I am confused.
In my search to find the innate goodness, and purpose, and hidden direction, in people’s lives, I’ve been left horribly of-the-mark, when I read, when I sit on a chair, with my laptop in front of me, and with nothing more than a spot of thunder, and the heat, to bother me, and read, about things happening in Sri Lanka.
The Government is firing into declared ‘No-Fire’ zones. The Government is shelling its own people. Killing tens of thousands. I feel disgusted for typing that last sentence. Dismissing the number so casually, yup, around a few ten thousand…
I have not commented on the Sri Lanka issue so far. All this while, I was wondering, why add to the endless stream of noise already out there. But I can no longer remain silent. It had passed all measures of horribility a long time back.
I believe that Tamils, or anyone for that matter, should have equal rights and representation in Sri Lanka. At the same time, I wholeheartedly condemn the outfit called LTTE for their idiotic, stupid, and violent approach.
Et cetera, et cetera. But what on Earth is happening right now! The Government killing their own people? I’m kind of lost here… Why? You think killing is fun? Or is the artillery not working properly? Incorrect mathematics? Or do you think that there are LTTE terrorists hiding amongst the fleeing civilians? If yes, dear Government of Sri Lanka, why don’t you just fricking let them flee? Ever heard of forgiveness?
Among the countless other articles written, I chanced across a news release by Human Rights Watch, published on the 5th of May. It recounted a few stories by refugees. Here are a few quotes from that article -
“We were living in such fear. There was constant shelling. On April 5 or 6, our neighbors were injured in the shelling. A shell landed inside the bunker. Ten people were injured, and of them, five died. There was no anesthesia. The doctors had to cut off a girl’s hand without any anesthesia. My small daughter was crying and scared. I decided then that we had to leave. I would take a bucket to clean up the mess and bury it in the sand”
S Indra Kumar
“One day, I was waiting in queue for food and there was suddenly shelling. I ran away, but later heard that 40 people had died.”
“Many people have died. Whenever they heard there were bodies, they would collect for burial. Two months ago, my father went missing. I went to the hospital to look for my father. I found his body. The entire back of his head was missing. Only his face was there. We asked the doctor to do something to his head so we could bury him, but they said we should just be grateful that we had a body to bury.”Sivadasa Jagdeshwaran
“We were drinking salt water. One by one, the people started dying. First it was the children. My brother’s little daughter died.”
S Indra Meenan
Jagdeshwaran, the mason, told Human Rights Watch about the journey by boat that included his wife and two children and his wife’s relatives: “My son died on April 24, four days after getting on the boat. He was 4 years old. We had no water, no food on the boat. Then her father died. Her two brothers jumped into the sea. My wife was in shock. She was weak and not even able to move. That morning, April 29, she asked for some water. We gave her seawater. She vomited and then she passed away.”
Their 8-month-old son, having been fed on breast milk until his mother’s death, survived.
“These accounts must be multiplied tens of thousands of times to capture the full horror of those who remain trapped by the Tamil Tigers and shelled by government forces.”
Meenakshi Ganguly, senior Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch
Here is a video, capturing the essence of the article.
Why Sri Lanka, why? Why don’t you, atleast now, forgive the Tamil Elem. Agreed, the horrific things they did. But be different from them, and forgive them. They are fleeing now anyway, why does it matter? Why do you have to endanger your own people?
And you rascals in pinstripes who call yourselves the leaders and representatives at United Nations, and the United Nations Human Rights Council, and the United Nations Security Council, and the hundred zillion other Councils and Funds and Programmes that start with the acronym UN, art thou blind? Do you possess atleast an iota of the feeling and passion possessed by your grassroot activists, workers, and peacemakers? If yes, why UN, why?
