A puff of wind shifts the piece of cardboard dangling from the tent. ‘541’ it reads.
Over one year later, the tent housing the families of the disappeared in Vavuniya has become a familiar part of the landscape. Not many passersby pause to look into the tent as they go about their daily work. The same photos are pinned to the front of the tent. This time around though, there are more posters. The Office on Missing Persons (OMP) features prominently. Since May 11, the OMP has been holding a series of public consultations – a vital step in the process of operationalisation. How have they been received, and what has changed about the form of protest, given that it is now over a year later?
Groundviews revisited the protest sites in Vavuniya, Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu, and spoke to families in Mannar who had participated in the first round of consultations with the OMP. While some of the sites of protest had shifted, the families’ requests, and their resolve to find answers, remains unchanged.
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