IMG_1124.MOV

The Sri Lankan civil war between the Singhalese government and the Tamil Tigers is officially recognised as starting in 1983 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Lankan_Civil_War). but has its roots going back to british colonial times, with Tamils (natives of India brought to Sri Lanka to work on tea plantations) generally taking poorly paid, menial, servant or labouring jobs and being systemically treated as second class, with no access to the same health and education services the Singhalese population enjoyed. The war was over very badly (it was a real genocide) in 2009, with atrocities by both the Tigers and the Government. More detailed information can be found on the Internet, but the important thing to know is that while the Tigers were Tamil, all Tamil people are not Tigers. The Tigers were a guerilla army fighting for sovereignty and freedom but it is not necessarily true that what they fought for and how they did this was supported by all Tamil people. The same goes for the way the government ended the war - most Sri Lankans wanted the war over, but not through atrocity and genocide. Arugam Bay territory, where I live now, was not totally controlled by the Tamil Tigers of Eelam, but it is a Tamil area, where the tourism continued right through the war - apparently the Tigers weren't based there as such, just moved through this region. The state did not help a lot to restore the area after the tsunami. Majority of redevelopment has been privately facilitated. People have built their homes on their own and developed the local tourism sector. That is why this area of Sri Lanka is yet untouched by huge hotels. At the beginning of this summer the population of Arugam Bay who own houses and guest-houses on the ocean front recieved government papers notifying that they are obliged to release any part of their property infringing on a new 10m buffer zone, measured from what the government considered "the first vegetation." Today (9/28/2011) in the morning a bulldozer came and began to smash buildings without offering any compensation to local people (video attached). Demolition of 10 meters was a government-determined action as a measure against a tsunami. That 10 meters of now-demolished structures, which brings the local community 21 million rupees income in the high season and provides a great many jobs, is proposed to somehow protect the rest of the population. Why am I talking about the continuation of the attacks against Tamil people? In the attachment you will find pictures of Hikkaduwa, a village situated in Singalese territory, which is standing practically on the water, but at high tide the water comes right into cafes and hotels. Instead of starting with these areas already affected by water, the government decided to demolish the buildings in the Tamil territory, where even in a high tide people still have at least 10-15 meters from any contraction to the water. It is the same in Unawatunna, another tourist town where beachfront tourism property owned largely by people from Colombo and overseas is daily inundated by water. But this is not just about racism, this is about prioritising people with money over those without. It is about Sri Lanka's focus on helping those with money make more, instead of supporting poor people to access income and the basics of a quality life that we in the West take for granted. I beg you not to tell from whom you have received this information. Just send out it to friends, journalists and send it to UNESCO. It is very important.