From casualty to catastrophe
Photo by Asanka Brendon Ratnayake for We hadn’t seen him in years, ever since he left to work abroad. So, on the day of his return, his mother invited the extended family…
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Easter Sunday Attacks: A personal reflection
After three successive days of numbness, fear, anxiety, trauma, devastating sadness and anger I pen these thoughts. I do not have any ‘rational’ explanation for the horror that we are experiencing. I…
Massacre of the Innocents: Whereto from here
Photo by JEWEL SAMAD / AFP/GETTY IMAGES via KCUR. “Unmindful are the walking dead The known way is an impasse.” Heraclitus (The Fragments) We have been here before. This blooded precipice is…
Easter Sunday Attacks: Key Updates
April 21, 2019 A series of coordinated bomb explosions killed hundreds in Sri Lanka as they congregated for Easter Sunday mass. As at 8.20 am on April 22, 2019, 290 were reported…
The ecology of an issue: ‘Save Wilpattu’ on Facebook and Twitter
When over the weekend, senior journalist Amantha Perera sent a link to a post on Facebook asking if it was one that was popular, the answer took me into a brief study…
2018: A Recap
2018 saw ethno-nationalism, the role of technology in moderating hate speech and freedom of expression and the impact of foreign debt, including China’s Belt and Road Initiative remain key topics in global discourse. It also…
Building An Ethos of Rights
December 10 is Human Rights Day, and marks 70 years since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted. Since inception, has dedicated itself to discussion on issues pertaining to human rights.…
Reigning in the Executive President
For the most part of the last few weeks we have been in a suspended state of disbelief. Yes, the 2015 government had not lived up to its expectations, some people were…
Jana Bala Sena Rally (Photos)
On August 2, the Joint Opposition held the “Jana Bala Sena” rally, beginning at Lipton Circus and ending at the Vihara Maha Devi Park amphitheatre. The protest at Lipton Circus was broadcast…
On Collective Humanity: Remembering Black July
“If the majority thinks that a minority community is posing a threat to them or are developing in a manner that creates fear among them, then it is a problem for the…
Reflections on July 1983: 35 Years On
July 23 marked the 35th anniversary of one of post independent Sri Lanka’s darkest chapters, the July 1983 pogrom against Tamil civilians throughout the country. An ambush of an Army patrol in Jaffna,…
On Facebook’s New Misinformation Policy for Sri Lanka
20 July 2018 Colombo, Sri Lanka Recent news reports have surfaced noting that Facebook will be proactively taking steps to remove misinformation that could lead to people being physically harmed. Though long…
The Silent Sangha
One of the greatest challenges facing Sri Lanka today is the failure to bring about communal reconciliation in the island. Hate has grown, gone rampant and viral. On a recent visit to…
Chinese Whispers: On Corruption and the Hambantota Port
On July 2, 2018, Hiru TV aired footage from two press conferences hosted by the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) during its 6:55 pm broadcast. During the press conference, the members of…
On the action and inaction of law enforcement personnel | Kandy: The damage and the distrust
‘We hid inside the house, trying to keep the children calm and quiet’ says Faunoon. She didn’t let her children catch a glimpse of what was happening outside their home in Ambatenne,…
