A Mandatory Harness for Preventing falls from the ATHURA

A Surgeon’s Perspective



Generations of toddy tappers indulged in this very demanding and unforgiving livelihood to feed a few hungry mouths to make ends meet. Ever since toddy drinking was encouraged instead of arrack, many Raa Mudalalis have exploited the poor toddy tapper to enhance their wealth. These tappers are usually the only bread winners for their families. Exploited to the core, they do not own any land. Little has been done to ensure the safety of these brave men.

I had a first hand experience as many of my colleagues who worked in the coconut triangle of Chilaw, Kurunegalle and Negambo dealt with casualties arriving at any time of day, specially, late evenings, following falls from the Athura (the connecting ropes between two coconut trees tied taut to make access easier to the coconut flower to tap the sap from it in to a pot). I am sure many of my colleagues have spent hours of sleepless nights and weary hours operating on acute abdomens with a few litres of blood inside from a bursting spleen or liver or bowel contents. Some present with blood in the thorax, contused lungs and others with a ruptured diaphragm. It is usually not the case for the tapper to be drunk at the time of the fall but some have indulged in alcohol prior to their ascent. Many of these hard working men have alcoholic liver disease given their simple life style and clotting of the blood is delayed as the liver is usually compromised.

The worst scenario is the injury to the spine, spinal cord and head injury. Many are left paralysed for the rest of their lives. A few are salvaged due to the timely intervention of colleagues such as neurosurgeons and orthopaedic surgeons whose services have to be obtained by transfer to the relevant institutes and much investigations like CT and MRI scans. This is an additional expense for the government. The economic and psychological burden on the family following death of the tapper or his long term paralysis cannot be explained by words. One should only talk to such families to know the extent of human suffering. How can we help these unfortunate victims of circumstances?

I am sure most of the readers of this article have seen the Telecom workers climbing posts to repair or restore power lines. It seems mandatory for these men to ware a harness with a broad padded waist line and a cable with one hook. We can use the same harness but with a slight modification – two lifelines or cables with rings at the end in the form of mountaineering clips. One will be attached to the upper rope behind the tapper whilst the other will be attached to the lower rope of the Athura also from behind. This arrangement will reduce the hassle of pushing the two rings forwards away from the body. The idea is to prevent a fall if one of the ropes snaps. If both ropes snap this would be very unfortunate although quite rare. A helmet could be also an added safety feature.

Who pays for the harness and how is the wearing of the harness made mandatory? This is where insurance companies can help or at the time of granting a licence for this business, one of the conditions should be the mandatory availability of harnesses for the tappers. I am sure coconut land owners and those in the industry can well supply and obtain a modified harness from the same source as the telecom workers. In the list of industrial or health hazards, the PHI can enforce the rule to check whether harnesses are available and are being used. Heavy fines can be imposed for a owner of such a business not adhering to the rule. We urge those in the industry to take heed and ensure the safety of the tapper. A perspective study can be undertaken to audit such injuries and their outcomes on health and the economy.

Dr. Keith Chapman

How we can help the Child IDP or the disabled war veteran directly through eDonations ?

Charity and donations in cash or kind sent through various organisations reach the beneficiary in a diluted manner and the giver has no idea where and to whom his donation has gone.There are many people both in Sri Lanka and abroad who wish to sponsor IDP children or handicapped war veterans by way of cash donations.This has not been fully understood by the authorities concerned.A potential donor might be discouraged by the lack of a proper foolproof system to make sure that their cash donation reaches the needy soul for whom it is intended.A simple web based system can be setup with the sponsorship and under the security of the Government whereby donations can directly be made to individual IDP children or war veterans of whom a list can be compiled with relevant bank account details and their profile and circumstances highlighted.Even photos of the needy can be uploaded to a data base to make it more meaningful.It is understood that consent for such a venture is needed from those concerned but would individualise sponsorship in an effective manner.Care international has a similar web based system but gives only a generalised option for donations.In the proposed plan any amount adding up to a maximum value to any individual could be allowed(whom the Government has identified and specified as an IDP or disabled war veteran). A top up meter showing the already donated amount to an individual can guarantee that many people will benefit from the scheme and safeguard against one individual getting more donations than others who would be left without anything.A clear policy and rules of utilisation of such donations can be made with legal aid.This scheme would target the most needy categories of people to start a new life with some financial backing.They could then acquire the basic necessities and skills for self employment and a new fruitful life.

Nation Building and Scouting for Boys

The need of the hour for post war Sri lanka is to bring up its youth with a sense of duty towards the motherland and respect for its climate and resources. Buddhism, Christianity and other religions inculcate precepts or laws of behaviour on individuals to mould their character in a way acceptable to the society that one lives in.

Although young children and youth engage in a multitude of sports and other recreational activities, only scouting can provide a comprehensive diversity of knowledge to the growing mind that will respect human society, groom the individual to accept authority, enrich leadership qualities and acquire new skills in a vast array of interesting subjects whilst practicing one's religion whatever faith he may belong to.

The scout law consists of ten laws which guides an individual and reminds him of his obligations to society and one's self upbringing. The Promise each scout would make at the time of investiture showers on him the responsibility of upholding the scout law, doing his duty to religion and country while helping his fellow beings whenever needed selflessly.

As a former Assistant Commissioner of Colombo District Scouts and having represented Sri Lanka abroad as a Senior Scout I have gained much from scouting. Scouting helps me in my career as a doctor and in providing leadership to subordinates and tackling difficult situations. I hope that parents and the relevant education authorities will understand the importance of Scouting as a useful tool in producing honest, duty conscious and resourceful citizens in a united Sri Lanka.

Dr. Keith R P Chapman.

Rethinking Genesis – A New Beginning! By Keith R P Chapman

Adam's Tree in Eden

Time and time again man has tried in vain to reason out his own existence in relation to the Universe. The most comprehensive and detailed description of his origins are aptly shown in the first book of Genesis. One has only to peruse in detail at some of the fascinating events that took place more than two thousand years ago that there is something more to this story of a young man who sacrificed his being for the very existence of mankind. For thousands of years great men of all ages marvelled at the secrets of the Universe.Celestial happenings were attributed to the supernatural but always making men wonder subconsciously as to their true nature. This is the reason why the world’s greatest “fairytale” needs closer scrutiny. As many scholars of the bible would agree its epic style and dramatic happenings were meant to capture the imagination of simple people as well as the learned. This is an important aspect of the bible and one of its amazing characteristics.

The book of genesis refers to the creation of a “Garden of Eden”, as having four heads of a river namely Pi-son, Gi-hau (from the south in Africa- or more precisely towards Africa), Hid-de-kel (which goes out of Assyria to the east) and the well known Euphrates. Having defined the Boundaries of Eden, God placed man (namely Adam) in the area mapped out above. It is evident that this “Garden” was a well defined and carefully chosen haven for some highly selective work in the future. The bare necessities of life were surely available during this time. This was neither an age where T-Rex had a free run; this was not a land similar to neither Jurassic Park nor an age filled with loneliness for a single man. These times were a few hundred human generations before the birth of the most famous son in the line of David Jesus Christ and definitely not at the beginning of the Universe. This period of time was arrived at by calculating the probable life spans of the generations of Adam as stated in the Bible.

The land and the continents outside the “Garden of Eden” were enriched with very advanced civilizations as the Mayans of South America, the Pharaohs of Egypt, the Nagas and Yakshas of Asia (Indian subcontinent) and the Chinese-Mongol Empire from the east not forgetting the Great Roman Empire and the Greek and Minoan civilizations. Not compounding all this the remains of fossilised man date back well before the generations of Adam (the first man?).

“Let us make man in our own image” (ch.1.26) as stated in the bible, the words of God. The pleural used in this respect is noteworthy. Adam was created from the ‘slime’ of the earth or as some manuscripts describes ‘dust’ of the earth. The slime or dust could mean the building blocks of life. Could “God” have had the technology? Is it a technology alien to our own Milky Way? Was Adam a clone? Let us ask ourselves the question, why would someone create a copy of his own likeness unless one is interested in producing a lineage of prospective generations on Earth.

What of the “tree of knowledge of good and evil”, which Adam was forbidden to take part of? Was this ‘tree’ the source of power, command centre responsible for the smooth functioning of Eden? It could well have been the nerve centre which monitored the activities of Eden. The sort of place not welcome to the subjects of an experiment. A place where one could understand the purpose of being isolated in a “Garden”.

Chapter 2 article 21 states that the man Adam was lonely, but had already been in close communication with his “God”. The need arises for Adam to have a companion. Is it possible to remove a rib or tissue from it without causing some degree of excruciating pain? Did it require a state of amnesia or anaesthesia to avoid this? According to the Bible Adam was put into a deep sleep, Will we ever find out what method was used or what was administered? A rib would be an ideal source of donor cells even for cloning. Naturally Adam reiterates later saying ‘bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh she shall be called woman.

Now we come to the great temptation of Eve. God had earlier stated that ‘the day ye eat thereof than your eyes shall be open and ye shall be as gods knowing good and evil’. The woman desired the tree as it made her wise and gave it to her husband. The so-called serpent was the most subtle of the creatures of the earth (earth as referred to the area outside the Garden of Eden). The serpent must surely have been an inhabitant, a member of one of the many tribes living in close proximity to Eden. Mind you the Nagas of Asia were a very developed society at that time capable of weaving their own clothes. So did this serpent (not the type who don’t possess spontaneous speech and crawl on the ground) gain entry into Eden and enlighten Eve about life outside the “Garden”? Did Eve tell Adam about the culture of clothing ones nakedness, the reality of life outside Eden, the possibility of being isolated from normal life outside Eden? Chapter 3 paragraph 8 indicates that Adam and Eve hid themselves from the eyes of God because they were naked and ashamed. Did God know that the serpent had corrupted the innocent with unwarranted knowledge and so enraged him to the extent cursing the serpent and banishing the children of Eden to fend for them selves outside Eden where competition and survival of the fittest was the name of the game? No more easy life style , no more gifts and no more cloning but only the fertile land around them. It is further stated that after the subjects of Eden were banished a cher-u-bim and a flaming sword which turned in every way was placed at the east end of the Garden. Was this a weapon (perhaps a laser) a deterrent that kept unwelcome guests out of Eden?

The first children of Adam were Cain (the farmer) and Abel (the shepherd). Cain was exiled but protected by a mark which probably identified him fro the rest of mankind. Who was Cain’s wife? What was her origin? This is the first extraclonal (outsider) connection to the inhabitants of the other tribes. Seth the third son of Adam was born later. When Seth was born Adam was 130 years old. As stated in the bible the earliest named age of a parent when a child was born was 65 years. This was the birth of Enoch in the generations of Seth. We are all aware that the earliest possibility of giving birth for a woman is around 12-14 years and for a man to father a child would be 13-15 years give or take one or two years. Therefore we have two options- firstly that the biblical characters at that time had an extraordinarily and genetically long lifespan and secondly the more logical that in comparison these men only had a slight advantage over their contemporaries. In this respect Adam could have lived long enough to have even outlived some of our modern day centenarians. Nonetheless the generations of Adam remain the chosen people. The chosen people the Jews quite logically had a multitude of prophets, holy men, messengers and martyrs who constantly purified and nurtured the generations of Adam unto the birth of Christ.

Was the birth of Christ another genetic intervention by the “Gods of Eden”? It defies all the natural laws of conception as we understand it. Could the Star of David have had propulsion of its own or were there other celestial forces at work protecting the most famous individual in the line of Adam?

The creators of Eden were now connected genetically or intimately with the earthlings. Will the line of Adam and Eve some day dominate the earth as it might have been meant to or will the ‘outsiders’ engulf them leaving no trace at all? Perhaps we would pass on in our ignorance but as the pyramids of ancient Egypt reflected the pattern of stars on earth so did the creators of Eden establish a new beginning on the blue planet.


Keith R P Chapman
Sri Lanka.
28.10.1996

Re-edited 2002