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Dushiyanthini Kanagasabapathipillai
Extracted from her website, Humanity Ashore, original posting 17 February 2010. Here speaketh a Tamil in the spirit of reconciliation. We reproduce only a selection of images from her site, which has camera coverage of a whole range of topics that illuminate the multi-cultural diversity of Sri Lanka (We are One and Yet Many in Sri Lanka).
It is always an enchanting drive through the city of Kaathaankudy. Kaathaankudy is a small city which is situated in the Eastern Province, Batticaloa District. It is known for its own distinct culture. The city is famous for the most number of mosques per square kilometer in the world. The city is one of the most densely populated cities in South Asia. 60,000 people live in 1.5 square kilometers. The overall majority of the population is ethnic Muslims, about 90%.
The distance between Colombo and Kaathaankudy is 318 kilometers (203 miles).
The people of Kaathaankudy are very hospitable and want to co-exist with other communities.
It was a Friday- August 4th 1990, when men and boys were prostrate in “Isha” prayers at 7.30pm. As the devotees knelt in prayers, the cadres of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam opened fire at the worshippers at Majithul Meera Grand Mosque and Hussenia Mosque. A total of 147 were killed in the two attacks. Many lives were lost, unwanted dreadful experiences were shared and mistrust grew enormously over the years.
Days, weeks, months and years have passed.
August 4th 2010 will mark the 20th anniversary of the Mosque massacre in Kaathaankudy.
Today, a collective voice for forgiveness can be clearly heard in Kaathaankudy.
“It was a horrible scene to witness where my beloved brothers were shot dead at a close range. It was a miracle that I managed to survive” says emotional S.I.M.Ismath (67)   Continue reading 20 years on, a collective voice for forgiveness in Kaathaankudy: A Pictorial
FIRST ROUND OF SUPPORT
WE ARE ONE LANKA are pleased to announce that in late February we sent 760$ to CandleAid in Sri Lanka to provide FOUR university scholarships at the Medical Faculty University of Jaffna and by 8 March they had selected the following students to receive these awards:
1. A. M. Wasim Akram – Ref E1265U
2. M. M. Mohamed Sufad – Ref E-1266U
3. F.X. Christy Denyraj – Ref E1272U
4. Umananthini Muthurajjah-(Ref.– 1273U
SECOND ROUND OF AID
On 29 March a decision was taken to send the following support:
One medical student at the University of Jaffna
One medical student at any other university
One GAM for a Tamil family with small children
One university student anywhere
Three GAMS anywhere
The first three lines of support are from specific donors as the first year in a three-year commitment. These lines of support are on the revised scales referred to below.
Continue reading We Are One Lanka — Newsletter ONE, 4 April 2010
This site is still in its infancy and will be refined as we go along. Readers who are unfamiliar with the cyber-world should glance at the top left-hand corner. They will spot what are in fact links to further data within this portal.
Thus, About Us provides more details on the support group that sustains We Are One Lanka. …… while Partner with Us indicates some bare details about our principal agency in Sri Lanka, namely, CANDLEAID. Fuller information can be found at http://www.candelaid.org/
Again those who are interested in the multi-cultural kaleidoscope that is Sri Lanka today may wish to click on the “Humanity Ashore” link in the blog roll on the side in order to savour the pictorial and word-imagery posted by Dushiyanthini Kanagasabapathipillai, a cameraperson and journalist with abiding roots in the land.
…. or they may wish to partake of the pulsating essays from every which political position on current Sri Lankan affairs in such sites as groundviews and transcurrents.
  partial overview of Galle fort and bay, ramparts from landside… and on southern seaside with mosque & lighthouse
…..all photos bar aerial image by Michael Roberts, 2008
SIGIRIYA scenes photos by Michael Roberts, August 2008
 
 Young Hindu Devotees …
photo courtesy of Namal Kamalgoda of zero3images.com  Nuffield School for the Deaf …. photo from CandleAid … who support this work.
   A Buddhist Temple off the beaten track near Yapahuva .……
…. and young devotees as well as passing visitors at the unique Shrine Room at Padeniya
Photos by Michael Roberts 
Dear Friends
This is a request for money for a worthy cause. We are One Lanka is an abbreviation for the principle “We are One and Many” which marks the diversity of ethnicity and religion that is a feature of Sri Lanka and its migrants abroad, and the desire to build a strong united community.
Aims
Our aims are as follows:
- The alleviation of suffering in Sri Lanka, including assistance to the victims of war and supporting those in need;
- The promotion of specific programmes to sponsor the well-being of those in particular need, such as orphans, students, amputees and widowed families; and
- The encouragement of reconciliation among Sri Lanka’s diverse ethnic communities by promoting philanthropic paths that forge bonds across ethnic boundaries and develop mutual concern for each other.
Continue reading A new Sri Lankan charity
An appeal to all peace loving Sri Lankans to engage in the unification and reconciliation of our country
MOHAN SAMARASINHE
I have been deeply touched and at the same time heartened by the many articles written by my expatriate colleagues spread across the globe appealing to Sri Lankans of all ethnic backgrounds to unite in the reconciliation and unification of people of our beloved country. I pay tribute them, especially to those from the Sri Lankan Tamil community who have called on their colleagues to become engaged in this process. It is the only way forward to bring peace and prosperity to every Sri Lankan from Dondra Head to Point Pedro and from Colombo to Batticaloa. It must be a totally inclusive process and those of us living overseas could demonstrate the sincerity of our efforts by positive actions that will prevail over the negativities that no doubt will continue to be spread by the cynics and those with vested interest. We can however, rest assured that the vast majority of ordinary Sinhalese and Tamil people want to live a peaceful life and act together with confidence and resolve towards the unification and reconciliation of Sri Lanka. I feel confident that it will happen sooner or later; it is up to us to make our commitment now and not leave it for another day.
Continue reading Mohan Samarasinhe’s Appeal, circa July 2009
MOHAN SEKARAM, 26 May 2009
Hi Friends,
I write this with a lot of sadness, relief and hope, form what has happened in the past few months. As a Tamil, (and proud to be one) I deeply feel that together, we can build the burnt bridges and pave a path to peace, happiness, equality and prosperity for us and for the future generations to come.
We cannot forget what happened for the past three decades, however we need to put aside our emotions, despair and remember those lives, which were lost in bloody war in the name of “equality”. We (Tamils) have to now reconcile and win the trust of the nation. For decades, we have been secretive, unpredictable and uncompromising. Sure enough, we were discriminated in the past, deprived of our equal rights and treated unfairly. Now we have to give the nation a chance to prove that, it is not the case.
Continue reading Sinhala and Tamil: Let’s get together and reconcile
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Continue reading 20 years on, a collective voice for forgiveness in Kaathaankudy: A Pictorial
