Opinion - Utssuvar Irukka, vellssuvar poosalama
If you were able to understand this, you would be in touch with the world’s oldest living language - Tamil.
It’s a proverb which, loosely translated, means: can you paint the outer wall neglecting the inner wall?
In India, Tamil is spoken by about 70million people.
It is also spoken in Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Malaysia and Singapore, among many others.
The language arrived in South Africa with the first batch of indentured labourers.
However, over the years, the number of people who can speak Tamil has fallen. Fewer still can write in Tamil.
The South African Tamil Federation (SATF) works hard to keep the language and culture alive. It does so through its affiliates in various provinces, including KwaZulu-Natal.
Two weeks ago, the POST reported that money meant for the Tamil community could not be accounted for.
This money came from the sale of Telkom shares and was meant to empower community
organisations.
When the POST first asked questions about the money, leaders in the Tamil community initially denied any knowledge of such a deal.
We kept asking questions and last week confirmed that R910086.74 had been paid over to a private company on October 6, 2010.
The company was initially called Four Arrows Investments 187 (Pty) Ltd and later changed its name to the SA Tamil Nadu Investment Company (Pty) Ltd. It subsequently deregistered.
Following the exposé, the SATF held an emergency meeting in Benoni, east of Joburg, to discuss the issue.
It resolved to thoroughly investigate the matter and determine if any of the monies received by the SA Tamil Nadu Investment Company was meant for the community or the SATF.
We welcome this move by the SATF and hope the investigation will be finalised quickly. The SATF needs to establish the following:
Who asked that money for a community-based organisation be paid into the account of a private company?
Did the directors and shareholders of the company inform the community or the SATF that such money had been received?
Who or which organisations benefited from the money?
What was the intention behind including the Tamil community in a business transaction?
The individuals linked to the money are well known as prominent individuals who have played an important role in keeping the Tamil language and culture alive.
It is very possible that the money reached the people it was meant for.
However, until they provide evidence of how the money was distributed, we can’t be sure. We therefore appeal to them to focus on their inner wall and come clean.