‘Our protest is not similar to yours’ – Tamil families of the disappeared want justice, not food

 04 May 2022

Tamil families of the disappeared are not protesting because of Sri Lanka’s economic collapse, but to find the whereabouts of their missing loved ones said the head of the association for enforced disappeared persons in Vavuniya in remarks to reporters last week.

Sarojini Shanmugampillai told journalists that the Tamil families “are not protesting because of the shortage of food, water, fuel or match boxes”.

“We lived without kerosine and petrol in the past for a very long time,” she added. “We are not protesting to obtain commodities; rather, we are carrying out this struggle to find out the fate of our relatives.”

Shanmugampillai went on to recognise that protests in the South have come about because of Sri Lanka’s economic crisis, but added “our protest is not similar to yours”.

“We have been struggling for the enforced disappearances for the last 13 years,” she continued, referring to the massacres that took place at the end of the armed conflict in 2009.  “You must join us to strengthen our struggle,” she said, directing her remarks to protestors in the South.

“We don’t mind the food shortage that we experience. We are not worried about the economy either. We lost our relatives and our own children. Many young women lost their husbands. We handed over many people including small children, school-going students and elderly persons.”

“We will survive with whatever food available. We will manage to live somehow. But we need our loved ones. We have been making this request again and again. Whoever sees this video should join us regardless of their political parties or any other social class to obtain a solution for our disappeared children.”

Shanmugampillai spoke to the Tamil Guardian in 2017 and shared the story of her search for her forcibly disappeared son Selvan, who was last seen in Sri Lankan military custody in 2009.

Read more in our feature: 

Behind the protest - Families of the disappeared: Selvan

See her full translated remarks to reporters below.

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I am Sarojini Shanmugampillai, the president of the association for enforced disappeared persons, Vavuniya District. Today, we are carrying out our usual protest that happens on the 30th of every month. Even after 13 years have passed, we are still not aware of the whereabouts of our loved ones. We don’t know the whereabouts of our relatives and it is because of this situation, we are engaged in this struggle.

We trusted the assurance given by the Sri Lankan Army and handed over our relatives to them. After this handover, we were not given any information regarding them. As we were not given any answers for long 13 years, we are taking this struggle towards the international community. Now, we are asking questions regarding the whereabouts of our loved ones to the international community. You have to give us answers. You cannot close your eyes in this issue anymore.

We lost some of our compatriots in this struggle. But we continue this protest even after losing them.

You might have watched our struggle. We are not protesting because of the shortage of food, water, fuel or matchboxes or any other needs. They even banned matchboxes in the past in our areas. However, we used coir ropes to maintain the spark to create fire to fulfil our needs. We lived without kerosine and petrol in the past for a very long time. They even banned sugar and we used dates to drink with tea. We are not bothered about the present shortage of essential commodities. We have managed to survive with what was available at our disposal. We are able to come out of this dire situation. Hence, we are not protesting to obtain commodities; rather, we are carrying out this struggle to find out the fate of our relatives. We handed over our relatives to them. If this injustice happened to your children you wouldn’t be observers anymore.

The present unrest in the South occurred as a result of the shortage of essential commodities. You conduct protests in every village and city at present. Our protest is not similar to yours. We have been struggling for the enforced disappearances for the last 13 years. You have been getting coverage of these struggles in the media. If you are our true relatives and if your loved ones also disappeared, you must join us to strengthen our struggle. This government is answerable to the international community.

We don’t mind the food shortage that we experience. We are not worried about the economy either. We lost our relatives and our own children. Many young women lost their husbands. We handed over many people including small children, school-going students and elderly persons. We handed over them because of the trust we had in their promise. Today, they are not thinking about that and are busy solving their own problems. They are thinking about our loved ones and are reluctant to provide any answer.

However, we do not have any fear. If we don’t have food, we are not going to die. We will survive with whatever food is available. We will manage to live somehow. But we need our loved ones. We have been making this request again and again. Whoever sees this video should join us regardless of their political parties or any other social class to obtain a solution for our disappeared children.

Thank you