We often get caught up in the moment, forget about how the problem started in the first place and thus fail at trying to overcome it. What we overlook is that to solve the problem, we must remember to address its source. In parallel, in order to bring justice to Eelam and eliminate our suffering, it is not enough to raise awareness about the current struggle alone; it is imperative to also raise awareness of the ongoing genocide of Eelam Tamils by the Sri Lankan state.
Members of the Tamil Youth Organisation created awareness about Black July, the atrocious pogrom of 1983 through an act in central London today, Friday 25th July 2014. Some expressed the struggles of the oppressed Tamil victims through dance and speech whilst others leafleted and spoke to the public.
The 1983 pogrom saw thousands of Tamil families ripped apart due to uncountable number of deaths and thousands of displacements of homes, leaving those who had escaped being killed seeking refuge. We simply cannot let the same happen again, neither in Eelam, Gaza, nor in any other part of the world. This campaign hopes to; inform several members of the British public of Sri Lanka’s barbaric actions against Tamils, encourage their involvement in prevention of such horrors in the future and correct the mindset and attitude towards our Eelam struggle, namely to recognise the reality of the intentions behind President Jayawardene words in July 1983, as quoted in the Daily Telegraph on the 11th of July, 1983:
“I am not worried about the opinion of the Tamil people… now we cannot think of them, not about their lives or their opinion … Really if I starve the Tamils out, the Sinhala people will be happy”.
So the question is how much did the international community do to put an end to the 1983 pogrom, to realise the truth behind Sri Lanka’s so called ‘civil war’, to prevent the deaths of thousands? How much is the international community doing to truly strive to bring an end to the heart breaking conflict in Gaza, today? In both cases, tragically the answer is ‘very little’ when it was needed, and now too late.
As we relate to Gaza every day, as we hear of further shelling and loss of innocent lives, we stand united stronger than ever to do our best to prevent further injustice not only in Tamileelam, but throughout the world. We feel it is our duty to use our voices to speak out for those who are oppressed with the fear of torture and death, as well as those who were oppressed and killed ruthlessly. We strive together to do nothing less than this.
‘தமிழரின் தாகம் தமிழீழத் தாயகம்’
