Linuxing it in Thalduwa

When Linux calls, I answer. Or something like that anyway. After all, I now have a Reputation with a capital R as the go-to guy for Linux events. It may have something to do with the fact that I do these events for free. or at least in exchange for Coke (Coca bloody Cola, not the powdery white kind, though I'd prefer Mountain fucking Dew) and a place to crash and a good dinner after (beer optional, but gladly accepted). I'm cheap and I'm easy. Ask any of the girls who'll admit to knowing me.

So when the MoE calls me, the Mad Monk, and Geekaholic to come talk to them about Linux, we obviously jump at the opportunity.

In case you didn't know, the three of us were the ones who pioneered the project to bring Linux into the SEMP labs in the schools. We did five schools, which in turn led to the RedHat funded project that had me running all over the country in 2006 teaching Linux to teachers. Now that was fun.

So off we went to the MoE and meet with representatives from the MoE, SEMP, ICTA, and the PICTECs from all nine provinces. All of whom were interested in promoting Linux. Especially in light of the heavy handed actions of the BSA in raiding shops and generally acting like dicks.

So at their request I agreed to do yet another run. Nine provinces, five days per province, providing Linux training to the more experienced Linux users. My payment? Food, Coke, and a place to stay. Also the opportunity to take some interesting pictures if i can find the time (and the pictures).

With all that out of the way we headed out to Thalduwa on the 26th, ending up at the Thalduwa Buddhist College. The teachers that i was supposed to teach were already there, and some of them were my old friends from various locations in the last training run. The Mad Monk and I were later joined by Seejay and ChanuX who served as my able assistants for the duration, happily cutting a week's worth of classes.

On the training itself, there is really not much to say. We came, we saw, and we kicked some fucking ass. The previous one-day training session was pretty good. But there really is nothing like a good 5-day full-time training session to get people really into Linux.

There were some highlights of course. We accidentally wiped out a rather important NTFS filesystem, and had to get my student Srinath to come and recover the files for us. There are no FOSS tools that will recover files from a formatted NTFS partition unfortunately, or at least none that we could figure out how to use. We recorded this week's Sinhalen FOSS podcast while at Thalduwa. Walking down the road, down by the Seethawaka River, at the training session, and in our hotel room.

We also took a good look at the social situation here in Thalduwa. As a wanna-be amateur sociologist, I noticed something interesting about the place. The place has no liquor stores!! Really. None at all. And it seems to be a pretty large place. On the other hand, after about 2000hrs the roads are full of drunks. This means that there is a thriving moonshine business going on.

I spoke to some of the teachers about it, and was told that this is normal for the place. I think it is a symptom. The place is an economic dead end. Most of the local populace depend on the twice-weekly pola or market for income. While kids are given an education, it is rudimentary at best, Computers in general and the Internet in particular are looked on as a source of corruption. Understandable, since the students themselves seem to look on it only as a way to get at porn. Which is not a good way to do things. Really.

Thalduwa is, like many such places in Sri Lanka and around the world, a dead-end. If you're born here, its a pretty good chance that there is no way out. Even if you could get out, it will always be a part of your life, a ball and chain on your ankle, holding you back and slowing you down. No wonder people here are more concerned with getting drunk, videos and porn rather than abstract concepts like IT and the Internet.

I feel sorry for them really. I've been privileged to grow up all over the world, see many things, and do even more. If I walk around barefoot in ratty jeans, it is safe in the knowledge that I can cut my hair, change my looks and talk my way into a good job. But there are many out there who can't, or don't even know that there is an opportunity like that waiting for them.

Thalduwa has had an exposure to FOSS and freedom. Or at least some of the teachers have. Maybe they'll make use of this opportunity. But, somehow, I doubt it. I liked doing what I did. But while the teachers who came to the sessions benefited, there is little chance that the students will. We can only hope of course.