Riot Journal: Sri Lanka

JULY 25, 1983, 6:00 A.M. Two hours ago the phone rang in the hall, waking us all. At first I thought that I was dreaming, but then I heard Amma and Appa’s door open and I knew that I was awake. By the time I got to my door, Sonali, Diggy, and Neliya Aunty had already come out into the hall. Appa was on the phone, and from the expression on his face, we knew that something had happened. Finally he put the phone down. “That was Mala,” he said. Then he told us that there was trouble in Colombo. All the Tamil houses near the Kanaththa Cemetery had been burnt. We stared at him, unable to believe what he was saying. “Why?” Amma asked. Appa explained that it was because of the thirteen soldiers who were killed by t...