6 years after war, Tamil families want to know where their loved ones are

Sri Lankan ethnic Tamil women hold portraits of their missing relatives during a protest in Colombo in April 2015. (Eranga Jayawardena / Associated Press)

By SHASHANK BENGALI-May .03 .2015,

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Khendran Manoranjithamalar and her husband trudged into the army checkpoint on the last day of the Sri Lankan civil war, clutching their three children and some jewelry. They had lost everything else.

Then, as they sought refuge in government territory, they lost each other.

Soldiers detained her husband, Balasingham, a sometime driver for the defeated Tamil Tiger rebels. He has not been heard from since that warm evening in May 2009, joining thousands of ethnic Tamils who disappeared into Sri Lankan military custody in one of the largest roundups of wartime prisoners in recent memory.

6 Years After War, Tamil Families Want to Know Where Their Loved Ones Are by Thavam Ratna