Being There
PLOTE office in Vavuniya
I read a fair amount of stuff from the Tamil Diaspora. I check TamilNet (via VTunnel), Tamil National, some people on Twitter, etc. I think the basic argument boils down to GoSL can’t be trusted, Tamils need their own state, international community should facilitate this. I think it’s wrong for one thing, but I also think the diaspora simply isn’t in a position to make any demands. They can be concerned and make suggestions, but unless they show up they’re not able to do anything. Participating in a political process or a struggle of any kind actually involves showing up. And they don’t.
To quote Canadian MP Deepak Obhrai, who did visit the camps:
I am going to be very candid with you. The issue is not with Canadian Tamils. The issue is with Tamils in Sri Lanka. The ultimate political solution has to come in consultation with the Tamils in Sri Lanka and not Tamils in Canada. While I appreciate the concerns of Tamils living in Canada and their willingness to contribute towards rebuilding of Tamil areas, I do not personally believe that Sri Lankans who live outside the country are the ones who will be instrumental in the direct political settlement in Sri Lanka.
I did indicate to the Sri Lankan authorities that there’s a desire on the part of Sri Lankans in Canada to be more active, but I would clearly state that they cannot be involved in the political process.
What I hear from some radical diasporals is that the Rajapakse’s are thugs, can’t trust SL, international community is blind, do this, do that. From some it’s literally negativity all the time, this is going to fail, this is wrong, sanctions, boycotts, trials, etc. They look everywhere except themselves. However concerned they claim to be, they won’t get on a flight here. They won’t vote. So they don’t really have a say in the political process.
Not that it isn’t difficult. Advocating for a separate state is illegal under the 6th amendment and Tamils that do speak out are in danger, both from the government and from radical Tamils. However, there are literally millions of Tamils here. There is patently and obviously not a genocide going on here. I went to a huge Tamil/Hindu festival in Udappu last week. I spoke over the phone to someone in Menik Farm yesterday. There are civil rights problems galore, but the claims of genocide and Nazi-style concentration camps only make sense in the echo chamber of isolation. I deal with many Tamil people here who I don’t agree with but I at least respect them for having the courage to be here.
Recently there were elections in the Jaffna and Vavuniya (and Uva in the south). There was low turnout in Jaffna especially, but I think it’s a start. I don’t agree with a lot of the candidates but I have a great respect for them and consider them players. I don’t agree with many of the voters, but I think they’re very brave. I think that’s the way to go. It’s not easy, but 80% of success is showing up. Those throwing stones from the diaspora don’t have the courage to show and I think the negativity can be safely rejected. Those voters in the north showed up and I think we should listen to them.
Today on the 
Janith has updated 
This is highly dubious. Miss Travel is a travel/social networking site that connects ‘Generous’ and ‘Attractive’ travelers. To, like, travel together, I guess. It all seems a bit like arranged prostitution and trafficking. This is part of a broader online trend to connect rich men to younger, attractive women. Sites like 
Sri Lankan domestics never say anything, they just stop coming. My maid just stopped coming and when I finally pressed her she said I needed to get a washing machine. I was hoping to ride this one out, but I’ve run out of underwear and I have no choice. I finally caved and bought a washing machine, from 
Can fair elections be held in the prevailing climate is what I question – why is the government so dead against independent reporting? Even in the South the general trend is towards wining by whatever means possible – fair or foul. Does it matter if you show up or not when the out come is already rigged to go in one direction? Sri Lankan politics is certainly no fair process, today its the one with the great clout, the government patronage that wins more often than not. And this will only change by a combination of internal and external pressures
The problem with the Tamil diaspora is that they have been brought up with hatred and continue to live in a world where they think only their way is the right way. Hatred towards Sri Lanka and the Sinhalese, as well as other non-Tamils is rampant and studiously cultivated because it is what keeps them united. If not for this visceral hatred, they would be endlessly divided and fighting with each other. At the moment they are livid because their ‘saviours’ have been wiped out in Sri Lanka and all that highway-blocking, screaming, shouting and forthing-at-the-mouth rhetoric amounted to nothing. The Tamil diaspora has been slapped soundly and they are not liking it. The capture of KP is like rubbing salt into their wounds. The idiots don’t seem to realise that they have no real say in what happens in Sri Lanka. They best they can do is wave their eelam flags and rant and rave.
The idiot Tamil diaspora at work again:
http://www.tamilcanadian.com/page.php?cat=20&id=5790
Interesting post.
I am not Tamil but I do live in Toronto where there is a large Tamil diaspora.
You’ve made good points in another posts because about how, in order to affect change in the country, then people should be IN the country. With this post, I am wondering whether you have ever wondered ‘why’ the Tamil diaspora isn’t showing up in Sri Lanka?
From speaking to some youngish Tamils here, it seems like there are some people who are still ‘scarred’, so-to-speak, from the history that caused their family to leave Sri Lanka 25ish years ago. That was the last impression that these people had when they left the country. And maybe it’s not entirely reasonable for someone to think that things are exactly the same now after nearly 3 decades but it is understandable though. Don’t you think?
Anyways, I’m a solutions person so I guess the idea is find some way to make them feel like they are welcomed to go back home, and that it’s not like how it was before.
I try to talk to some of them, but I don’t think many will come back. They simply don’t think any political solution is possible short of separation. However, I do meet Tamils that come back and they tend to be far more moderate, though quiet about it.
Many of the vocal ones, however, I think are doing it more for their personal identity and less out of interest in actual solutions. That requires showing up, compromising with people you don’t like and leaving the comfort of the west. There are a few people who do that and I commend them for it. If people want to stay abroad that’s fine with me as well, but I wish they’d stop throwing stones and try to contribute positively
Positively as defined by whom? Keeping people alive and articulating Tamil concerns to the rest of the world, something Tamils within Sri Lanka are not allowed to do, is plenty positive as far as I’m concerned. Could they do a better job? Absolutely. Should they keep quiet as a result? Absolutely not!
The Tamil diaspora, unlike Sinhala diaspora members like yourself were not economic refugees. Many of them were well to do(although not most), and left because of physical security concerns. Also, they are the only Sri Lankan Tamil voices in the world that are speaking whilst enjoying the right to free speech. Tamils in SL just can’t speak out, so if you want to say you don’t want to hear diaspora voices, because they are less legitimate, you are missing the reality of the situation and the reasons for their leaving. The diaspora basically have kept the personal economies of the NE going for all these decades. People didn’t starve to death in the NE, until recently when the government stopped food going into the Vanni, because funds from the diaspora were keeping people alive, and they still do. Millions of dollars are being sent by the diaspora to churches, NGO’s etc who provide aid. As a people sent into exile, they have a stake and they have a legitimate voice in the debate on Sri Lankan affairs. There are no Tamil voices in Sri Lanka claiming that the diaspora doesn’t have a stake, or are outsiders. The only ones that say that and claim that are Sinhala ones. Wonder why?
The Tamil diaspora does have a stake, but a political solution has to come from people involved in the political process. That is, citizens. If people want to come back, vote and participate I’m all for it, but you can’t call for the overthrow of the government if you don’t even have the courage to show up.
Tamils face real danger for speaking out in Sri Lanka and, as a result, very few do. You’re essentially asking that diaspora Tamils either show up and risk violence/death or shut up. Is that a fair statement?
Nobody has to shut up, but they should recognize their place in the political process, and the art of what’s politically possible. Calling for the overthrow of the government or supporting the LTTE is just foolish and counterproductive. The latter I think should be illegal and foreign governments won’t figure it out till they get terrorist attacks on their own soil.
What I am saying is that the political process in a country takes place in that country. Diaspora can support that process and reconstruction, but if they’re talking about overthrowing this or that they actually need to show up and vote.
And it is possible to be Tamil in Sri Lanka and speak up. It’s not easy, but I don’t think a civil rights struggle ever is.
That is a fair statement. As a Tamil, don’t bother speaking up in Sri Lanka unless you are willing to court death. Don’t listen to the bullshit that is spouted by people who have a vested interest in whitewashing the situation here. Tamils have no freedom of speech. Period.
They do have a part to play in the political process. They already do. They keep the pressure on the Sri Lankan government in the West, not to the extent they would like, but Tamils would be a lot more screwed if Obama liked Mahinda as much as Ahmadinejad does. They will also start funding Tamil political parties in the future. They will stay involved, and as long as they do, they have every right, and a very large and important voice within the Tamil polity. The majoritarian Sinhala camp will seek to de-legitimise them and ask them to stay aside and argue that only Tamils within Sri Lanka (i,e- those within the physical control of the government) be allowed to participate. Within the Tamil camp though, there is a deep gratitude for, and an understanding of the abiding role the diaspora will play if the Tamils are going to have even an outside chance.
I don’t think it’s a significant limb to say that only Sri Lankan citizens really participate in the Sri Lankan political process. Since we don’t have postal voting (which I think we should, if only for Middle East workers) that pretty much means being in Sri Lanka.
That is generally how democracy works. You can’t phone it in.
You mean dictatorship-democracies or other democracies? lol. ;-) Just kidding. If you’re saying those outside Sri lanka have less influence, that’s one thing. Asking them not to exert what influence they have in the manner that they are doing so, or attempting to do so is another. You’re conflating the is and the ought, on top of which your ‘is’ is demonstrably false. In other words, there’s a factual error and there is a logical error with your analysis.