Thuppahi's Blog

Frances Bulathsinghala, in The WEEK, 10 July 2016, where the title is “War over, conflict on”

Sitting next to a small poultry farm that she maintains in a garden in her house in northern Killinocchi, Rajini talks about the death of her father, brother and husband in the Sri Lankan civil war, which lasted for almost 30 years. The 46-year-old former company commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam breaks into tears as she recounts the tale of death and destruction. At times, she winces in pain, caused by the shrapnel still stuck in her body. Her daughter sits next to her, listening to the story of her struggle.

Cycle of violence: Soldiers patrolling the streets of Killinocchi. As many as 16 of 19 brigades of the army are based in the Northern Province | Getty Images

“This child does not remember anything of the war,” says Rajini, pointing towards the ten-year-old. But it was the little girl, who was just three then, who saved Rajini’s life by bringing her food, water and medical attention, when she was lying in a pool of blood in a hospital compound after suffering injuries from shelling in the final battle of May 2009. “Hundreds of people were lying covered in blood. The hospitals were overflowing with people,” she says.

Rajini joined the LTTE in 1987 and remained an active member till 2000. A year later, she married Sudhan, also an LTTE member. Sudhan surrendered to the army just a few days before the end of the war. But even after seven years, Rajini has no news about her husband. She now thinks that he is dead. Continue reading →