Ahilan Sivaganesan
Currently at: Baylor College of Medicine In 2005, I spent time at an orphanage in Sri Lanka for Tamil schoolgirls. I loved them like my own sisters. In 2006, the Sri Lankan government dropped 16 bombs on that orphanage and killed over 50 of the girls. I don't know which of my sisters are alive, and which are dead. The Tamil minority in Sri Lanka is facing genocide. The Sri Lankan government bans food and medicine from reaching Tamil villages. It forces Tamil civilians into "safe zones" and then drops bombs on those safe zones. The Sri Lankan military shells Tamil hospitals, schools, and tsunami rehabilitation camps. It has the highest rate of "enforced disappearances" in the world. It tortures and rapes Tamil civilians with impunity. Mothers are now dying because there are no medical supplies to save them from shrapnel injuries. Babies are starving to death. All at the hands of a government which has so far gotten a free pass from America and the Western media. So why am I fasting? I believe my country stands for human rights. I believe America stands for justice. Those orphaned girls murdered by the Sri Lankan government deserve to have their story told. The Tamil civilians now suffering must not vanish silently into the night. I am fasting so that my country will hear their cries. I am fasting so that America will stand firm against genocide. Meals Sacrificed
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The Eight
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