Let us all be proud that we are ‘Sri Lankans’ by Harold Gunatillake

Dear Readers,

I would like to share this exposure published in the ‘Leader’ Sutherland shire Newspaper in NSW, which is sure to bring pride to all our Sri Lankans migrated here, bringing in much credit to our motherland.

We migrated to this lucky country when the situation back home, mainly our living conditions were at its lowest. So as the saying goes,” We left the sinking ship’.

Most of us still have connections with our mother country and we cannot forget the good times we had.

Why I left Sri Lanka in 1972 was, mainly due to the lack of facilities in Hospitals for the proper care of patients.

I was lastly, working as General Surgeon in Badulla Provincial Hospital in the early seventies. Believe me, there was a dearth of antibiotics, including saline given intravenously to emergency required cases.

At that time there was a shortage of food items, and the distribution of cloth material and most food items were distributed by the Corps and our wives had to wait in long queues to purchase our weekly needs.

The 1971 Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna insurrection (also known as the 1971 Revolt) was an armed revolt conducted by the communist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) against the Government of Ceylon under Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike. The revolt began on 5 April 1971 and lasted till June 1971.

One Sunday morning gunshot injured casualties were brought from Passara district to Badulla General Hospital, and I was on duty.

I spend the whole day treating the gun-shot injuries of those innocent village folk. That was the last straw that broke the camel’s back and we decided to leave the country.

We are all ambassadors now for our country, and we must bring credibility by working for our community and others and be united as a Sri Lankan overseas community.

Our pride for our motherland should not come after our country becomes great.

Our motherland becomes great because of our pride in it.

Thanks for reading this message.

Sutherland doctor receives OAM in Australia Day Honours 2022 – By Eva Kolimar

Source:theleader.com.au

Sutherland’s Harold Gunatillake is proud to receive an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for service to medicine, and to the Sri Lankan community of NSW, in this year’s Australia Day Honours.

A distinguished medical professional who is now retired, Dr Gunatillake was one of the most talented doctors of Sri Lankan origin to be admitted as Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in the UK.

He actively publishes article and books on health. He created his own website where he presents video presentations.

He is affiliated with the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, is a former medical practitioner of Sutherland Hospital, and is associated with many medical organisations as a member, including the Academy of Medicine in Singapore, Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons, among many others.

“I’m honoured to receive this,” he said.

“I’ve written over 400 health articles and have done more than 50 YouTube presentations to educate the community in health issues such as heart disease, diabetes and other chronic diseases.”