Kanji became a desperate source of sustenance during the violent 26-year Sri Lankan Civil War. Today, the dish evokes painful memories for the country’s Tamil ethnic minority. It also acts as a powerful symbol of protest.
Amidst ongoing struggles, Mariyasuresh Eswari highlights threats to Tamils' lives and the departure of Judge T. Saravanarajah. In a statement following a protest in Mullaitivu, Mariyasuresh Eswari, the president of the Mullaitivu Association of Families of Disappeared, asserted that the departure of Judge T. Saravanarajah exemplifies the unsettling reality that Tamils are
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It is a small shed with cement brick walls and an asbestos roof facing a dusty street. Car horns blare and trucks rattle past. Outside on a weedy patch of grass three baby goats bleat as they play. The walls are lined with photographs. They are mostly young boys and girls, some even in crisp white school uniforms and ties. There is a girl in a bright pink saree and another with jasmine flowers entwined in her hair. One is an ID card photograph; another is a posed studio shot. Most are just photocopies; the originals are kept safely at home. There is even a whole family – father, mother and three young children – who got a bus bound for oblivion.