There will come a day.
On 26th of December 2004, unimaginable horror occurred. The Tsunami drowned around 40,000 people in Sri Lanka alone. Defenceless people and communities were destroyed on a massive scale by environmental catastrophe.
Coral reefs and the mighty mangrove that were our surest guard, had been and continue to be destroyed by stealth, pollution and neglect.
Jungle lands in Sri Lanka have been blighted by indiscriminate deforestation. The animal kingdom is threatened with devastation.
The earth is polluted. The victims must be compensated. The polluters must pay.
The time has long past for action. The least that we can do is to build partnerships and to support committed lawyers in Sri Lanka who are engaged in protecting poor communities. This is a battle between David and Goliath.
As lawyers we must act, by building partnerships with campaigning lawyers and organisations like the Centre for Environmental Justice in Sri Lanka. We can learn from them. We can also assist them, to train a generation of fearless community lawyers.
In 2023, ASLLUK will again support the Legal Intern Scholarships project with CEJ. It therefore approves Four (4) Legal Intern Scholarships with CEJ. ASLLUK agrees to support: Local interns Rs. 60,000 x 6 months x 4 interns = Rs.1,440,000 = £3211.
There will come a day when they will return to fight for their communities and environmental justice, with their heads unbowed.
Lalith de Kauwe
Tsunami Committee of the Association Sri Lankan Lawyers.
3rd March 2023.
MESSAGE FROM HARENDRA DE SILVA KC
President of The Association of Sri Lankan Lawyers in the UK (ASLLUK)
It gives me great pleasure to welcome all our friends and supporters to the 18th Tsunami Reception. In particular, I wish to welcome HE Saroja Sirisena, High Commissioner for Sri Lanka in the UK for gracing this occasion. We started this charitable initiative after the devastating Tsunami in 2004 and we have annually collected and distributed funds for many worthy causes in Sri Lanka. This year’s focus is on climate change, a very topical and deserving area of global significance. Jungle lands in Sri Lanka have been blighted by indiscriminate deforestation. We have already made some contribution towards the protection of elephants and the training of environmental lawyers. We aim to continue to provide financial assistance for young lawyers to train in environmental law and thereafter use their knowledge to protect and promote the ecology of Sri Lanka.
My personal thanks to Lalith de Kauwe and the members of the Committee for all their hard work. Also our many loyal supporters whose generosity has made all of this possible.
HARENDRA DE SILVA KC
3rd March 2023
