Day 2 of Tamil Genocide Remembrance Week marked in the homeland

The second day of Tamil Genocide Remembrance Week was marked in the North-East today, with civil society organisations and individuals organising various events to mark 15 years since the Mullivaikkal genocide. 

A focal point of many of these events is the preparation and distribution of Mullivaikkal Kanji, the only form of sustenance that Tamils in Mullivaikkal had access to, after the Sri Lankan government closed off humanitarian corridors and prevented aid, food, and medicines from reaching those in need. Tamils in the North-East boil and serve kanji to honor the men, women, and children who were massacred by the Sri Lanka security forces at Mullivaikkal. 

Yesterday, Sri Lankan police arrested four Tamils in Trincomalee for preparing and distributing kanji. Despite the arrests, Tamils have defiantly continued to distribute kanji as a form of remembering the victims of the Tamil genocide.  

Mullaitivu

The Mullaitivu Youth Sports Club organized an event to distribute the Mullivaikkal kanji and to educate the younger generation of Tamils about the genocide that was committed against them. 

“We will never forget the horrors of those last days,” an elderly lady who boiled the kanji says. “I can recall it as if it were yesterday. We ran from here to there every time someone shouted bombs and we hid where we could clutching coconut shells with a little bit of kanji. We fed our babies and our children with it. The only meal we could find.”

“Annually from the 11th of May, anywhere Tamils reside, we prepare kanji to recall the trials and horrors that the Tamils back in the day endured,” said another individual. “We had to hide with these coconut shells that had kanji in it. We have come to know that the Sri Lankan government is trying to prevent these gatherings. But many of these women, begin the preparation of kanji even before dawn, so we could recall those moments that the members of our community lived through.”

University of Jaffna  - Jaffna

Students from Jaffna University also prepared a pot of Mullivaikkal kanji and distributed it among students as well as passersby outside the main entrance of the university. 

Chavakachcheri - Jaffna

In Chavakachcheri, a memorial float was taken around the city distributing Mullivaikkal kanji to Tamil residents. Leaflets were also distributed at the central bus stand to commuters highlighting the plight of Tamils who were massacred by the Sri Lanka Security Forces even in the No-fire zones.