | wether I was a Tamil or Singhalese drivingthe Gal |
| wanted to duplicate the work Ihad done in | | | | Oya land rover. So he turned around and followed |
| Chilaw-Puttlam Districts to improve livestock | | | | me but Idrove so fast that the lorry could not |
| therebefore I moved to Gal Oya.. That earned | | | | catch up and abandoned thechase. |
| me meritorious citizenship. Iwanted to make the | | | | From the Muslim village we went over to |
| Gal Oya valley a showplace of | | | | Batticaloa and stayed therefor about a month until |
| livestockdevelopment. As part of this program, I | | | | the rebellion settled. My escape from Gal Oyawas |
| supervised the distributionof dairy cows, draft bulls | | | | an episode of daring, uncertainties and luck. |
| for plough, and exotic poultry by the Gal | | | | However this wasthe best thing that happened |
| Oya Board. So I was liked by all colonists. | | | | because it forced me to leave Sri Lanka. |
| Simon is a common name among the Singhalese. | | | | I searched the world over for opportunities to |
| Therefore the Tamilsthought that I was a | | | | migrate. |
| Singhalese. But I could not speak the | | | | During this time, Dr. Evans Hardy of Saskatoon |
| Singhaleselanguage fluently. Therefore the | | | | was working in Gal |
| Singhalese thought that I was Tamil. | | | | Oya as the FAO representative in assisting the |
| Thus, I was the target from both groups but | | | | Gal Oya Board tostart a Technical Training |
| more so by the | | | | Institute. One day, we happened to meeton a |
| Singhalese when there was a racial conflict. | | | | narrow bund of an irrigation canal where the |
| During the riot, Singhalese mobs wandered the | | | | vehicles could notpass each other. I backed my |
| district looking for | | | | vehicle a few hundred yards and gaveroom for |
| Tamils in the neighborhood of Uhana, a center for | | | | Dr. Hardy to go by. Thereafter, we had many |
| Singhalesecolonists. My residence was in an | | | | opportunitiesto meet and discuss professional |
| isolated area about ten milesaway from Uhana. | | | | matters. We became good friends and |
| My friend, Mr. Thomas, the office | | | | I discussed my future plans with him. When I told |
| administrator,thought it unsafe for me and my | | | | him that I wouldlike to go for higher studies to |
| family to stay in that isolatedarea. So my wife | | | | Canada, he immediately wrote aletter to his friend |
| and I with our four children moved in with him | | | | Dr. Stan Wood at the University of British |
| andhis family in the Singhalese center at Uhana | | | | Columbia requesting him to help me. In that letter, |
| village. | | | | he described meas an industrious person and |
| The rioting continued for a few days. One | | | | ended the letter with the remark "Simonwill be an |
| evening, we saw a Tamilman about 500 yards | | | | asset to Canada." He gave me a copy of this |
| away being beaten by a crowd of Singhalese. | | | | letter. Thispleasantly surprised me and I |
| Wecame to know that the mob wanted to | | | | immediately wrote to Dr. K.F. Wells, |
| search the houses of Singhaleseofficers for | | | | Veterinary Director General, Department of |
| harboring Tamil officers. At nightfall, we | | | | Agriculture, Health of |
| receivednews that a crowd of about 200 | | | | Animals, Ottawa. for employment as veterinarian. |
| Singhalese people were comingtowards our house | | | | Dr. Hardy wasknown to Dr. Wells. When he saw |
| to see who the guests of Thomas' were. That | | | | such a compliment from Dr. Hardy,he was |
| meantdanger for us. | | | | impressed and lost no time to get me recruited. |
| Knowing that mob behavior is unpredictable, I | | | | He sent mea Civil service application to fill in and |
| walked out by theback door and asked my wife | | | | send to him. He forwardedit to the Civil Service |
| and children to follow me into thejungle at the | | | | Commission and I was selected. He asked meto |
| back of the house. I run out towards the forest | | | | join duty immediately. This was in May 1956. |
| in theback of the house. During my blind hurry in | | | | But I could not leave without a substitute |
| the dark, I fell intoa ditch, hurt my leg, and could | | | | veterinarian for the |
| not get up. That was my luck. aserendipity. | | | | Gal Oya Board and in addition I had to move my |
| Before the children could clear the compound, the | | | | family from Gal |
| crowd surroundedthe house and my wife and | | | | Oya Valley to some safe place in Sri Lanka. So I |
| children were taken captives. | | | | needed time andwrote back that I would report |
| Fortunately for us, the leader of the group | | | | for duty in May 1957, a year fromthen, |
| happened to be one whoseson I had saved a few | | | | requesting that the vacancy be kept open. Dr. |
| months earlier from drowning in a lake. | | | | Wells was goodenough to do me that favour. |
| Herecognized my wife and told the crowd how I | | | | Thus my agony and troubles ended as |
| risked my life to savehis son and he made the | | | | aserendipity. |