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