The political meaning of the retreat in London
Image courtesy ITV News DBS Jeyaraj[1] DBS Jeyaraj is not a representative of the Tamil diaspora that has set out to wage war against the government of Sri Lanka. He is a…
Diaspora
3 years on, a hurting stalemate in Sri Lanka
Picture courtesy JDS Last month saw the official marking of three years after the end of the 28 year old war that plagued Sri Lanka, killing thousands and setting the country back…
MOVING OUT OF THE MAZE
Image courtesy ITV The ubiquity of the Tiger flags was the most dramatic aspect of the demonstrations in London during the President’s visit for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. The Diaspora Tigers were…
Co-operatives: A better option to channel relief to war victims in Sri Lanka
Photo courtesy Sampath Wijenayake It is no secret that many members of the Tamil diaspora are actively involved in helping the victims of the war in Sri Lanka in some way or the…
A Search for Identity: Tomorrow’s Sri Lankan!
Few are those who believe in the existence of what I would like to call a . Indeed, most of us will identify themselves according to their ethnicity, some according to their…
Longing and Belonging series: The science of planning in Jaffna
The throng of devotees and tourists visiting the Nallur festival had receded and life slowly returned to normal in Jaffna. I stayed behind to see if I could persuade others visiting from…
Longing and Belonging series: From London to Jaffna for the first time
The Nallur festival was in full flow. Kavadi drummers played for the crowds of devotees that swelled around Jaffna’s famous temple. Dotted around me were visitors from abroad. It was wonderful to…
Ending the Exile and Back to Roots: Fears, Challenges and Hopes
[Editors note: The author was married to Dr. Rajini Thiranagama (née Rajasingham), a Tamil human rights activist and feminist murdered in 1989 by the LTTE. She was one of the founding members of…
Addressing Greg Sheridan’s Review of the Tamil Lobby and Australia
Greg Sheridan’s articles on the Tamil lobby in Australia and the workings of the Australian state are something of a breakthrough because the media coverage of the Sri Lankan conflict has been…
Why The Diaspora Must Return To Sri Lanka
Image from Himal Southasian, , December 2010 | By Sworup Nhasiju [Editors note: Also read that offer context and counter-points to this article.] In a recent post entitled , blogger Indi Samarajiva put forth the…
The Disillusionment of the Diaspora
[Editors note: Also read ] Indi’s post entitled “How Diaspora Can Overthrow The Government” set me off on a train of thought. Thought about the Sri Lankan diaspora, its role in Sri Lanka,…
Finding the Middle Ground
Just over a week ago, a couple of my colleagues and I appeared on a prominent Canadian talk show discussing our attempts, as both individuals and organizing members of the Young Canadians’ Peace…
Two years after war’s end in Sri Lanka: What can the Tamil and Sinhala diaspora do?
Our review of by Gordon Weiss elicited an interesting question. Under the monicker Burning_Issue, the comment asked for advice on how best to engage with the Rajapaksa regime, and what the (Tamil)…
Going beyond mainstream media: The best Twitter feeds on and from Sri Lanka
Just over a year ago, in April 2010, launched two curated Twitter lists on Sri Lanka to help those in and outside the country access news, information and critical conversations that went…
Reflecting on the End of the Sri Lankan Civil War: The Need for a New Conversation in the Global Sri Lankan Community
Although military hostilities in Sri Lanka ended two years ago, the dynamics of the conversation in the global Sri Lankan community continues to be influenced by the nations’ past conflicts. Decades of…