Isn’t the Nationalist a Mental Patient?
Reproducing historic article by Dr E W Adikaram At a time when few practise what they preach, Lankan scholar, writer and social activist Dr E W (Edward Winifred) Adikaram (1905-1985) was an…
Identity
Remembering the riots
Image courtesy Thuppahi’s blog June 2013 saw violent clashes between small groups of Sri Lankans at cricket grounds around the UK. Although barely reported by the mainstream media, for members of Voices…
On the 30th Anniversary of the Pogrom of July 1983
Photo courtesy Ilankai Tamil Sangam I was GA and District Secretary Jaffna at that time, and was not directly a victim of the pogrom, but was very much involved with the care…
Forgetting Black July
Photo courtesy BBC I was born ten years after Black July. I am a Singhalese. A week or so ago, as the thirty-year anniversary approached, for curiosity’s sake, I did a small experiment.…
A moonlit walk
July 1983 was four years after I was born. Like many in my generation who were not directly affected by the events that took place, memories are hazy and disjointed. Black July…
Nationhood and National Parks
Photo from tahira’s shenanigans National parks in Sri Lanka that traverse the lines of nature reserves are held in reverence in the Sri Lankan psyche. Ideas of nature reserves in Sri Lanka…
The making of ‘The Brothers Shaikh’
When the journalist Peter Savodnik asked me to collaborate with him on making , I said no. I was scared. This was my home. I knew that if I crossed some invisible…
The perpetual conflict: Part 3
Photo via blackjuly.info The Politics of Identity It seems all too obvious that the regular cycles of violence that have emerged in our recent history since 1915 are distinctly communal in character.…
The perpetual conflict: Part 2
Photo via blackjuly.info Fault-lines Perhaps it is a tragic coincidence of our time; or maybe it was inevitable given the passage of generations, that we are marking the thirty year anniversary of…
The perpetual conflict: Part 1
Photo via blackjuly.info The dark clouds of history When I look back, I do not see the black smoke rising, or the cries of hapless countrymen, women and innocent children – victims…
First, the colours
Photo courtesy Tamil Guardian First, the colours. My memories of July are full of dark colours, foreboding and angry. Grey dominates. Grey, the colour of the smoke that is everywhere, even in…
Silk sarees
As I recall “Black July” 1983 on 23rd July 2013, 30 years have quickly passed by, but my memories of “Black July” remain fresh and intact in my heart. On a Saturday…
The lucky ones
These memories still haunt me—even 30 years later. Pain clutches me, along with fear and trepidation. Now I look back and remember with tears of profound sadness at so many things that…
The absolute silence at home: July, 1983
The most vivid memory of violent conflict for me has been from July 23, 1983. I was 7 years old then, the same age as my twins today. Each time a word,…
I Wasn’t Around in ‘83
Meemure village, Sri Lanka, June 2013. Aamina Nizar for The Picture Press. “No one came to the house”, he said, “but I did get threatening phone calls in the middle of the…
