Dear Friends,
I would like to thank all those who reached out to us during this tense period. I would like to thank you all for your concern and prayers.
Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith has been exceptional in his leadership during this time of trial and tribulation. He has asked Catholics to be restrained and not resort to violence in retaliation. He has initiated inter-religious dialogue. Relief efforts for the victims have been severely hampered by the restriction of movement and tight security around places of importance including the places that were attacked. Permits to visit and offer pastoral support to the survivors is restricted to only some Priests, Sisters, the Red Cross and government-recognized psychiatrists/counselors.
The island-wide curfews have been lifted except for parts of the Eastern Province where the group responsible for the attacks is based. On April 30, Sri Lanka's President ordered an end to the country's ban on social media while calling on the public "to use social media responsibly even though the ban is lifted, due to the prevailing situation in the country."
Life is gradually returning back to normalcy despite the possibility of future attacks. Sri Lankans are getting back to work restoring some normalcy to their daily routine. The Security Forces, using the powers they have been entrusted with to search, detain and interrogate during the Emergency Regulations, have taken measures to strengthen the security in all parts of the island while day-to-day life is close to being restored. However all citizens, still driven by the fear and panic caused by the surprise attacks, are set to remain vigilant against any future attacks. The government has decided to take steps to tighten security at all the religious places, schools, tourist hotels, hospitals and embassies and provide security to all the Catholic religious leaders and to important places of the government.
Many countries including the USA, UK, Canada and Australia have placed a travel ban to Sri Lanka other than for essential travel, due to intelligence pointing to a new wave of attacks. The USA has ordered the evacuation of all school-aged children of US Govt. employees and issued a level 3 travel advisory to American citizens against travel to Sri Lanka. The Archbishop of Colombo has cancelled all church services until further notice due to the threat of further attacks.
We all hope the situation will return fully back to normal very soon, and that the Sri Lankan people are able to get back on their feet following the terrorist attacks. Please pray for us.
Thank you and wishing you God's Blessings.
Yours Truly,
Fr. Joseph Almeida, SDB,
Provincial
