Watching footage from the ground released by one of the few active local NGOs left in Vanni, the Tamils Rehabilitation Organization (TRO), reminds me of the period after the 2004 Tsunami when we would all watch terrifying videos of how this natural disaster left 40,000 people dead in Sri Lanka. Even though the scenes were unbearable to watch, we were somehow transfixed to those images for some time. Maybe it was because of the sheer disbelief that something like this could affect a population already affected by almost 30 years of ethnic conflict.

This time we are once again in sheer disbelief of the crisis that Tamils in Northern Sri Lanka are facing, except our disbelief is not related to giant waves or undersea earthquakes.  It is related to the international community’s silence during a mounting genocide. An appeal from the Mullaitivu Council of NGOs reported that in just under two weeks 1,400 Tamil civilians have been killed in artillery and aerial attacks.

In a recent video from the ground, there were scenes from a makeshift hospital full of civilians who had survived the Sri Lankan army’s shelling of the PTK hospital in early February.I was more distressed once I realized that I was not only just watching a video of Tamils suffering from injury, displacement, trauma and loss of life, but at the same time I was looking for familiar faces of people I had met and who I have not heard from in months.It crushed me to think that this is way many Tamils all over the world are wondering what has happened to those with whom we once drank tea, taught English, treated in hospitals, played games, interviewed, laughed, cried and sighed.

There has been much controversy in the international media about civilian movement between government and LTTE-held areas, in particular the LTTE preventing civilians from leaving areas still under their control. Nothing can be verified since the Sri Lankan government has blocked independent media and international presence from the conflict zone, but what has not occurred to many is that there are civilians who do not want to leave areas under LTTE control in fear of losing protection or even worse, facing death. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch recently expressed grave concern over detention centers for refugees in the disguise of “welfare camps” in the areas bordering the conflict zone, such as Vavuniya and Mannar. Officials have warned that these refugee centers mirror conditions of “concentration camps.”

So, at this juncture in the hunger strike people might be wondering, are we running on empty?No. We’ve gotten energy from you, fellow Tamil voices and others speaking out for the silenced: the Tamil community is making noise through worldwide rallies attended by thousands, singer M.I.A., a Tamil refugee herself from the ethnic conflict is advocating for an end to genocide, and Timor Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta urging a political resolution to the conflict, the complete opposite of the Sri Lankan government’s current military campaign. We sustain ourselves by continuing to hear these voices and your voice –it’s the most important way to urge the international community and the U.S. to listen to those who we see, and don’t see, in that harrowing footage from the ground.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 17th, 2009 at 4:21 pm by Brintha and is filed under Brintha. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.