Silence over Sri Lanka’s killing fields

In a press release issued earlier this month, the organizers also put forth three demands in tandem with their efforts to end the atrocities and human rights violations committed against Eelam Tamilians:

In standing with the international community who are outraged by this miscarriage of justice, there is a need to put forth 3 demands:

1. That the internally displaced persons who are detained in various camps in Sri Lanka against their own will, with concerns of safety and security for women and children especially, be allowed and assisted to be relocated to their own lands.

2. That a United Nations (UN) led international probe be launched to investigate the alleged war crimes by the Sri Lankan army as well as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

3. That the Government of Singapore, being a respected voice in the international community, speak up on the side of right and justice and issue a statement in support of demands 1 and 2 above.

It was definitely interesting to witness a group of silent protesters, sitting on newspapers in an almost desolate park, wearing grim but determined expressions. I must say that just witnessing this noiseless assembly was an invaluable experience that spoke volumes about the fact that even in Singapore – with its fast-paced life, high standards of living, and increasingly expensive costs of living – we have truly altruistic people, who lend support to such causes.

I was most heartened by two middle-aged women who could not sit (due to knee problems), but still joined the cause and stood for a good hour, in silence.

The oath of silence ended at 5pm, with the group greeting each other with the event title (“Speak in Tamil and love the Tamil people”). I chatted with some of the participants and discovered why they felt convicted to take part in this event:

One particularly impassioned participant, Ms Sivasakthy, said that she could not simply stand and watch while “our people suffer.” She added, “We should take the initiative to lend support to such causes. We should work together to make sure that the Eelam Tamilians get their freedom. They (Eelam Tamilians) have no hope – they live with a constant phobia – it is impossible to live like that! They need their independence.”

“I feel that Singaporeans – especially the youth – are not aware of such international atrocities, because they don’t teach it in school, and sometimes, even their parents don’t know about it. The news too is a contributing factor to the lack of awareness – newspapers play the blame game of who is responsible for the war, and, in the process, fail to highlight the true plight of the Eelam Tamilians. So we can’t blame the people. They only act based on the news they receive. So we have to take it upon ourselves to educate others. We have to teach the young ones to respect humans”, Ms Sivasakthy declared.

A young Singaporean, Ms Gouthami, an undergraduate pursuing a degree in accounting and finance at the Singapore Institute of Management, brought her entire family along in support of the Eelam Tamilians. “I have always wanted to do something for the Tamil people – my people,” she said. “And I feel very happy that I can contribute to the discourse, with my family.”

Ms Gouthami admitted that she expected more people to join an event supporting such a deserving cause, but opined that Singaporeans are perhaps not informed about such issues and events because local news programs fail to inform audiences of them. She added that the situation in Sri Lanka is, in her opinion, not holistically covered by local media outlets. “Tens of thousands of people have died,” she said, “and they should get justice. No one should be a slave to another. We should lend our support to humans who are oppressed.”

Mr Balachander, a foreign worker from Tamil Nadu, took leave from work to join the event. He said that he felt heartened to see Singaporeans taking up this cause, as they (foreign workers) are unable to do so (due to local laws that bar non-citizens from organizing any type of protest/demonstration).

However, Mr Balachander also expressed his concerns about why it has taken Singaporeans so long to call for change. He mused that while an event of this caliber is definitely a step forward, it is confusing as to why most Singaporeans are generally apathetic about this issue.

These comments got me thinking. Are the majority of Singaporeans hesitant to support such causes? If so, why? Why doesn’t the government of Singapore lend its voice in support of the oppressed Tamilians in Sri Lanka? Why doesn’t local mainstream media provide extensive coverage to the situation in Sri Lanka? Is the abundance of news sources distorting the reality of what is happening in that country? Speaking of which, what is happening in Sri Lanka?

…to Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka has been entangled in a civil war for the past two decades – a war which has claimed the lives of more than 64,000 people (mostly minority Eelam Tamilians), and displaced over one million people (with 80 per cent of people being Eelam Tamilians), since 1983. Relations between the Sinhalese and the Tamil people have been strained since the nation’s independence, and the cruel civil war served to separate these two groups further, and it was the Tamil-speaking civilians who bore the brunt.

The war officially ended in 2009, with total victory for the Sri Lankan government. Civilian casualties are estimated to vary from 6,500 to 40,000 – in addition to the 70,000 Sri Lankans killed towards the end of the war.

The government of Sri Lanka has yet to release an official casualty figure – evading international calls for accountability and rehabilitation of displaced civilians. On top of this, there have been continued human rights violations on civilians by both the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE (for more information on the extent of these violations, click HERE).

Channel 4’s two-part documentary, ‘Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields’, served as a trailblazer in raising awareness about the continued abuse of civilians at the hands of the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Gruesome war footage that captured the violence that unfolds in the lives of the ordinary induced a greater understanding on ground realities and has outraged the international community.

There have been calls by various human rights organizations across the world, for the two warring factions in Sri Lanka to put an end to such oppression. And the organizers and the participants of yesterday’s events have joined the ranks of these concerned communities, in calling for reforms.

But how is observing silence helping the cause? Shouldn’t we speak up for displaced Eelam Tamilians? What is the significance of an oath of silence?

The Significance of Silence

I must add here that I, too, undertook an oath of silence from 5pm on the 26th of April to 2pm on the 27th of April. Unfortunately for me, I had already planned to meet a few friends for dinner, and forced myself to go on with my plans. I did consider abandoning my oath, in favor of being able to converse with my companions, but ultimately chose to honor my vow despite foreseeable difficulties in communication.

And it was difficult. The first few hours were fun enough, but my patience soon ran thin when I realized that my limited knowledge of sign language was not helping at all.

I couldn’t converse fast enough (my friends had to wait for me to write a response to a question), I couldn’t order food, I couldn’t voice my opinions, I couldn’t express my emotions.

The next morning, I couldn’t, to my utter despair, even tell my mum that I needed five more minutes of sleep (I do suspect she recognized my frantic hand gestures but chose to ignore them, but that is another story). Communicating – or rather, trying to communicate – without speech is terribly infuriating. Especially, if you’re a chatterbox like me.

And I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t utter a single word (or three) during my vow of silence. The words, “oh”, “wait”, and “bye” did escape my lips. And this, to me, was much more infuriating – the fact that I wasn’t able to strictly keep to my vow.

Regardless, it was with much relief that I broke my vow after 21 hours of (almost) silence. I can finally speak and, most importantly, be heard!

And this is the significance of silence. If I myself feel such a strong sense of liberation after breaking my self-imposed oath of silence, how will the Eelam Tamilians – who don’t even have that basic right to speak and be heard – feel? They are not heard, no matter how much, or how loud, they shout. They go through far, far worse: losing their families, their homes, being physically, mentally, and sexually abused. And yet, they are not heard.

This is precisely why we should lend our voices to human rights causes such as the Eelam Tamil people issue. This is not an issue just for Tamilians, or Indians, or Singaporeans. We need to stand in solidarity with such oppressed people in our capacity as world citizens – as fellow members of the human race. Our geographical and mental distance, or detachment, from the issue should not factor into whether we advocate for the rights of others. Humanitarianism, justice, and equality are universal values, which should be upheld by every human, regardless of race, religion, or nationality.

So now I will exercise my duties as a world citizen. I will speak. I will do my part in raising awareness on this poignant issue. I will definitely be signing the petition demanding the relocation of internally displaced Eelam Tamilians into their own lands; a UN-led investigation into alleged war crimes by the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE; and for urging the government of Singapore to speak up on the side of right and justice.

Will you?

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More pictures here, on Ravi Philemon's Facebook page.

Here's a video of the event:

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