“I’ve lost all hope that I can have a life here”

Four years after the civil war ended, many Tamils have no expectation of peace or safety in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province, reports Emily Howie. This is what drives boat migration

30 September 2013

“I’ve lost all hope that I can have a life here” by nelvely

I’ve Lost All Hope That I Can Have A Life Here

By Emily Howie -September 30, 2013 

Emily Howie

Brami has rushed from work to meet me. She arrives on her bike and tells me she must be home soon to care for her three children. We sit down to talk in a small office in a village in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province, beneath the unforgiving glare of a bare light bulb. Very soon it is dark outside.

Brami, who is thirty-six but looks much younger, is quiet and well-dressed, and smiles frequently as we talk. Although she seems a little nervous, she wants to tell me about her experiences as a Sri Lankan Tamil, a widowed mother of three children, and a survivor of Sri Lanka’s three-decade civil war. She is also one of nearly 10,000 Sri Lankans who paid people smugglers to take them to Australia last year.

Read more