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Groundviews

Remember the Riots

Year
Month
Human Rights, Politics and Governance, Post-War, Remember the Riots, Transitional Justice

July 1983 Pogrom: the Black Week that Impacted Sri Lanka Forever

The political leadership of Sri Lanka has yet again demonstrated that even in the midst of the worst socio economic and political crisis the country has faced since independence, they do not…

Lionel Bopage Lionel Bopage on 07/24/202207/24/2022
Colombo, Peace and Conflict, Politics and Governance, Remember the Riots

The Disturbing Echoes of July 1983

July 1983 was one of the grimmest months in Sri Lankan history as state-organised anti-minority “riots” paved the way for decades of violence and human rights abuses across the country. The effect…

Savitri Hensman Savitri Hensman on 07/23/202107/23/2021
Colombo, Culture, Peace and Conflict, Remember the Riots

Chandraguptha Thenuwara’s “Blinds” – Seeing and Not Seeing

Most of us spent more time looking out of the windows of our homes this last year than in any other year. So it is perhaps no surprise that one of the…

Shayari de Silva Shayari de Silva on 07/23/202107/23/2021
Colombo, Culture, Human Rights, Identity, Peace and Conflict, Remember the Riots

Watching Funny Boy in Sri Lanka: A Review

We watched the film, Funny Boy, directed by Deepa Mehta and adapted from Shyam Selvadurai’s 1994 novel, twice. We were surrounded by the numerous debates  and controversies about the film. The first…

Sarala Emmanuel Sarala Emmanuel on 01/15/202101/15/2021
Features, IDPs and Refugees, Jaffna, Longing and Belonging, Matale, Peace and Conflict, Photos, Post-War, Reconciliation, Remember the Riots

Senthooran: Black July Through the Eyes of a Survivor

It has been 37 years since the anti-Tamil pogrom of July 1983, a riot that set the country ablaze and sparked a 30-year long and bloody war. But even after nearly four…

Sarah Kabir Sarah Kabir on 07/29/202007/29/2020
Colombo, Features, Human Rights, IDPs and Refugees, Longing and Belonging, Peace and Conflict, Post-War, Remember the Riots

Black July: The Unspoken and the Unspeakable

July. Referred to as Black July to mark the pogrom against Tamils in 1983 carried out by Sinhala mobs. Pogrom is a Russian word meaning ‘to wreak havoc, to demolish violently’, that…

Ambika Satkunanathan Ambika Satkunanathan on 07/29/202008/12/2020
Arts and Theatre, Colombo, Memorialisation, Peace and Conflict, Reconciliation, Remember the Riots

Thenuwara’s At/Most/Fear: A Virtual Testament in Times of a Pandemic

For the past 22 years, activist and renowned contemporary artist Chandraguptha Thenuwara has been memorialising the horrific period of July 1983 through paintings, drawings, sculpture and installation. This year, undeterred by the…

Groundviews Groundviews on 07/24/202007/24/2020
Colombo, Human Rights, Peace and Conflict, Politics and Governance, Post-War, Reconciliation, Remember the Riots

The Significance of 1983

I was a PhD student in London when the carnage of July 1983 erupted and thank God for the bravery and foresight of my mother and sister, my family was saved from…

Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu on 07/20/202008/12/2020
Human Rights, Issues, Peace and Conflict, Remember the Riots

Remembering To Rebuild

Another July has passed. A month filled with dark associations, thanks to “Black July”, a month that only escalated events leading to a three-decade war and a whole host of other ill…

Nawaz Mohammed Nawaz Mohammed on 08/28/2018
Human Rights, Long Reads, Peace and Conflict, Remember the Riots

The Agony and Ecstasy of a Pogrom: July 1983

Two Survivors  Not all Tamils in Sri Lanka are Tamils. A few who have been born and bred in the South-Western parts of the island have been de-Tamilicised. They know very little…

Michael Roberts Michael Roberts on 08/12/201808/21/2018
Human Rights, Issues, Politics and Governance, Remember the Riots

A Forgotten Community: Remembering Black July

Writer S Karunakaran reflects on Black July from the perspective of a marginalised and often forgotten community – the Malaiyagha Tamils – and specifically those who tried to resettle in the North…

Maatram Maatram on 08/07/2018
Human Rights, Issues, Peace and Conflict, Reconciliation, Remember the Riots

On Documenting: Remembering Black July

“There is no proper record of what happened, or how the killings took place during that time. We do not have any information or documentation to pass it on to our future…

Maatram Maatram on 07/27/201807/31/2018
Human Rights, Issues, Reconciliation, Remember the Riots, Transitional Justice

Black July, Government promises and our future

I’m thankful to British Tamils Forum (BTF) for inviting me to share some reflections and thoughts on this occasion. Many of you gathered for this commemoration might be Tamils. Some may be…

Ruki Fernando Ruki Fernando on 07/26/2016
Human Rights, Issues, Peace and Conflict, Reconciliation, Remember the Riots

Everyday Heroes: Untold Stories of Black July

July 23. The date has an awful significance for some, and has been blotted out by time for others. On that date, in 1983, a group of LTTE militants killed 13 Army…

Raisa Wickrematunge Raisa Wickrematunge on 07/22/201607/28/2020
30 Years Ago, Arts and Theatre, Colombo, Culture, Human Rights, Jaffna, Media and Communications, Peace and Conflict, Politics and Governance, Remember the Riots

30 Years Ago: Audio recordings of panel discussions

Photograph by Tehani Ariyaratne, from 30 Years Ago To complement the launch of 30 Years Ago and focus on some of the issues the project is anchored to and inspired by, four panel discussions…

Groundviews Groundviews on 09/18/2013

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