A Maha Sanga-led Reconciliation Initiative
The last few weeks witnessed a flurry of activity that brought to light a quiet initiative which has been progressing during the past year in terms of the post-war reconciliation process in…
Diaspora
Tamilian in Paris
Weekly The restaurant served idly and dosai around the corner from Notre Dame, before the fire, in a perfect union of India and Europe, while at my table a waitress asked…
Romesh Gunesekera on Connecting with His Homeland
Sri Lanka authors have been in the limelight recently, hitting a peak with Shehan Karunatilaka’s 2022 Booker Prize for The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida. Kanya D’Almeida won the Commonwealth Short Story…
Transitional Justice, Refugees and IDPs in Post War in Sri Lanka
Following three decades of bloody and protracted civil war between government forces and the LTTE, the group was dismantled in May 2009. As reported by the U.N. panel formed by Secretary General…
Counting and Cracking: A Journey of Learning, Healing and Understanding
It debuted to rave reviews in Australia in early 2019 and met with the same response in Edinburgh and Birmingham. Despite recounting very personal and Sri Lankan experiences, S. Shakthidaran’s Counting and Cracking…
Anbudan, the Memory Remains Forever
”Sometimes tears flow uncontrollably and I cannot work anymore. I know I want to be strong, I want to call my historical strength as a woman. I want to remember and…
A Call for a Change in Culture
“They will never change” is a phrase that many Tamils overseas often hear from back home. A simple phrase articulated partly in sadness, partly in gloating. It’s difficult to condemn how various…
Scotland, Diaspora Campaigning and Human Rights
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s visit to Scotland for an international environmental summit put the regime’s grim human rights track record in the spotlight. Failure to care for the environment has already been noted.…
Sri Lanka: Past Experiences and Current Trends
Image courtesy Dear Friends, First let me thank the Darebin Ethnic Communities Council and Darebin Intercultural Centre for inviting me to speak at this . The biography , which Michael Colin Cooke…
Some Thoughts on our Cultural Values and National Harmony
Photo by Sarah Crake, via Compas Blog I recognise, respect, appreciate and congratulate the valuable work done by many including those of Sri Lanka Invites. Several other organisations that promote rights, freedoms…
As Canada Goes to the Polls
Picture courtesy the Prime Minister’s Office of Canada. I write this on the day of elections in Canada, a country excited about change after a dark period of conservative rule. I have…
From Canada to Colombo, can’t stereotype my thing yo
I need a cigarette. In another impulsive moment, I had made the irresponsible decision a few months ago to become a social smoker. I do not particularly know what that means but…
Chief Minister Wigneswaran alleges genocide, calls for plebiscite
Mr Akashi was absolutely right when he urged flexibility and reform on the Sri Lankan government and sounded the alarm of serious consequences in Geneva March 2014 (that’s 75 days away, folks)…
Diaspora Diaries: Reflections of the filmmaker
[Editors note: Also read the related post ] Kannan Arunasalam is a documentary filmmaker and narrative journalist. He was born in Jaffna, grew up in London, and returned to Sri Lanka in…
‘Diaspora Diaries’: Exploring Connections and Interactions with Sri Lanka
[Editors note: Also read related post ] In recent years, the prevailing image of the Sri Lankan diaspora in the media has been dominated by Tamil community activists’ human rights campaign, calling…
