#frances harrison

[padraigcolman]

Deadly Accountancy Part 2

Sri Lanka Eelam War IV

In an address on November 11 2011, under the auspices of the British Scholars Association at the British Council in Colombo[i], Rohan Gunaratna discussed his contention that “only” 1,400 civilians were killed in the north east Vanni…

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[festivalofideas-blog]

Background: Frances Harrison

Frances Harrison comes to the Festival of Ideas on 11 May to discuss Sri Lanka and Palestine: Writing War with Bidisha.

Here are links to reviews of Harrison's book, Still Counting the Dead.

Steve Crawshaw in the Observer

James Crabtree in the FT

… the appalling scenes recounted here provide the sharpest possible rebuke to those who might feel comfortable with the idea of a peace won in this way. More to the point, they raise doubts as to whether the Tamil and Sinhalese populations are likely to be able to move forward until both have faced up to their shared history.

B. Muralidhar Reddy in The Hindu

Call it conceit/naivety/notions of self importance, the author notes with smugness that nobody has told the tales of the victims: there were simply no international journalists or aid workers in the war zone in the final months to send harrowing accounts of civilian suffering to CNN or BBC. It is time for these conscience keepers to beef up their bureaus in conflict zones like Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria as part of their mission to minimise humanitarian tragedies.

Read Harrison's article on Sri Lanka on the Huffington Post and see her talking at the Tamil Mirror Gala on YouTube.

[thenextmovement]

I was stewarding at Cambridge WordFest this weekend, and although I wasn't able to attend many of the events, I was fortunate enough to hear former BBC foreign correspondent Frances Harrison discussing her most recent book, a devastating account of the suffering of Sri Lanka's Tamils during the civil war of 2009. 

With a media blackout preventing accurate reportage of the war at the time and an official UN enquiry finally set to begin, Harrison's exceptional book (based on interviews with many of those worst affected) is essential reading for all those interested in uncovering the truth of what happened in Sri Lanka. It's evident that the powers-that-be (the Sri Lankan government, the UN, the United States, China, India, Pakistan, UK and more, including the LTTE themselves) have a lot to answer for. 

In addition to the book, Frances Harrison has designed a website where many of the stories she recounts can be explored via an interactive map and timeline.

If you're looking to buy the book itself and would like to contribute to the the campaign for justice in Sri Lanka, purchase it using this Amazon link. 5% of the proceeds will go to the Sri Lanka Campaign For Peace & Justice.

[nektarinadailyblog]

I love our earth and i will fight for it. 

A Birthday by Frances Harrison