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The death of Jude – By GEORGE BRAINE Jude passed away two years ago, at the height of the covid pandemic, from covid. He was mourned deeply by his small family, but, no memorial service was held for him, no obituary written, no monument constructed. In accordance with prevailing regulations, he was cremated, and not even his ashes could be recovered. Behind the passing of Jude lies a lifetime of neglect and exploitation – by family and fellow villagers, by an evangelical church, by doctors and nurses and hospital workers, even a crematorium attendant. This narrative memorializes an ordinary man who did not move mountains and whose death did not make headlines, but deserves to be remembered. Some background to begin with. My paternal grandmother lived at Boralessa, a village 43 km north of Colombo. Her older brother Charles was married thrice, and his eldest son from the third marriage ...