Personal page and articles by Marisa de Silva

Who is “Pulidaran?”: Reflections on International Day of Democracy

Photo courtesy Vikalpa Who is “Pulidaran?” What everyone knows – “On July 15, 2008, Pulidaran reportedly shot Kanapathipillai alias Satchi...

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Sinhala and Tamil New Year in Jaffna, Sri Lanka: Ground realities

Sinhala & Tamil New Year when I was growing up was always a much-awaited annual event in our neighbourhood. We’d...

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Proud to be Sri Lankan?

Citizenship, as I know it, is a means by which citizens of a particular country are recognized as entities of...

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Soldier: Hero, villain or both?

Each time I see a soldier, my mind shifts into ‘mode chaos’. When I was a kid, things were black...

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“Oya Sinhalade? Demalade?” – Questioning a question in post-war Sri Lanka

“Oya Sinhalade? Demalade?” I can’t begin to count the number of times I’ve had that question asked from me over...

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Ramblings of an outsider in Jaffna – 1

I’ve moved to Jaffna on work. Everyone I know seems to think I’ve done something great and inspiring, to have...

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An open letter to the Remote Control Diaspora

Note: Contrary to what you might assume from the title, this is not a general onslaught on the diaspora at...

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What must it be like to live behind these Kovil gates?

[Authors note: This is something I wrote a few months ago, that still resonates I believe with our society today.]...

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We, The Spectator State

A young boy was drowned in broad daylight this week. Though not a single newspaper carried it, I’m told B....

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Even post-war, discrimination runs deep in Sri Lanka

It was one night some years ago that I realized how deep discrimination against Tamils runs in Sri Lanka. We...

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About Groundviews

Located at the Centre for Policy Alternatives in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Groundviews is a citizen journalism website that uses a range of genres and media to highlight critical perspectives on governance, reconciliation, human rights, the arts and literature, democracy and other issues. The site has won two international awards, including the prestigious Manthan Award South Asia in 2009. The grand jury's evaluation of the site noted, "What no media dares to report, Groundviews publicly exposes. It's a new age media for a new Sri Lanka... Free media at it's very best!"

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