Travling from first world to third world and back again

“From Third World to First” is the title former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew chose for the second volume of his autobiography. The label could also be applied to my journey, last sunday, from Sri Lanka to Singapore. There is something meaningful to be said about contrasts between the two countries, the one - Sri Lanka - that was long viewed as Asia’s most promising development success story and the other - Singapore - that from unpromising beginnings successfully made the transition “From Third World to First.” ...But what??

Next Tuesday, I am committed to giving a fairly major address on this topic under the auspices of The National University of Singapore’s new Global Asia Institute. Here is the abstract I wrote describing this talk: entitled “Looking beyond the war: Are Sri Lanka’s leaders more likely to learn from history or repeat it?” shortly before my departure to Colombo:

What are the prospects for reconciliation and a lasting political solution to Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict, following the government’s military victory over the LTTE and then Mahinda Rajapaksa’s strong victory in the recent presidential election? This question is now engaging Sri Lankan political leaders as well as regional and international actors who concern themselves with Sri Lanka. In seeking answers, it will be useful to focus attention on the period before Sri Lanka’s conflict became protracted; before Sri Lanka’s government faced a cohesive, well lead militant group that was unwaveringly single-minded in its objectives.

Under three previous Sri Lankan governments, following elections in 1956, 1970 and 1977, there were lost opportunities to move toward communal reconciliation. Following decisive victories, the policies each government implemented lead, rather, to intensified confrontation accompanied by violence. Each sequence of events made it more likely that the next would catalyze formation of a viable militant movement, leading to protracted conflict. Between 1983 and 1985, that was the outcome. Now Sri Lanka’s government and civil society once again face circumstances where the Tamil community’s aspirations are not irrevocably (if unwillingly) tied to the LTTE’s agenda. There is an opportunity to learn from history rather than repeating it. Does Singapore’s less violent and more prosperous development trajectory also have lessons to offer?

But what - really - are the lessons that Singapore has to offer? My problem is that, after twenty-two years studying, and many months living in Sri Lanka during more that 40 sojourns ranging from a year, to several months, to short drop-ins, of a week or so, I can quickly adapt to the realities of Sri Lankan life, one facet of which is that many systems of “developed” countries - busses, taxis, public spaces, public water supplies, internet service, and more - simply don’t work very well. Because years of practice has enabled me to accept these inconveniences, I sometimes almost celebrate them. When I automatically remember to have boiled water on hand for brushing my teeth, to take my Malaria pills, to be careful of what I eat, to apply citronella before turning in, surround my bed with mosquito netting, enjoy cold showers, and much more, I feel as if I had “come home.” I experience little or no frustration. In fact, I love living in Sri Lanka, as I have come to love living in Singapore. But they are totally different life experiences.

When I returned to Singapore, I landed at an airport with forty or more planes from international carriers lined up at terminal gates. In Colombo, there were two, both Sri Lankan Air Lines. Flying over the Island as we made our approach, I saw more than 100 ships, either anchored, or transiting in out of the port. I cleared customs and immigration in 10 minutes. My baggage arrived soon afterwards and there was a customer service agent standing by the carrel, ready to help solve any problems. There is no waiting at the taxi queue and the driver as familiar with my destination. The drive to my apartment was on uncongested tree lined freeways, with orchids blooming in flower boxes lining the flyovers. I had the option of air conditioning in my apartment (mostly I don’t use it) and could brush my teeth with tap water. In Singapore, these simple amenities could almost be taken for granted, if one had not learned to live comfortably with the "reality" that having them was, very likely, impossible.

In four days, I must stand up before an international audience and say something intelligent about Sri Lanka’s future, and lessons that Singapore may have to offer. I have spoken on this topic before, but not soon after a trip that so sharply etched contrasts between the two nations and societies. No doubt useful insights will jell between now and next Tuesday, mid-day. But to say something that makes a difference will require some hard thinking and perhaps some hard praying as well.

Another hubris lesson - this one having to do with laundry

Melatonin not withstanding, I woke up at 3:30 this morning could not get back to sleep. The time difference between Singapore and Washington DC is 12 hours. After 45 minutes of meditation I removed a large load of laundry from the dryer, planning to fold it before I started the day’s tasks. I was very proud of the fact that, despite fatigue on Monday night, I had put my white laundry in the washer and, then, yesterday morning, loaded it in the dryer. Focus and efficiency! Except that... I noticed some curious black spots on my favorite white cotton Khurtas. I had left a pen in pocket of one and all were stained. My morning agenda changed. I spent the next hour our so scrubbing out stain spots with a clorox detergent mixture and then removing stain marks from the inside of the dryer. These were not the tasks I had planed for my wide awake early morning hours.

There is a useful lesson in this about smugness, hubris and not putting a large load of unsorted laundry in the washer when one is exhausted from and international trip. Hopefully I will remember on my next return from overseas.

An international mosaic at the dinner table in Colombo’s Cinnamon Gardens

When in Sri Lanka, I have lived for several years in a remarkable establishment. Formerly a home in Colombo’s upscale Cinnamon Gardens district, it has become a guest house for visiting scholars and NGO workers. This evening a group of 12 gathered around the dining room table. There were three anthropology doctoral students from, respectively, Argentina, India and North Carolina. A young woman from New Zealand was awaiting an assignment and housing with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. Two Voluntary Service Organization workers from India had returned from home leave and were awaiting a trip back to Sri Lanka’s ‘frontier’ town, Vavuniya. A young woman from Australia, the niece of our hostess was waiting for her wedding Sari to be completed before returning home. Two MA students from an Italian University, one was from Zambia, were lighting temporarily before heading to a North Coastal town for field work. Earlier in the week, there were additional guests from Eritrea and, again, India. It was a remarkable gathering of a international group that will probably never sit around the same table again. But a commitment to international work and an acceptance, even celebration of each other’s differences drew us together for two hours in a rich, if very transient community.

Keeping electronic helpers well nourished

June 26, 2008. Kandy, Sri Lanka
When I traveled to Sri Lanka last March, I blogged about the more than 30 pieces of electronic paraphernalia that accompanied me. That list turned out to be of more than anecdotal utility. Not long after I returned, a friend, with little international travel experience, accepted a position that would require extensive international travel on behalf of his new employer, Blackboard Inc. I was able to share my list, and show him my box of various plugs, transformers and connectors. After returning from his first trip to Europe, he told me the briefing had been quite helpful.

What I neglected to mention was the importance of keeping electronic helpmates well nourished. For me they include, laptop, iPod, Blackberry and mobile phone. In some countries, the Blackberry doubles as a mobile, however in Sri Lanka, I maintain a separate account and a separate number. These tools have now become an integral part of a traveler’s life, but when one is tired at the end of a long day or especially at the end of a long trip it is easy to forget that they must be ‘fed’ with sustaining electrical nourishment. This requires a variety of transformers and adapter plugs. If neglected, the devices can begin bleeping warnings or simply die at the most inopportune moments, with no outlet available.

After a few sharp reminders, one remembers, for a time, and creates a routine of plug-ins. But sustaining a routine can be difficult when adjusting to the schedule imperatives of travel conveyances, when settling in different beds, in different rooms, in different dwellings, in different cities, in different countries, in different time zones. Yesterday morning, I left my resting place in Colombo at 6AM for the early morning train trip to Kandy. An unforeseen drenching rain was falling. I worried about staying relatively dry while I tried to flag a trishaw that would take me to the ‘Fort Station.’ That worked out, however last evening, I discovered I had left my toiletries kit in Colombo. I would have to walk to a local market in the morning, hoping to find adequate replacements. Pondering that glitch in my routine, after returning from a late dinner, I forgot to plug in my Blackberry and my mobile phone.

There's a lot to like about Singapore - first impressions after more than 20 yrs

If I remembered enough about my last visit to Singapore to have vivid mental images, there would probably have been another Rip Van Winkle experience, but I did not. As It was, I could simply be newly impressed by the gleaming efficiency of the airport, the way those in charge seemed to have made a special effort to help newly arrived visitors, and the helpful civility of everyone from whom I sought assistance. Some of the contrasts between Singapore and the world’s greatest superpower were striking.

Customs formalities were civil and brisk - no long lines and finger printing for foreign visitors. There was a competantly staffed information desk, and an immaculate shutlle bus that whisked me from the airport to my hotel for $9.00 Singapore - about $6.00 US. Signs in the airport did provide reminders that this is a disciplined society and their is to be no nonsense about following the rules. Drug offenses, an announcement told us on arrival are treated with great severity. Chewing gum and DVD’s were among the forbidden items that are not permitted entry into Singapore.

My ‘two star hotel,’ selected from the internet for its moderate price and proximity to a rapid transit (MRT) stop was unable to provide an ‘early arrival’ room at told me to come back at 2:00. Though I was a bit tired and grimy from a 22 hour flight. I decided my Karma was providing a reality check after the cocoon of opulence that Singapore Airline’s business class had provided - and I had gotten a pretty good sleep. The ‘Fragrance Hotel’ is somewhat less grand than its website might lead one to believe, but ideally located in Singapore’s ‘Little India’ district, one of the few areas that has been relatively untouched by the consumerism and commercialist that pervades many other districts. Thus, while I was in the process of getting lost, while attempting to match street maps with verbal directions to the MRT stop, I felt right at home surrounded by the odors of South Asian spices, streets that could have been found in Sri Lanka’s Pettah district and a 90% perponderance of South Asian faces on the streets - but no beggars. There was even a Hindu temple, complete with drums and a loudspeaker projecting prayers to out to the street - though at much lower decibels than would be permitted in Sri Lanka.

Three more ‘lot to likes’ and then I will conclude for now. Learning a new metro system is always complicated; the ticketing and ground rules are invariable different from place to place. What impressed me was the patience and helpfulness of three different ‘passenger service’ attendants who helped me learn the rules. Two actually left their booths, walked me to the ticketing machines and, pointed out the features in needed to understand and demonstrated. Perhaps the fact that it was relatively early on a saturday morning helped. Then there were the immaculate public toilets in the station. When the New York subway system was first build it, too, included public toilets, but eventunally they were abandoned and, I believed, bricked up. When Washington DC’s new system was built - it is far less high tech, efficient and immaculate than Singapore’s they didn’t even try to include public facilities It was simply taken for granted - by everyone - that this was an impossibility in ‘the capital of the free world.’


The final ‘lot to like’ is something I just discovered when turned on my “Airport” wireless access. Singapore has program to provide high speed wireless access throughout the city, “for the national good.’ Since the Clarke Street Mall is not only open air, but roofed over I will be able to post my blogs and answer emails, rain or shine, while sipping a lemon tea or, later in the day, a wine, while enjoying a dim sung, Satay or perhaps even a roast duck.

As I said, there is a lot to like about Singapore.

PS: Alas internet connectivity didn't work. But the problem lay with my internet service provider, not Singapore's provider.

Sri Lanka Diary day one - in transit

On my last trip - to Hungary - I was congratulating myself on being a knowledgeable, ‘together’ traveler - and then I left my laptop at the security checkpoint in Budapest. Amazingly it was recovered and shipped to me by caring staff of Hungary’s Maalev airlines. But then it was destroyed by a company that has eclipsed my cell phone provider (the former Cingular) as the world’s most customer hostile and dysfunctional corporation, DHL express. ‘Never relax’ and 'never take anything for granted' are now my travel mantras.

Anyhow this trip is off to a good start. A service that has made my travel life pleasanter is ‘Priority Pass’ which, for a relatively modest fee, provides business class lounge access even when one is not traveling business class (which in my case is most of the time). Business class lounges provide free snacks - in Europe and Asia really good snacks - free booze and, most important, free internet hotspots. Thus, I was able to work at Dulles Airport while waiting for my London flight and can now do the same in London, while waiting to connect to Colombo. Apart from the comfort, the savings in internet charges alone make Priority Pass a good buy.

British Airways lands at Heathrow Terminal 4, which is also the departure point for Sri Lankan Airlines. this saves me a long bus ride and arduous security procedures - security was crisp and efficient, this morning. Having heard horror stories about BA from the summer, I anticipated the flight with some trepidation, but surprise! it was great. Service was as good as one could possibly expect on a crowded economy class flight. The fight left on time and arrived early. Perhaps there is even hope for my return carrier, United. After my last trip on United, I characterized the staff as ‘sullen and dispirited.’ A 'commenter' wrote back, ‘what would you expect given the vile way employees have been treated by United Airlines management.

I have been catching up on Sri Lanka news - I receive daily digests from several sources, but do not have time to read them daily when I am working in DC. The reports I read this morning were disturbing. They described an increasingly polarized society. Sinhalese were described as celebrating reports of military victories over the Liberation Tigers by government forces. These compensated for high inflation and draconian security procedures, the reporter said. Tamils were described as living in fear, with harassment and ‘disappearances’ mounting. They are increasingly reluctant to show their faces in public, the article said and are reluctant to speak out, fearing hostile responses from the Sinhalese community - or worse. Long ago, I learned to be cautious about relying on the picture of Sri Lanka that news reports provide. Tomorrow, I will have the opportunity to begin making up my own mind.