A12 eZ re the washington post.saturday, november 16 , 2019
— by some counts, 30 million
visitors per year, who drive up
costs for locals, compel Vene-
tians to turn their apartments
into Airbnbs, and drive an e cono-
my with jobs largely in tourism.
“There are too many tourists
for every citizen,” said Aline
Cendon, 52, who has written
several books on Venice.
Cendon said that, after 1966,
Venetians left in droves. She
feared a similar response this
time.
“A town, a city, without resi-
dents — what remains?” Cendon
said. “It loses its very being.”
[email protected]andrew Fr eedman in Washington
contributed to this report.“Psychologically, it has been a
blow,” said maurizio Calligaro,
65, a native Venetian who headed
the city’s civil protection for two
decades, until 2014.
Calligaro said that for people
in their 60s, the record flood was
a “very strong shared trauma,
not unlike the memory of war.”
This time, though, “it took only
five hours to do what ’66 did in- Such violence is intrinsic to
climate change.”
Some Venetians, he said, are
still resistant to the c limate reali-
ties — and direct their anger at
the problems with moSE, a proj-
ect that has cost 6 billion euros.
residents say that climate
change is not the only t hreat, and
the city is also struggling to
contend with runaway tourism
be raised from the sea during
high tide, sealing off the lagoon.
The project, launched in 2003,
was once forecast to finish in- Then 2014. Now, projec-
tions call for completion in 2022.
Some experts say that if sea
levels rise as predicted, the gates
will need to be permanently
raised, creating an equally seri-
ous problem: Venice would be-
come a contained aquatic petri
dish and face issues with sewage,
algae growth and microbiologi-
cal pollution.
older Venetians tend to re-
member the record flooding of
1966, when such an event was
more of an outlier. The flooding
this week was just seven centi-
meters shy of that mark. Serious
flooding also hit the city in 2018.
cathedral’s ornate and ancient
flooring, finding pieces of marble
that had chipped away as the
saltwater receded.
“What should I do with this
one?” a worker asked, holding up
a deep-red marble triangle and
showing it to mario Piana, the
head of restoration.
“Put it over by the altar,” Piana
said, where more than a dozen
other pieces had already been
collected.
Piana said that at the peak of
the flooding on Tuesday night,
parts of the church were covered
in a foot of water, and that the
days since t hen had b een “chaos.”
He described the church as a
fragile beauty — covered nearly
from ceiling to floor with a
mosaic of gold and marble.
P arts of the flooring, uneven as a
wave, date back to 1094. Even
before this week, work was un-
derway to remove salt from mar-
ble pillars.
“I’m worried,” Piana said. “I’m
worried for the basilica.
“The acqua alta does not cre-
ate immediate, obvious damages.
on the outside, you do not
immediately see anything. But it
is comparable to radiation expo-
sure. In a week, you lose your
hair. In a year, you might be
dead.”
Venice, over the centuries, has
diverted rivers to protect the
lagoon and extended the barrier
islands. But now, the sea level is
rising several millimeters every
year.
offshore, at the inlets between
those barrier islands, a massive
project known as moSE could
potentially boost Venice’s protec-
tion — with floodgates that couldonce every six years by the
middle of this century and once
every five months by 2100, ac-
cording to the most recent report
by the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change.
Those calculations only take
sea-level rise into consideration,
and do not include the sinking of
the land on which Venice sits,
which means flooding would be
even more common than those
figures suggest.
Some experts warn that Venice
could be underwater within a
century.
“It’s a city full of history,” said
Vladimiro Cavagnis, a fourth-
generation Venetian gondolier
who chauffeurs tourists on the
city’s trademark rowing boats. “A
history that, little by little, with
water, will end up like Atlantis.
People are destroyed, anguished,
sad. They see a city that is
disappearing.”
To be in Venice this week, at
least in some of those most-
touristed parts, was to watch
everyday life carry on when na-
ture makes it highly impractical.
Entrepreneurs sold cheap rain-
boots for 10 euros, and the city
erected elevated walkways so
visitors could move across flood-
ed areas in narrow lines. Police
barked at people who stopped on
the planks to take flood-zone
selfies.
Elsewhere, though, Venetians
were at work trying to return
their city to what it had been
days earlier. Employees swept
water out of stores and took
inventories of the damage. At
St. mark’s Basilica, closed to
visitors because of the flooding,
workers were monitoring theeven as t he land has been sinking
while the sea level has been
rising, many Venetians figured
the c ity would again f ind a way t o
evolve and hang on. But one
major flood after the next is
testing that faith, and a major
civil engineering project to pro-
tect the city remains unfinished,
slowed by corruption scandals,
and might already be obsolete.
The city is endangered — not
just as a tourist destination, but
for the 50,000 people who con-
tinue to live in Venice year-
round, and who know the water
well enough to describe in detail
how it is changing and becoming
more threatening.
This week, in an event known
as an “acqua alta,” a tide of more
the six feet surged in from the
Adriatic Sea and quickly covered
85 percent of the city. The flood-
ing, related to an unusually in-
tense low-pressure system and
winds that piled water up the
Adriatic, was the most severe in
50 years.
Although the peak came on
Tuesday night, friday brought
additional flooding. The city was
more than 70 percent inundated
around lunchtime, according to
city hall sources. Piazza San
marco, or St. mark’s Square, was
closed during the high tide, and
the famed vaporetto waterbus
service was suspended.
These floods are becoming an
ever more frequent part of the
Venice landscape.
The sort of extreme high-
water episodes that Venice his-
torically saw every 100 or so
years are expected to happen
venice from A
After this week’s flooding in Venice,
‘people are destroyed, anguished, sad’
BY HAFEEL FARISZ
AND JOANNA SLATERCOLOMBO, Sri Lanka — In Sri
Lanka’s first national elections
since the devastating Easter Sun-
day terrorist attacks, the vote
may come down to the question
of security.
Sri Lankans will cast their
ballots Saturday for a new presi-
dent. The man tipped to win is a
familiar face: Gotabaya rajapak-
sa, once the country’s defense
secretary and the younger broth-
er of Sri Lanka’s former president
mahinda rajapaksa.
His supporters credit Gotaba-
ya rajapaksa with helping to end
the island nation’s brutal,
d ecades-long civil war in 2009.
During the election campaign, he
has made national security a
focus and promised to keep Sri
Lankans safe.
But for others, including the
country’s Ta mil minority, a raja-
paksa victory is cause for fear.
His tenure as defense secretary
was marked by accusations of
human rights violations, includ-
ing the murder and abduction of
journalists and political oppo-
nents. They expect a crackdown
on dissent and a turn toward
authoritarian rule. rajapaksa de-
nies the allegations.
Saturday’s presidential elec-
tion is a decisive moment for the
nation, said Gehan Gunatilleke, a
human rights lawyer and re-
search director at Verité re-
search, a think tank in Colombo,
the capital. “We have to under-
stand that Sri Lanka is in the
midst of a project that is much
larger than one election cycle,” he
said. “It is a choice between
intolerance and freedom.”
Across the political spectrum
in Sri Lanka, there is widespread
anger and frustration at the fail-
ure to prevent the coordinated
terrorist attacks that took place
April 21. The nine suicide bomb-
ings were carried out by local
extremists and claimed by the
Islamic State. The attacks killed
more than 260 people at church-
es and luxury hotels in three
cities.
A subsequent investigation
and parliamentary hearings re-
vealed that the government had
received specific warnings of an
impending attack but did not
take preventive actions. What’s
more, the bitter rivalry between
President maithripala Sirisena
and Prime minister ranil Wick-
remesinghe impeded the func-
tioning of the government’s secu-
rity apparatus.
“We need a country to live in,
and it is a country which n eeds to
be safe,” said Kumara Perera, a
manual laborer in Colombo who
earns less than $3 a day. He said
he believes rajapaksa is the right
person for the job. The currentleadership “had five years, and
look at what they have done,” he
said.
Sirisena is highly unpopular
and is not standing for reelec-
tion. While a record number of
candidates — 35 — have submit-
ted nominations, the race has
two clear front-runners: raja-
paksa and Sajith Premadasa, a
candidate from the current
prime minister’s party. (Sri Lan-
ka has a directly elected presi-
dent as well as a prime minister
selected by parliament.)
Premadasa has also assured
voters that national security is a
top priority. He pledged that if he
wins the presidency, he will
name a decorated army com-
mander, Sarath fonseka, as his
defense minister. fonseka com-
manded the Sri Lankan army at
the end of the civil war and is abitter rival of the rajapaksa f ami-
ly: He was mahinda rajapaksa’s
chief rival for the presidency in
2010.
There are no polls to gauge the
state of the campaign. Some
strategists believe the race be-
tween rajapaksa, 70, and Prema-
dasa, 52, has tightened in the
campaign’s final days and that
Premadasa could pull off a sur-
prise win. Premadasa has drawn
support from the country’s rural
areas, where his message of alle-
viating poverty has resonated.
Premadasa’s supporters say a
rajapaksa victory would be a win
for a strident brand of Sinhalese
nationalism, which could exacer-
bate existing tensions in Sri Lan-
ka’s multiethnic, multireligious
polity.
most of Sri Lanka’s 22 million
people are Sinhalese Buddhists.But there is also a sizable Ta mil
minority, most of whom are Hin-
dus. muslims consider them-
selves a third ethnic group, and
there is also a Christian commu-
nity.
Among Tamils and muslims,
there is trepidation at the idea of
a rajapaksa presidency. Gotaba-
ya rajapaksa has said he intends
for his brother, the former presi-
dent, to assume the post of prime
minister. He also has the support
of hard-line Buddhist nationalist
groups accused of stoking reli-
gious tensions that have resulted
in violence against minorities.
K. ramesh, 40, a native of
Jaffna in the largely Ta mil north-
east, works in Colombo as a
driver. He said he feared the
worst if rajapaksa wins. “The
military will take over,” he said.
“They are already flexing their
muscles in anticipation.”
members of rajapaksa’s Podu-
jana Peramuna party say there is
no reason for alarm. Gotabaya
will be “president of all Sri Lank-
ans — of the Sinhalese, muslims
and Ta mils,” s aid mahindananda
Aluthgamage, who served as a
minister in the government of
Gotabaya’s brother. “The country
wants security, peace and stabili-
ty, and that is what he will
deliver.” meanwhile, he said, the
allegations of prior human rights
abuses are “unfounded lies.”
malinda Seneviratne, a former
newspaper editor turned politi-
cal commentator, echoed that
view. “The choice is really be-
tween weak and effective govern-
ment,” he said. “A choice between
a government willing to bow
down to the United States and
other powers, or a government
serving the people’s interest.”
Both Gotabaya and mahinda
rajapaksa are viewed as close to
Beijing. China has sought to
extend its influence in Sri Lanka
through major infrastructure
projects dogged by allegations of
corruption, including the devel-opment of a port city on the
shores of Colombo.
one issue complicating raja-
paksa’s candidacy was his Ameri-
can citizenship, which he re-
ceived in 2003 after moving to
Los Angeles in the early 1990s.
on Sunday, rajapaksa’s lawyers
held a news conference to display
what they said was a certificate
proving he had renounced his
citizenship earlier this year, but
his opponents questioned its au-
thenticity. A spokeswoman for
the U.S. Embassy told a Sri
Lankan television station that
the embassy was unable to com-
ment on individual cases, citing
privacy regulations.
Compared with prior national
elections, the current campaign
has been largely free of violence.
on Thursday, an author who
published a book critical of the
rajapaksas was stabbed by four
assailants who accused him of
harming Gotabaya’s campaign,
according to a report by AfP.
“The run-up to the election
was relatively peaceful, but the
campaign in the media is the
worst we have ever seen,” mahin-
da Deshapriya, the chairman of
the election commission, told Al
Jazeera, criticizing television
networks for coverage that had
contravened poll directives. The
election commission’s directives
to the media included giving fair
coverage to all candidates.
for voters like Chandana
Henadeera, 52, who supports his
family by driving an auto rick-
shaw around Colombo, the lack
of pre-election violence was a
relief. His main concern is earn-
ing enough money to pay for the
education of his three children.
“This life consumes me,” he said.
“We don’t have enough money to
eat, let alone educate my chil-
dren. I just hope someone will
ease our suffering.”
[email protected]slater reported from new delhi.Easter attacks top of mind on eve of Sri Lanka presidential election
ishara s. kodikara/agence France-Presse/getty images
Supporters of presidential candidate Sajith Premadasa attend a campaign rally this week in colombo.
Premadasa and front-runner Gotabaya Rajapaksa lead the 3 5-person field in Saturday’s election.marco Bertorello/agence France-Presse/getty images
The flooded crypt of St. Mark’s Basilica in venice on Wednesday. even after a day of pumping, water
remained, and more flooding plagued the city Friday. For video of the flooding, go to wapo.st/venice.BY RACHELLE KRYGIERChilean protesters won a land-
mark victory friday as lawmakers
agreed to hold a referendum on the
nation’s dictatorship-era constitu-
tion, a move that underscored the
growing force of street protests
that began nearly a month ago as
an outcry over a subway fare hike.
The agreement, which calls for a
plebiscite in April, was signed ear-
ly friday after two intense days
and nights of negotiations be-
tween opposing parties in the Na-
tional Congress.
In recent weeks, protests that
started with students jumping
over subway turnstiles to protest
the transit fare increase have mor-
phed into a broader movement
joined by left-leaning parties and
unionists. President Sebastián Pi-
ñera has offered concessions, in-
cluding a freeze of subway fares,
wage and pension increases, tax
reform and a new cabinet.
But the protests have not
stopped. Demonstrators have de-
manded a new “social pact” and
constitution. Clashes have erupted
between protesters and police,
who have been accused of tortur-
ing, raping and blinding demon-
strators. At least 20 people have
died and 2,500 have been wound-
ed. Thousands of protesters have
been arrested, and some h ave been
charged with setting deadly fires.
Chile, a model of the free mar-
ket, is South America’s wealthiest
nation per capita. But it remains
highly unequal, an issue that pro-
testers say is partly the product of aconstitution that was drafted dur-
ing the dictatorship of Gen. Augus-
to Pinochet and that limited the
role of the state.
“We are responsible for many of
the injustices, inequities a nd abus-
es that Chileans have pointed out
to us,” Senate President Jaime
Quintana said at a news confer-
ence where he presented the two-
page agreement. “This is a peace-
ful and democratic exit to the
country’s crisis.”
Protesters celebrated the refer-
endum as a step toward the
“ structural change” they are de-
manding. Those who have taken to
the streets — millions of mostly
m iddle-class students, workers
and professionals — are angry
about shrinking pensions and the
high cost of education, health careand public services.
The April referendum, accord-
ing to the agreement, will ask vot-
ers whether they want a new con-
stitution and, if so, whether it
should be drafted by ordinary Chil-
eans or a combination of those
citizens and lawmakers. The writ-
ers of a new constitution would be
chosen in october 2020.
A separate vote would approve
or reject the new constitution
60 days after the text is published.
That v ote would coincide with c on-
gressional and presidential elec-
tions in 2021.
Chileans have long clamored to
reform their constitution but nev-
er as fiercely as in recent weeks.
Protesters want health and educa-
tion, as well as access to water and
decent pensions, to be consideredbasic human rights rather than
nonregulated commodities gov-
erned by t he markets, and they say
the current constitution blocks
th at p ossibility.
Students celebrated but vowed
to keep demonstrating.
“The agreement for a new con-
stitution is not enough,” Emilia
Schneider, president of the main
student federation, said i n a tweet.
“Transformations are l ong and dif-
ficult processes. It’s a historic op-
portunity to have a first democrat-
ic constitution and we have to take
advantage, but we have to stay in
the streets to continue pressuring.”
She added, “We can never forget
the violations of human rights and
their impunity, which are things
we need to continue fighting
against, urgently.”Eleven political parties from dif-
ferent points on the political spec-
trum signed the agreement, which
they said sought to “reestablish
peace and public order in Chile.”
Analysts called it a milestone
but cited challenges in pacifying
the country and making the re-
form process transparent and
democratic.
Professor Pablo Viloch said the
accord marks Chile’s first “consti-
tutional reform process that is
democratic and includes civil par-
ticipation.” But he cautioned:
“There’s no guarantee that vio-
lence in the streets will stop. Peo-
ple are hurt and angry.”
r [email protected]anthony Faiola contributed to this
report.After weeks of protests, Chile agrees to hold referendum on new constitution
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