Sri Lanka’s civil war ended eight years ago today, but for its 90,000 war widows, the battle continues. By Devon Haynie. VAVUNIYA, Sri Lanka — It was midnight in 2008 when several members of Sri Lanka’s security forces barged into Rajendran Geetha’s house and took her husband, Sekar, from bed. “We only need him for […]
War Widows
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Video: Widows of war in Sri Lanka; UN condemns Sri Lanka over war probe
According to the UN, as many as 40,000 Tamil civilians may have died in the last few months of the fighting [AP: File]According to the UN, as many as 40,000 Tamil civilians may have died in the last few months of the fighting [AP: File] UN rights chief suggests Colombo’s persistent failure to investigate atrocities […]
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Sri Lanka: Still missing in Mullaitivu
(Mary Sabamalai, who had to “surrender” one of her four sons to the LTTE. He went missing in 2009. Original photo: Meera Srinivasan) By Meera Srinivasan. More than seven years after the brutal three-decade-long civil war ended in Sri Lanka, people are still picking up the pieces and searching for their loved ones. The last […]
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The Families Of Missing Persons in Sri Lanka: ICRC Recommendations
(ICRC photo) 6. Recommendations. Based on the findings described in this report, a set of recommendations has been developed to assist governmental and non-governmental,national and international stakeholders to address the issue of missing persons and their families in Sri Lanka, and place additional efforts to clarify the fate and whereabouts of the unaccounted for and […]
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Governmental Apathy, Continued Surveillance Inhibit Rehabilitation of LTTE Cadre
(Ranjini Sudhan, disabled ex-LTTE fighting cadre at Kilinochchi) By P.K.Balachandran. KILINOCHCHI: Former cadre of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who had surrendered to the Sri Lankan army and undergone a year’s ‘rehabilitation’ in special camps, are manifestly eager to get back to normal life, forgetting their past. But lack of active interest on […]
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Sri Lanka: War Widows Forced to Do Sexual Favours
War widows in the north are being forced to agree to sexual favours as they struggle to find jobs, the AFP news agency reported. Widows left behind say they feel vulnerable, with reports of physical abuse by members of their community. Others are ostracised – considered bad luck by the conservative Hindu society. “A war […]
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Help at Last for Sri Lanka War widows
By Amantha Perera. (Like many women, Kulasekran Kugamathi lost her husband during Sri Lanka’s civil war; Photo: Amantha Perera/IRIN ) VAVUNIYA, 13 May 2015 (IRIN) – Almost six years after Sri Lanka’s bloody civil conflict came to an end, an underreported legacy of the fighting is finally being acknowledged: the extraordinarily high number of war […]
