Einstein was a Refugee
Refugees are sometimes active have agency they Leave, Flee, Sneak Flow over boundary lines unchecked like rivers they Escape, Hide Cross territories they Flood places like unnatural disasters are associated with Asylum…
Vavuniya
Where We Are and Where To?
“War is the highest form of struggle for resolving contradictions, when they have developed to a certain stage, between classes, nations, states, or political groups, and it has existed ever since the…
Your opinion on a war ‘over in 3 weeks’ and a ‘post-LTTE’ Sri Lanka?
A senior government minister claimed today that the war would be over in 3 weeks. Whether we believe him or not, commentators like Ahilan Kadirgamar (writing in , February 2009) have called…
A recent trip to Vavuniya: For the future looks dark and gloomy
Though I have been following the news about the war in Vanni, and the damages made to human lives and properties, I never thought it would be so bad until I went…
A thought for the stranded refugees in Vanni
I wish to draw wider public attention to the following extract appearing in “A short note from the Vanni” written by “Witness” and appearing in the Groundviews on September 30, 2008: “The…
A short note from the Vanni
By Witness I traveled to the Vanni on 17th September, with the hope of getting a lorry load of foodstuff from Vavuniya to Vanni, but it was impossible, as the Killinochchhi Government…
Sri Lanka – Killing for Peace
Channel 4’s recent programme on Sri Lanka broadcast recently in England. As noted here, … the team making a documentary for Channel 4 was ordered to leave Sri Lanka’s embattled Jaffna peninsula…
A veteran internally displaced person (IDP)
I am a veteran internally displaced person (IDP), if that is a status that I could be given and everybody could be proud of. I am originally from Vavuniya and the conflict…
Sri Lanka on tsunami alert after Indonesia quake (Updated)
12 Sep 2007 12:31:03 GMT Source: Reuters COLOMBO, Sept 12 (Reuters) – Sri Lanka issued a tsunami alert on Wednesday for its north, south and eastern districts following a major earthquake in…
Voldemort rising
Kofi Anan, former UN Secretary General At the time of writing, news of the liberation of the East and the resulting celebrations have captured headlines and the public imagination in Sri Lanka.…
“I need to move out of this camp and have a place of my own”
Following heavy shelling and bombardment in Point Pedro, we had to evacuate the village leaving all our belongings behind. While we were running for shelter from our home, sounds of artillery were…
Dismissing inconvenient truths – The Divaina’s take on Groundviews
Clearly, Groundviews seems to be doing something right in highlighting the plight of IDPs and refugees in the embattled North and East of Sri Lanka through stories such as and others. The…
The Indo-Lanka Accord – Some reflections 20 years hence
ඉන්දු ලංක෠ගිවිසුම (1987 ජූලි- 2007 ජූලි): අවස්ථà·à·€à¶šà·Šà¶¯? බලහà¶à·Šà¶šà·à¶»à¶ºà¶šà·Š ද? “ඉන්දු ලංක෠ගිවිසුමෙහි දසවන සංවà¶à·Šà·ƒà¶»à¶º අවස්ථà·à·€ පෙන්නුම් කරන්නේ එහි අරමුණ වු ජනවà·à¶»à·Šà¶œà·’ක ගà·à¶§à·…ුවට දේà·à¶´à·à¶½à¶± විසඳුමක් සොය෠ගà·à¶±à·“මෙහි ල෠à·à·“â€à·Šâ€à¶» ලංකà·à·€ ඇදහිය නොහà·à¶šà·’…
Homeless in one’s homeland
Photo credit: Agron, from Portraits of Displacement Worldwide, those rendered homeless and destitute by violent conflict is growing. According to UNHCR statistics, the figure of Internally Displaced Persons stood at over 32…
Sri Lanka : Decades of Displacement
From UNHCR’s video channel on YouTube. Also read Maps of Shame.