Mullaivayakal and the Meaning of Justice, 12 Bitter Years On
Image Courtesy of Amalini de Sayrah The first five months of 2009 brought immense and unprecedented pain to the people of northern Sri Lanka, and to their many Tamil relatives outside the…
Memorialisation
Richard
Image courtesy of Daily News Remembering Richard De Zoysa (03/18/1958 – 02/18/1990) Animals continue to crack in Sri Lanka, Richard. Lions don’t exist in the natural state, nor tigers roam through the…
Evoking the Undead Tiger, the Eternal Bogeyman: The Consequences of Forgetting the Past
Photo courtesy of Indian Express “If only they would respect Tamils as humans.” An alleged former combatant who was “rehabilitated”. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is the armed group that the…
We Will Not Forget
Photo courtesy of Twitter We will not forget Mullivaikkal, the shot, the strafed, the scissored, and the cluster-bombed. We will not forget holes in roofs, holes in water tanks, holes in…
One Man’s Hero is Another Man’s Enemy
Photo courtesy of The Statesman Maaveerar Naal, otherwise known as Heroes day, is celebrated on November 27 to remember those who lost their lives fighting for the LTTE. While this day has…
Corona with the Big Brothers
It is increasingly evident that the lasting impacts of the Coronavirus pandemic will not be merely health related. In the early stages of government efforts to contain the virus and over the…
Remembering Victims of Enforced Disappearances: Looking Back at Thenuwara’s Exhibition
Images Courtesy of Saskia Fernando Gallery Ten years ago, activist and contemporary artist Chandraguptha Thenuwara created an exhibition called The Vigil and Other Works, dedicated to remembering the disappeared and to the…
Remembrance and Tribute to Victims of Terrorism
Photo Courtesy of Aleena Cader Today is the International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to Victims of Terrorism. In Sri Lanka, the word terrorism embodies an experience that stretches over 30 years,…
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…
Navaly Church Bombing – 25 Years On
Image courtesy of srilankatwo.wordpress.com In July 1995 the St. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Navaly, Jaffna, was filled with displaced Tamils seeking refuge and safety from the war. People in Navaly,…
Our Departed Colleague, Saman Wagaarachchi – My Recollections
Image courtesy Saman Wagaarachchi/Facebook Comrade Saman Wagaarachchi had joined the JVP in early 1977 while we were still being held incarcerated for our role in the April 1971 uprising. Later I heard…
