Sri Lanka-2

16 We cross the Kelani, one of Sri Lanka's largest rivers, and leave Colombo behind. The entire trip costs between one Euro fifty in third-class and eight Euros in first-class. 17 Sri Lankans are very proud of their railway. 18 It's so comfortable [...] Because of that I travel in this train. I'm travelling alone and it's quite safe for me. 19 I've taken the train ever since I was little. It feels good. You can breathe fresh air and see many things out of the window, such as mountains, rivers and lakes. I like that. The train is better than the bus. You feel freer. 20 And the bus costs around twice as much. There's even a television in first-class. 21 Those who don't like that can travel in third-class for less money, and with a bit of luck, experience some live music. 22 The musician, Lou Shanter, is actually a teacher, but it's often the case in Sri Lanka that young, well-educated people don't find a suitable job. 23 Dear God, please help me, please help us, please make us, our country prosperous. Our country is very poor. So extend your help, assistance, to develop our country. 24 That is the meaning of the song. 25 Sri Lanka is classed as a developing country. Many people live by agriculture. Often 50 Euros a month must suffice for an entire family. That's not a lot here, either. 20% of the children are malnourished The gaps between town and country, rich and poor, are huge. 26 Third-class is correspondingly crowded. Some passengers aren't happy about the status quo at all. 27 We want to know what it's like in first-class with the televisions. We want to have the same services is third-class. We want improved comfort and greater security 28 The people are dissatisfied with their economic situation. That caused President Raja Paksa to be voted out at the last election. 29 We're stopping in Rambukkana. It's just a few minutes by tuk-tuk to Sri Lanka's biggest tourist attraction. 30 The Pinawella Elephant Orphanage. The daily bath in the Majaora River is a sensation. Baby elephants and injured adults are nursed back to health, here at Pinawella. 31 This is Sinhila, one of our founder members. He's now about sixty years old. 32 He was first brought into Pinawella in 1975. So in 1975 was the inception of this organization; it started off with five baby elephants, and he was brought in here - as a baby he's now a very big one: and he has fathered about five babies, for us; we have his daughters and sons with us; right now, we are housing about 77 elephants altogether. 33 There are four baby elephants making the tourists happy here at the moment. They are bottle fed, six times a day, getting up to seven liters of milk. The animals are clearly happy. 34 Some of them have been brought from the jungle; some of them have been born here; the sick elephants are kept separate. They have become sick because of certain accidents: - like train accidents, and sometimes fights within the jungle; so we keep them here, treat them and give them a good life. 35 We start ascending the plateau. An ox-cart takes twelve days for this laborious journey. By train, it's around 9 hours.