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…
Human Rights
Challenges in Addressing Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists in Sri Lanka
In a report on Sri Lanka presented to the UN Human Rights Council in September 2023, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights had stated, “lack of accountability at all levels remains…
Refugees in Their Own Land: The Shared Plight of Sri Lankan Tamils and Muslims
I was 10 years old when Muslims were forced to move out of their homes in the North in October 1990. I never again saw or heard about the two Muslim students…
A Single Story But With Differing Actors
In Israel/Palestine these are dark, terrible times with no obvious end in sight to the mounting bloodshed and destruction. It is also a time that gives rise to difficult but necessary conversations:…
Northern Muslims’ Right to Return – Whose Responsibility?
Thirty three years have passed since the eviction of northern Muslims. In October 1990, some 75,000 to 100,000 Muslims in the Northern Province, about five percent of the province’s total population, were…
Media Narratives, Hateful Rhetoric and the Gaza Genocide
“Mom, I’m fine.” Those were the final words of Wadea Al-Fayoume, the six-year-old Palestinian American who was fatally stabbed 26 times at his home in Plainfield Township, Illinois on October 14, 2023.…
Kanesh Thabendran: Remembering the Past and Uncovering the Truth
For most of his life, 35 year old artist Kanesh Thabendran has lived in a war zone where every day was a struggle for survival amid exploding bombs and falling artillery shells.…
The Cauldrons We Make
Jewish Currents is a US-based leftwing Jewish magazine. Soon after October 7 Hamas attack, its editor, Arielle Angel, a vocal proponent of Palestinian liberation, penned a letter to the readers. “I watched…
The Tragedy and Power of a Single Story
I am sick and tired of people not taking a stand on Palestine because they fear it is a “complex” issue; they don’t know enough of the history, they are neither Israeli…
From the River to the Sea: Sri Lanka and Palestine
Sri Lankans are overwhelmingly standing with Palestine and with much of the Global South, which voted for a recent UN resolution, introduced by Russia, condemning Israeli atrocities in the Gaza Strip. There…
Sanitizing Israeli Horror and Demonizing Palestinian Resistance
Hamas’ coordinated rocket attack on Israel, which killed hundreds of Israeli citizens and brought a new Palestine-Israel War, is another chapter in the history and expansion of the Zionist settler state. To…
The Voice Referendum in Australia: Correcting Past Wrongs
Australia and Sri Lanka share a complex history of colonisation, which has deeply impacted their Indigenous populations. Both countries, members of the Commonwealth of Nations[i], grapple with the repercussions of their colonial…
Reflections on the Israel-Hamas War
Israel’s Western allies, the US in particular, believe that any investigation into Israeli war crimes in the Gaza Strip will “exacerbate tensions” and “undercut efforts to advance a negotiated two-state solution.” I…
Sutharsan’s Journey: When Leaving Does Not Take Away the Pain
What is home to you? Is it a place, a person, a vocation, or something else? Most immigrants, including myself, struggle with this question. Is home the place we were born or…
Batticaloa Dairy Farmers Face Violence and Threats over Grazing Land
Batticaloa cattle farmers protesting against the encroachment of outsiders into their grazing land have faced physical attacks and threats as tensions escalated. Their cows have been killed and land set on fire.…
