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AEDs: A pathetic tale of apathy-by PRAMOD DE SILVA   Source Sundayobserver A few weeks ago, there was a news item to the effect that a leading home-grown company in the Pharmaceutical and FMCG sector had donated an Automated External Defibrillator (commonly known as AED) to the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Colombo. This was no doubt a noble gesture on the part of the company concerned. Before I delve further into today’s topic, a short primer on AEDs. An AED is a portable device that can apply a small electrical charge to revive a heart that has seemingly stopped (Sudden Cardiac Arrest or SCA). You might have seen professional defibrillators in hospitals or even on TV, in programs such as ER, The Good Doctor and Grey’s Anatomy. These mighty machines are generally very expensive. But an AED is a smaller, portable version of the same machine which can be installed ...

Your child, our future-BY PRAMOD DE SILVA Source:Sundayobserver The recent abduction and murder of a nine-year-old girl in Atalugama, Bandaragama has shocked the entire Nation, even as it grapples with a myriad of other socio-economic problems. But child murder is always revolting, no matter where in the world it happens. It sends a shiver down our spine, for how can anyone even imagine killing a child, leave alone doing it for real? Of course, however, abhorrent this may be, it is not the first time that such a horrible incident has taken place in our country. Just one year or so ago, a 16-year-old girl who was employed as a domestic aide in a Colombo home of a prominent politician died of burn injuries. We can also recall the rape and murder of Seya in Kotadeniyawa and Vidya in Jaffna. But it is not only girls who have become victims ...

Because we all have been children…-BY PRAMOD DE SILVA Source:Sundayobserver During an interview with a famous American film star, the interviewer asked him whether he knew about children. His answer was simple, instant and straightforward: “I have been a child”. Indeed, it is not just possible to become an adult instantly without passing that rite of passage called childhood. Thus we all know what it is like to be a child. This is the phase of life that most of us will recall with glee later on in adult life, perhaps even at the very end of one’s life. Just what is childhood? It is generally believed to be the period from age 4-5 to 16 (No one really remembers anything about the years of infancy up to around 3 years). There is no doubt that it is the best time of one’s life, a time that never really comes ...