25th Anniversary of Maveerar Naal

KaarthikaiBy: Athithan Kurukulasingam

Maveerar Naal is a day of remembrance for our beloved soldiers who fell fighting for a cause they felt worthy enough to sacrifice their lives for.  This year marks the 25th anniversary of Maveerar Naal and it is more important than ever to remember why these soldiers sacrificed their lives for us. One shouldn’t just use this day of remembrance to reflect on the struggles of our brothers and sisters, rather we should relive their sacrifices on a day to day basis. Our brothers and sisters who have perished wouldn’t want us to reflect negatively on the past; moreover, they would want us to fight for the future so that the struggles they went through would not be wasted. On November 27th we should pay homage to our brothers and sisters out of respect, compassion and gratitude. They sacrificed they lives so that we could grow up without the barriers and hardships they faced. When people imply that our children are our future, I immediately think back to our Maveerar. Most of our freedom fighters were just like you and I, young people with big ambitions, a long life to look forward to. They all dreamt about making their mark on the world; however, as much as they wanted to live their lives, they were willing to give it all up so that the kids of tomorrow never would have to worry.

Sacrifice can mean many different things; giving up that last piece of chocolate; giving your cousin that toy you loved as a kid; offering your seat to an elderly person, these are all examples of sacrifices we make on a day to day life. Now let’s look at the sacrifices our fellow brothers and sisters made back home. They sacrificed first and foremost their families, a thought that many of us will never be able to comprehend. One truly cannot appreciate the value of family until they are taken away from us. Our freedom fighters in a selfless act, willingly left their families so that they can fight for the many. Another sacrifice that was made was the education of our freedom fighters. We all know the oppressive and underhanded tactics used by the government to singlehandedly restrain Tamil students from progressing on towards higher education. This methodical process prohibited even the greatest of minds from succeeding. To combat this issue, our brothers and sisters sacrificed their careers for us. Many of our fallen soldiers would be in their 40’s right now if they were alive today. Who knows what great scientist, doctor, engineer or better pioneer we could have known had they been alive. The list of sacrifices that our brothers and sisters made can go on for a very long time but there is one final sacrifice I would like to mention, comfort. Our freedom fighters gave up the comforts we take for granted in our day to day lives. Our freedom fighters gave up the comforts of their own homes; they oftentimes fought in the jungles of Mulliyvaikal; they gave up their friends; they gave up their favourite foods and many more. These small comforts cannot be undervalued. Sacrifice according to you and I may now might not seem as drastic as it once did. On November 27th we should pay our respect to those very sacrifices our brothers and sisters made.

Maveerar Naal is a day of remembrance. We should stand in silence and reflect on the lives of our freedom fighters. When you go and lay your flowers or garlands on the Thuyilum Illam, you should stand humbly and with appreciation. We should as a collective whole try to find a way to bring to fruition the dreams of those we lost. The struggle to fight for our own homeland continues, we the students of today have the opportunities and means to wage a new kind of war. A war that has the capabilities to bring to light the atrocities that were committed by the government and their senior members. This war can achieve accountability and punishment for the crimes that were committed; furthermore, this war can achieve our own national state of Thamil Eelam. While our fallen soldiers rest in heaven, they will only truly rest in peace when they see the rise of a new sunrise on the soils of Thamil Eelam.

Nothing I can say will ever be able to express the feeling of Maaveerar Naal. I have always celebrated Maaveerar Naal abroad, and to actually know what sadness and pride combined would feel like whilst standing on the soil that we so long to own as ours, the soil on which thousands had shed blood and tears whilst fighting for self determination, the soil that we would one day call Tamil Eelam, was absolutely amazing.” (Sampavi, 2005)

 

Bibliography

Sampavi. (2005, November 29). Vanakkam from Vanni. Retrieved November 17, 2013, from Tamil Justice: http://tamiljustice.wordpress.com/tag/maaveerar-naal/

 

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