I’m scared that in all the drama of beginning this fast, I am going to forget the real reason for the entire endeavor. Pure, innocent, angelic children in Sri Lanka are starving, bleeding to death from shrapnel injuries, and leaving this world so soon after they came into it.

The Sri Lankan government is commiting genocide against the Tamil people of Sri Lanka. I used to hesistate to be so bold. I used to parse my words due to my own secret doubt and for the sake of political correctness. That time has passed. Have you ever heard of a government placing food and medicine embargos on sections of its own citizenry? Have you ever heard of a government bombing its own civilians using fighter jets? Have you ever heard of a government destroying its own hospitals because they serve a specific segment of the population? Have you ever heard of a government expelling international journalists and NGOs because they dare raise doubts about the government’s intentions?

If you haven’t, I present to you the “government” of Sri Lanka. But what is the point of me writing on this blog? This grotesque reality has for far too long been confined to the minds of the suffering Tamils. If our 10,000-meal fast does not spark mainstream media coverage of the Tamil genocide, all is for nought. If our fast does not spur members of Congress to take action on behalf of the languishing civilians, all is for nought.

There is indeed hunger in my stomach. But it’s not for food. It’s for a mindset which accepts nothing less than selflessness on behalf of my suffering brothers and sisters back home. I hunger to be worthy of speaking on behalf of the children that suffer in Sri Lanka. I hunger for America to live up to its ideals and stop the genocide of Tamils.