Written by: Human Rights Advocacy Council
It has been said that “time heals all wounds” yet today, years later, the mixed emotion of anger, resentment, and sorrow remembering the Sencholai massacre remain solidified in our hearts and memories.
The Sencholai orphanage home was a place where children orphaned by the war and/or tsunami 2004 were given access to education to build a life for them. On August 14, 2006, the children were attending a first aid seminar in the Mullaithivu district when Sri Lankan Air Force jet bombers dropped bombs on the children’s home compound killing 61 schoolgirls and injuring another 129. The Sencholai massacre was a premeditated act of hatred which to date has seen no army personnel found guilty of committing murder.
To be trying to live a life without parents and loved ones, these children endured death in a manner that can never be justified. They were innocent victims massacred in broad daylight.
Each year we wonder, if they were alive, what would the lives of these girls have been like? What kind of successful and strong females would they have been? What kind of courage would they have lived with after enduring all the trauma they have been through?
The Sencholai massacre is one of many massacres that leave us wondering the ‘what if’. Neither in our minds or history will you be forgotten. May you rest in peace.
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