Feizal Samath

WOMEN-SRI LANKA: Migrant Workers Pay a High Price

Sri Lankans employed in the thousands in the Middle East in unskilled and semi-skilled jobs send nearly all their earnings home to their families -- providing the government with much-needed foreign exchange.

EDUCATION-SRI LANKA: History Edged Out of Classrooms

By Feizal Samath

The fascinating story of Sri Lanka's past, one of the longest written histories in the world, is contained in two great literary works compiled by Buddhist monks in the beginning of the sixth century B.C.

ECONOMY: East Asia Debacle Has Lessons for Sri Lanka

By Feizal Samath

East Asia's battered economies may be confident of bouncing back to shape, but the process of rebuilding faith in their model of development could take much longer.

SRI LANKA: Kumaratunga Walks the Risky Language Tight-Rope

By Feizal Samath

Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunga sent a powerful political message last month when she delivered her independence day speech in English.

SRI LANKA: Poverty Drives Farmers to Suicide

By Feizal Samath

Sri Lanka has become infamous as the country with the world's highest number of suicide deaths, even by children as young as six.

SRI LANKA: Red Cross Wins Respect of Military and Rebels

By Feizal Samath

When civilians go missing in the raging battles in Sri Lanka's north, their anxious relatives besiege the offices of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for news of their loved ones.

SRI LANKA: Tightening Screws on Paedophiles

By Feizal Samath

Sri Lanka is tightening laws on child sex, making paedophilia a non-bailable offence, as pressure mounts for a full-scale probe into allegations of abuse against world famous space writer Arthur C. Clarke.

WILDLIFE-SRI LANKA: Animal Lovers Up in Arms Against Zoo

By Feizal Samath

A Sri Lankan elephant, who thrilled adults and children at a city zoo for more than 15 years, has been drawn into a tug-of-war between authorities and animal lovers after he killed two handlers and had to be auctioned.

RELIGION-SRI LANKA: Marriage By Conversion Ruled Out

By Feizal Samath

Sri Lankan men, who wish to marry a second time without divorcing their first wife, often opt for an easy way out -- by converting to Islam which permits polygamy.

RELIGION-SRI LANKA: Marriage By Conversion Ruled Out

By Feizal Samath

Sri Lankan men, who wish to marry a second time without divorcing their first wife, often opt for an easy way out -- by converting to Islam which permits polygamy.

DEVELOPMENT-SRI LANKA: Children At the Mercy Of Sex Tourists

By Feizal Samath

Fighting its image of a country torn by civil war, Sri Lanka has been rolling out the red carpet to foreign tourists who come in thousands every year to the golden beaches and ancient sites.

RELIGION-SRI LANKA: Marriage By Conversion Ruled Out

By Feizal Samath

Sri Lankan men, who wish to marry a second time without divorcing their first wife, often opt for an easy way out -- by converting to Islam which permits polygamy.

CHILDREN-SRI LANKA: At the Mercy of Sex Tourists

By Feizal Samath

Fighting its image of a country torn by civil war, Sri Lanka has been rolling out the red carpet to foreign tourists who come in thousands every year to the golden beaches and ancient sites.

SOUTH ASIA: Why is Political Power a Male Prerogative?

By Feizal Samath

South Asia has produced more women heads of government than any other region in the world. They have been either daughters or wives of prominent politicians in their country.

ENVIRONMENT-SRI LANKA: Top NGO Makes Polluters Pay

By Feizal Samath

When an ice cream factory built by an Unilever subsidiary outside the Sri Lankan capital began polluting the environment, green campaigners forced it to cut down the noise and build a costly effluent treatment plant.

ENVIRONMENT-SRI LANKA: Top NGO Makes Polluters Pay

By Feizal Samath

When an ice cream factory built by an Unilever subsidiary outside the Sri Lankan capital began polluting the environment, green campaigners forced it to cut down the noise and build a costly effluent treatment plant.

SRI LANKA: Turning Fifty, But Who is Celebrating?

By Feizal Samath

Security is tight in the Sri Lankan capital ahead of the 50th independence celebrations on Wednesday, but there is little excitement, just mixed feelings about freedom's gains.

MEDIA-SRI LANKA: Tame Press or Free Media

By Feizal Samath

Sri Lankan security forces search the home and hotel room of two Indian journalists. The officers are polite. The search is thorough. The regional correspondent of a Colombo-based national newspaper is threatened with bodily harm after he writes a story that is perceived as anti-government.