Two young female bodies in the filthy canal

The tale that two pairs of Rubber Thongs could Tell

By a Special Correspondant

(August 18, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The canal where the bodies were found has a colonial connection though its present status does not do any good to the colonial name except that both share the common characteristics of being "filthy.’ The slimy green water carrying masses of house-hold garbage thrown into by residents of a housing complex on its bank and receiving their toilet affluence make both the sight and smell unbearable.

The housing complex built by the government encroaching on the canal reservation has created a bend in it causing all the muck to accumulate there. There is no cleaning of the water surface. It is left to the heavy rains though workers on a barge are seen pedaling along the canal from time to time supposedly to clean the canal. Even on the day before bodies of two young girls were found floating among the debris and muck, the cleaner’s barge had passed the place as if the debris and muck collected was not their concern.

The canal, however, bears a respectable name: Torrington Canal (North), recalling the name of a British Governor who built the Torrington Square (Independence Square now) after filing up the marshes of ‘Kurunduwatta’ (Cinnamon Gardens) and ‘Kumbi-kele’. The late Governor must be turning in his grave hearing of the situation of the canal named after him. He must be remonstrating over naming the waterway after him and pointing the finger at some of Sri Lanka’s present day leaders who deserve to lend their names to the filth and ocre. There are several to choose from among the 127 Ministers in the Government.

Who would chose a waterway like this to end one’s life? That is a big question. The human body deserves a better last draught of water before death to emancipate the soul. Anyway that is the story formally presented. Two servant girls had decided to take the last gulp of the ‘ambrosia’ from this canal before their farewell to the world. Hundreds of people thronged on the canal bank to see the two bodies floating in the water. There were T.V. crews and media men hovering around with their cameras trying to pick up a story for their organizations.

The Tale of Rubber Thongs

Two pairs of rubber thongs lay inconspicuously under a Kohomba tree in front of a dwarfish tea bush which line the canal border. The surroundings of these two trees had been recently cleared as if to provide easy access to the canal. An armed Policeman stood guard over the thongs which had been labeled with a peg marked "6".

One pair of thongs was blue in colour; the other was black. Each pair had been neatly placed together; the blue pair on the left and the black pair slightly to the right, a little behind the other pair. The owners of the two pairs of thongs, reportedly, servant girls employed in a nearby household, are said to have left a jointly signed suicide note in Tamil. They are said to be residents of Maskeliya. The suicide note, if true, points to a well planned suicide, not individually but the two together.

The way the two pairs of thongs were positioned so neatly parallel side by side also points to an intentional and well planned suicide. There had been no hesitation whatsoever in ending the lives. Would two girls going to end their lives be looking for thongs to wear when escaping from the house? If the two girls had been determined and walked to their death in full style, it is a different matter.

However, it is up to experts to unravel if two young females could have been so determined to take their life taking things so calmly even to leave their rubber thongs in neat order. That is a big question.

They had slept in the kitchen but there is some confusion as each is said to have worked in two different households, perhaps, of related occupants. If so, how could they have come together to commit joint-suicide as the so called suicide note tells. That is strange considering the two households are several hundred metres away. So they must have been together under a single roof on the fateful night.

The household as seen from the investigations and photographs which were being taken by the Police and the media is a heavily fortified one with an iron gate and an iron door. There is no easy way of exit for two young girls unfamiliar with the place.

The rubber thongs were rather new. Could not have been more than a few days old. That should give an indication about the date of their employment. They had not been seen around for long. Two days before their death, people around had seen two young girls accompanying a lady (the employee?) walking towards the house opposite which their dead bodies were floating. The girls had been of rather small- built giving the impression that they could not have been more than 14 or 15 years in age. The news reports say they were 17 and 18 respectively. That is possible considering that some of these estate children are underfed. The rubber thongs too did not show that their owners could have been fully grown –ups. The size could have been either 5 or 6, the most. Anyway, their ages could be determined by examining their bodies and questioning their parents eventually. Birth records must be available.

Motives

There must have been a motive if suicide had been committed. Were the girls unhappy over their employment in a Colombo household? Was it the first time they had left their homes? An answer to the last question could be found by tracing the parents which should not be difficult.

How could they be so dissatisfied as their suicide note is supposed to say, as to take such a drastic step like taking their lives within just a few days of their employment? Did the girls suffer from a psychological trauma by coming to live in heavily fortified households where they missed the freedom of fresh air and wandering under blue skies? Did they protest and wanted to go back? Were the work-loads too heavy for them? Were the employers unsympathetic? But there appears to be no room for such contingencies to arise as they could not have been in the Colombo households for more than a few days.

There seems to be much mystery behind this tragic event. Don’t the two pairs of rubber thongs provide the best evidence for following up this mysterious case?

Media reports say that the handwriting in the suicide note are different from the girls’ writing. Parents suspect foul-play. Onlookers say one body had had a wound/ assault mark and the other of having taken poison. Was this true?

-Sri Lanka Guardian