A programme that sought to understand the tensions between the Tamil and the Sinhalese in Sri Lanka. 'Radharc: A Pot Brewing' was first broadcast on 7 December, 1982 and repeated 2 years later on 11 September, 1984.
The programme opens with a look at the tea producers on the tea estates of Sri Lanka, most of which are nationalised. Over the past century the colonial administration has brought in approximately one million Tamil speaking people from India to work as cheap labour. The workers live in sheds in appalling conditions, even by third world standards. Malnutrition is common and the death rate is high. The working day is long and the pay is poor.
Radharc is the title of a series of documentaries broadcast by RTÉ between 1962 and 1996. The first programme was aired on January 12th 1962, just 12 days after the new Irish television service was launched. Over the following 34 years, more than 400 programmes were televised.
