I have discovered that when I share a photo on my blog, there is not much room for text, which is why I have been cut off mid-sentence. So i am now going to write at length, hopefully, without a photo.

Yesterday, we went to another village where there seemed to be more poverty and ,more war trauma than in Batticaloa. I posted the photos earlier of this place. They had so little and need more resources. We then went on Passikuddah beach to find that this accessible beach had been taken over by rich developers and there was little space left for public swimming. I did go for a swim in my pyjamas as part of the cover-up that women have to do, but it was not a fun experience. I felt weighed down by water and sand. The only fun bit was throwing a ball back to the young Sri Lankans swimmimg there too. I appeared to be the only foreigner. I was able to remove my wet clothes in a special women's changing facility which had been there for years. What had not been there for years was a huge new luxury hotel further up,the beach, which had privatised part of the beach for itself. No Tamil was spoken in this hotel which was revealing. The Sri Lankans in the swimming pool were speaking English which indicated thieir status. Altogether I felt sad for the ordinary people as they are gradually excluded from their beautiful sites. Unlike the aboriginals in Australia where the same thing has happened, they are not in a position to fight back. A military presence is still very visible here.
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