BORDERS

Not far from our place there is a canal. It is part of a canal system that was constructed by the Dutch during their 'stay', stretching for over 120km. The canal system was originally used to transport goods from one place to another, between Puttalam and Colombo. However, disuse has seen it come to be overgrown with weeds to the point that it looks as though you could walk right over the top of it (I wouldn't recommend trying).

Of late, efforts have been made to clear the weeds from the canal. An excavator has been parked on the canal bank. Although I've yet to see it in action, it clearly has been used at some stage because as we pass over the bridge we can see the results of its work. We were driving over the bridge recently and it came to our attention that the weeds had been cleared from one side of the bridge, while the other side was just as choked as ever. It looks as though water flows under the bridge and emerges out the other side as greenery. We pondered this phenomenon for some minutes, trying to figure out why they would worry about one side of the bridge and not the other. Finally, Prince came up with a suggestion that seemed quite feasible. One side of the bridge, he suggested, probably falls under the responsibility of the Negombo municipality while the other is the responsibility of the Kochchikade municipality. We wondered at the logic of this, assuming that the Kochchikade weeds will eventually spread and reclaim the Negombo water.

It was, of course, just a theory. It is just as possible that it was decided that, for some reason, this bridge was just a good place to start and that they will return and do the other side later. Those of us who like to see the glass as half-full can undoubtedly give the municipalities the benefit of the doubt. Still, it does get me pondering this strange notion of 'borders' that we humans have.

Throughout history we have managed to carve this planet into patches and allocate patches to people (or, perhaps, people to patches). We have claimed patches as our own, tried to drive people from their patches and allocate them to different ones. We have fought, and even killed, over patches. We have covete what other people find on their patch. We have made people pay, and continue paying, for the right to have a patch. We clear our patches, build on them, landscape them and develop them. And, of course, we compare them. Oh, the prestige when my patch is better than your patch. And heaven help those who don't have a patch. All of this stemming from these borders that you will see marked so clearly on your map but may not even notice as you cross a bridge.

But when we look at it we might have to wonder if borders are really mind-games that we play with ourselves. Oh, for sure, they can be extremely beneficial when it comes to good administration and good government and we've probably all heard the saying, "Good fences make good neighbours". I definitely believe that order is a good thing. Still, there are times when you might have to question if borders belong on a list with Santa Claus and the tooth fairy, something that shapes human behaviour without actually existing (it's always dangerous saying things like that about Santa - hope I haven't shattered anyone!). Our borders do not keep smoke from fires in Indonesia from polluting the air in Malaysia. We are all quite aware that in the case of a nuclear mishap - attack or accident - our borders will not protect us. Rubbish thrown in the ocean will not stop at maritime borders and we are gradually learning that, even if we don't have a heart, we still need to care about the economic well-being of people in other 'patches' because if we don't we may well find ourselves suffering economically as well. And, of course, water weeds are not a respecter of municipal boundaries.

At some point, it must be worth considering whether we ever really own the patch we find ourselves inhabiting or should we merely consider ourselves to be caretakers. I'll be interested to see what happens in the canal.