The New Frontier: The Fight for a Thamil Homeland on an International Scale
Written By: Athithan Kurukulasingam
A sense of urgency has transcended the minds and souls of Tamil youths across an international scale. Urgency in this form represents the need to broadcast to the world the atrocities that have and more shockingly are still taking place during the genocide of our Eelam Thamils. The government of Sri Lanka has systematically carried out an ethnic cleansing of the minority Tamils that quite literally was swept under the rug by the international community. There is an aphorism that ‘ignorance is bliss’ and the world has taken to that stance. Previously seen in Rwanda and many other regions across the world, the international community does not act when needed but silently stands by and observes. The focus here is not to illustrate the failures of the international community; however, it is to bring to light the massive uprising that is taking place amongst the Tamil students around the glob
You would be hard-pressed to find a student who has not been personally affected in some form by the genocide and with the collective will of their fellow peers it seems now is the time to act. As a fellow Tamil student, I know it is up to us to lead the charge in bringing about change and the sense of empowerment I felt when I followed the initial breakthrough of the Loyola College protests were beyond words. A school that nobody would have pegged as a sparkplug for change suddenly lit a fire that spread across the globe. The Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) was a commission of inquiry that was appointed by Rajapaksa himself and was severely flawed in so many ways and hid the truth with redundant numbers and false or misconstrued statements. Countless countries recognized that the commission did not do enough to uncover the whole truth. In an act that has become all too common, the international community tabled a response that was quite mind boggling especially the pro-LLRC US resolution that was featured in Geneva. My fellow students would not stand by this and thus began the new frontier for change.
The protests began in Loyola College and started off as a hunger-strike by eight students for the alleged legitimization of the LLRC through the US based resolution. The students realized the severe flaws of the US based resolution. One of the original eight protestors from the college laid it out quite simply “This is a farce of asking a criminal, a criminal accused of the worst crimes against humanity, to investigate his own crimes,”. The students would not stand by such lacklustre initiatives to investigate one of the worst genocides of all time. The power of a motivated student cannot be undermined and collectively when there are more students sharing the same motivation that power increases ten-fold. Quickly, word spread across many campuses within India and within a short period of time there was a widespread gathering of unified students who were willing not only to stand united for a cause they believed in but were ready to perpetrate change through a means not yet seen before.
One has to look back to the original uprising of the Eelam Thamils to understand that those too were students looking for change who were pushed to the brinks of despair who ultimately picked up arms as a last resort. These students in many ways are not much different and they too wanted to seek out change. Their means; however, were quite different. Today we live in a era of change through cunning tactics. Sometimes it is more efficient to seek out change by hitting strongholds and weak spots. The students of Tamil Nadu did that quite brilliantly. It was widely noted that within that short span of time the government of Tamil Nadu did much more for the struggles of their fellow brothers and sisters of the south than previously seen in a long time. However, the battle cannot be won on just a domestic scale and has to be fought on a global playing field.
The mobilization of Tamil students across the world after the uprising in Tamil Nadu was just as important to this new frontier for change. Students from all over the world stood together and started protesting themselves. We’ve been told that change is inevitable and so it is up to us, the students, to lead the charge for a new beginning. The smallest of efforts can do more than one can ever know. A great way to start in this battle is by visiting many of the events that the local Tamil community holds to enlighten people about the struggles back home. Whether it be by attending the Canadian premier of ‘No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka on June 28th or by joining the local Tsa, any little step helps. On a personal note it took myself quite a long time to understand this concept. For years I’ve struggled with the fact that the international community did next to nothing while millions of lives were wiped out back home. Through all our screaming and protesting, the international community stood silently and did nothing. Do these little things make a difference, I asked myself. The answer is, yes! My Papa Chithapa who too was a student during the oppressive times of the Sinhalese, decided that enough was enough. Structural change was not possible without a violent initiative and he joined many of his compatriots to fight for a new homeland. His only option at this point was to join the armed struggle and fight for change. While my chithapa and many others were forced to act on the last resort, we the students of today have the methods and means to fight a different type of war.
We the students are the pioneers for change and we are the driving force behind struggle for our brothers and sisters back home. We have to learn to adapt to the situation and rise to the challenge and with our collective efforts there will be a new beginning and the sun will rise on our new homeland one day. No matter where we live, a Tamil student is a Tamil student and we all share the same need for separate Tamil homeland. Individuals have more control, more capacity to create and to connect than in any era in history. Relationships are defined by convenience and interest not geography. We can work wherever and whenever. Time and space no longer limit global conversations. People are able to connect, share, and create. Content generation is in the hands of the many. Co-creation is an expression of self…a sense of identity…ownership. We own who we are by the contributions we make (Siemens, 26).
Bibliography
Siemens, G. (2006). Knowing Knowledge. Lulu.Com.
Tags: Tamil History/Culture
