Another Tamil mother of disappeared son dies without answers

Kalimuthu Subbamma, a Tamil mother who was searching or her forcibly disappeared son, passed away earlier this week, having never found the whereabouts of her loved one or received justice for his abduction.

Affectionately known as Kamala, she was one of several mothers protesting in her hometown of Vavuniya, demanding answers over the fate of their disappeared loved ones.

Her son was reportedly abducted by the Sri Lankan army on January 13, 2000. She had been searching for him ever since.

Families of the disappeared in Vavuniya lit candles before a banner of Subbamma on Wednesday, paying tribute to her and her struggle for justice.

She is one of dozens of Tamil parents who have passed away never knowing the fate of their loved ones that had been forcibly disappeared by the Sri Lankan state. Recent figures suggest over 100 parents are thought have died without knowing the truth about their disappeared children.

Although many of the relatives are elderly and vulnerable and face routine harassment from the Sri Lankan authorities, they continue their struggle for justice and accountability.      

Add new comment

Plain text

  • No HTML tags allowed.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
  • Web page addresses and email addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Global and entity tokens are replaced with their values. Browse available tokens.

Restricted HTML

  • You can align images (data-align="center"), but also videos, blockquotes, and so on.
  • You can caption images (data-caption="Text"), but also videos, blockquotes, and so on.
  • Global and entity tokens are replaced with their values. Browse available tokens.
  • You can embed media items (using the <drupal-media> tag).

We need your support

Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.

Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view

We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.

link button