Renunciation
We turned out of bed saddened and furious when we heard Taliban detonated the Bamiyan Buddhas: What savagery, to destroy testaments aged over centuries, to a now effaced history; but today let…
Poetry
Sri Lanka Snapshot, 2010
The giant leafy mango tree in the back garden has been cut down screamed the poet, Scar and the hyenas are in charge, the stomach queasy, revolted, Il Duce megaphoned War is…
election 2010
there was a lovely tree in the yard at the back of our house. a lovely sinewy and tall mango tree.             one day in the morning we were woken to the sound…
Yes, I am Tamil!
When Weerasena (1)Â was interdicted And the sun was on fire Above the textile factory Shouting slogans Screaming hoarsely Brother Nadesan(2) At the flaming pickets I was a Tamil When Weere(3)Â got the job…
An Ode to a Bright Future
I hear the crack of a whip, you tell me it’s the sound of peace. I don’t believe you. Speak for yourself. Not for me. I heard them coming. They have no…
Love Displaced
If I only knew you were all right or even just okay or less than all right but alive I could survive in this – this place where there are shops clinics…
The Emperor’s Clothes
Do not question the numbers when speaking of your dead sons in the field of war. accept quietly your death dues. Hush! Don’t worry! just in case you trouble Our Army Officers.…
Unshed Tears
Baby Elephants- dearly beloved elders were killed before their tender eyes Baby Elephants-arms, legs, teeth shriveled with the pain of the bullet Baby Elephants- loose wrinkled skin hangs off starving, haunted frames…
Bearing Witness: Submit content on IDPs and Police brutality to win a Flip Ultra video camera
Through Bearing Witness, seeks to engender critical citizen journalism on two vital issues confronting polity and society in post-war Sri Lanka. The ground conditions in Menik Farm, worsened by recent flooding, are a…
Headlines
Bodies in the river and a riot in town Stones thrown, belts flying, youth going down Vans on the prowl and cops on the loose Gangsters, mobsters, drugs and booze Kids committing…
Confessions
Stop this struggle He pleads Of his comrades A revolutionary leader Broken in pain In State Custody They set me on the wrong path He blames, pointing to his friends A young…
Broken Pottu
An infant in Menik Camp. Many thousands of the IDP children have lost both their parents comes news from the Sri Lankan ‘welfare camps’. Bright red pottu Every morning Never missed. The…
Decree
The government wishes all Tamils good rest, sweet sleep and recovery at Manik Farm. We have cleared the brush and carpenters are busy making coffins. Parasites will be snuffed out, no ifs…
Beauty
What beauty in camps? I sit in my favourite chair listening to Beethoven’s last sonata, slient breezes in time. to the music. My world creates a sonata The other shatters all possibility…
Liberation
You claimed to liberate hostages, to conduct the largest rescue operation in history. In other countries people robbed of freedoms, rescued, are treated by doctors, then sent home to be greeted usually…