The Bitter Legacy of a Blood Stained Civil War
Thousands of people gathered in a hot, dusty field in Mullavaikkal in the Mullaitivu district to mark the end of the bloody civil war on May 19, 2009. The area was dotted…
Mullaitivu
If Only the Trees Could Speak Justice Could be Served
Sachithanandam Padmaranjani has been waiting for 14 years to hear news about her husband whom she handed over to the army in May 2009. Padmaranjani, who fled into the army controlled area…
Military to Face a Day of Reckoning Over the Disappeared
In a landmark case last month, the Vavuniya High Court ordered the army to produce three LTTE members who had surrendered to the military in May 2019 and have been missing ever…
Justice for the Disappeared: Will the Next Generation Take on the Fight?
Veteran human rights campaigner Reverend Marimuthu Shakthivel’s voice is tinged with frustration when he says, “There will come a day where we will see the end of our struggle for the rights…
Released at 71: the Story of Selvarathinam
The scorching heat beats down on the field. A herd of cows shelter under the trees that are scattered across the field. I went in search of Mr. Selvarathinam. His wife told…
Using Art to Uncover a Lost Society Destroyed by War
In his new collection of artwork, Suntharam Anojan depicts a visual account of the impact of the 30 year war that altered the topographies of Northern and Eastern Sri Lanka. Through the…
Catch of the Day, Year after Year: Mullaitivu Fishermen Battle On
A murder of crows peck at a katta karawala carcass outside a stretch of fishing wadiyas as the sun sets, leaving a long shadow over the Mullaitivu beach. Every now and again…
Bogaswewa: The Story of a Sorry Settlement
“This is the most shameless and ill thought out settlement of people in the history of this country,” says Anura Chandrasekara. He is a farmer, originally from Anuradhapura. He now speaks to…
The Enduring Cost of a Long and Brutal War
Human rights defenders, journalists, families of the disappeared and people remembering their dead are continually being harassed and monitored by intelligence services, military and police in the North. Although the war ended…
The Luggage of Pain
“Son, this bag belonged to my daughter. I use her bag to try and find her. This bag contains all the documents. It’s now very old and has started to tear in…
Who Will Punish the Perpetrators?
The images are stark and compelling. The STF men are stoic and menacing. They stand unmoving, machine guns clasped tightly to their chests, their faces obscured by motorcycle helmets. The women are…
Water Pumps and Chickens: Rhetoric vs Reality in the North
December 19, 2021. Jaffna town. 6 am. Three motorcycles parked one behind the other at an angle with headlights on. Two armed military personnel, clad in black, on each motorcycle. Women headed…
Literacy and the Dimensions of the Digital Divide
Literacy rates in Sri Lanka have hovered in the high 90s for the past decade or so, impressive figures no doubt; enough for the country to be publicised in official publications as…
Water Over the Vaduvakkal Bridge
Breakfast for three, hundred and fifty rupees. A trail of tea travelling through cups of steel, One held over another. Trees burdened by what they’ve witnessed, Hunched over. A sly wink. A…
For Families of the Disappeared, the International Community is Their Last Hope
It is a small shed with cement brick walls and an asbestos roof facing a dusty street. Car horns blare and trucks rattle past. Outside on a weedy patch of grass three…