Groundviews

Kandy: The damage and the distrust

In Akurana, bunting with the words ‘Ramadan Mubarak’ hangs inside a quiet home.

In Digana, newly built shops hurry to restock for weeks of festive shopping.

In Pallekele, kanji is being cooked over a wood fire, inside the room of a burned mosque.

Preparations for Eid are underway in these small towns, no more than 12 kilometres away from the busy city of Kandy. The district itself is home to a population of 1,369,899 people, of which 72.92% are Buddhist and 10.46% are Muslim. This year, the celebrations are muted in the wake of a series of violent attacks that took place in March.

Three months after the attacks, families in Akurana, Ambatenne, Pallekele, Digana and Katugastota shared their experiences and reflections during a visit to the areas in the first week of June. Individuals whose homes and businesses were damaged by Sinhala-Buddhist extremist mobs spoke with increasing frustration of the inadequate State response to the violence. They also outlined the probable causes that would motivate these groups to wreak this violence.

Access the story directly on Sway here or embedded below.

Exit mobile version