Memories of Black July 1983, and a spot-on cartoon
Cassandra needs to commemorate, in words, one of the most shameful episodes,
or evil occurrences, that happened in this island of ours: the planned and directed massacre of Tamils among us; burning their possessions and homes and tarnishing the name Ceylon/Sri Lanka around the world.
I retell what I heard and did – safe in my Sinhala-ness. I was told by a friend – Sinhalese living down a residential lane in Colombo 5 – that on that peaceful morning she noticed a gathering of persons who seemed to be rough, sauntering proudly along her lane. The leader checked a list and pointed to houses. Then descended the Furies in the guise of gangs of hooligans who went accurately to those houses earlier and caused their havoc of destruction.
They were homes of Tamils. Leaving all behind, families escaped through back entrances or over dividing walls, just before the murderers came, to welcome Sinhala homes. Not only were they safely hidden but protected at the risk of theirs and their families’ lives. When the thugs banged on their doors, or insistently rang door bells, the chief inmate declaring stout Sinhala-ness denied any connection with Tamil neighbours, least of all protecting them.
One fact was widely whispered. Minister Cyril Mathew, Minister of Industries and Scientific Affairs, was seen with a Colombo householders list and known to be ultra-Sinhala-fied. One surmise voiced with utter cynicism and disgust was: Didn’t Prez JRJ even smell the smoke that emanated from Borella shops aflame soon after the 13 soldiers, killed by the Jaffna Boys, were buried in the Kanatta cemetery and not in their villages – 24 July. JRJ was not fiddling while Colombo burnt; he was biding his time, with disastrous results felt even today: 13th Amendment et al.
Later in the day – 25 July and thereafter for a couple more, the thugs enhanced their drunkenness with blood lust through inebriation on kassippu or supplied arrack. The despicable tragic killings were interspersed with humorous incidents. These are remembered to try to blot out the savagery of the rampage.
A nephew walking to Cass’ home in Kollupitiya was stopped and roughly spoken to. Realizing he was Sinhalese, the thugs almost hugged him, stopped a car, chucked him in and commanded that he be taken to his destination. It was a walking distance but where did the nephew end up? In Ratmalana since the driver of the car he was chucked into was on his way home to Ratmalana and dared not stop to drop the intruder until no thugs were in sight.
The elder son was working in a Mercantile firm. The shops on either side of his office were looted, unhurriedly and completely. No police in sight. Transport for all employees was rostered so that Cass’ son got three Sinhalese, one Muslim and a Tamil to convey to their homes. They asked the Tamil to keep his mouth shut but when they were stopped he started blabbering. Others shouted their nationalities and chanted Pali stanzas drowning the poor man overcome with fear of torture and death.
Living in a flat as Cass and family were, no one sought refuge though offered. By then curfews had been declared. One friend wanted Cass to keep the family jewels safe. So she walked across to take the stuff home. The armed forces and police were out, but one never knew when a looter would approach. The box of jewellery was large and a sparkling, winking treasure trove. Cass was prepared to carry it innocuously wrapped in newspaper. But fear invaded and so they requested that their male cousin walk behind.
Three Tamil families, one a single woman living alone, were supplied by Cass with all necessities for cooking their meals. Bread was sold in a couple of locations and rationed – two loaves. They had to be gone before the crack of dawn. So, Cass and hub managed to buy four loaves as dawn broke to distribute among the three families and themselves.
The heartache, gut wrenching fear, privation and death suffered by the Tamils during the black days of July ’83, most in refugee camps until shipped up North or they emigrated, must never be forgotten. And never ever forget it was a politicians’ ploy and not one jot racial enmity among people.
Monday 24 July, 2023, TV news reported the water cannoning of protests commemorating the July of 1983. Cassandra is against protests, even so-called marching peace protests. If you must protest, do so on the side of a road. Marching can collect die hard trouble makers and soon descend to unruliness. What we need now is a peaceful state so our immediate and urgent problem can be tackled: economy of the country and definite steps taken to reduce corruption and get those who stole the country’s money to be shamed and blamed. Most are of course already unofficially named.
Two articles of foreign reportage
Jayantha Somasunderam had two articles published in The Island of 25 and 26 July. He quoted widely from several overseas newspapers, news reports and journals. To me his introduction to the first article was much sincerer and created genuine sorrow, regret, shame as a Sinhalese and sincere sympathy. He wrote: “Monday 25 July began just like another day. But what we didn’t know was that it was to be the last day of an era.” He ends thus: “We were among the fortunate. We survived. This article remembers the many who did not return to their homes; who came home to charred ruins; who fled to refugee camps and then into exile overseas. It honours the memory of the men, women and children and domestic animals who perished in Sri Lanka’s Holocaust.” He, too, a superb Sri Lankan, emigrated with his family. Sri Lanka, the loser.
Cassandra read through Jayantha’s quoted passages. But she did have a tinge of lingering skepticism. The west and thus even its journalists, barring some, were in sympathy with minorities, and could not help moving from being totally objective. They even used the term ethnic cleansing. That was really not so in the real meaning of the term with reference to Black July. Or was it? It was more a warning and frightening of the Tamils living outside the North. Ethnic cleansing in the real sense was by the LTTE. Documented it is that the Muslims in LTTE areas were given 24 hours to vacate, homes, property, businesses. The Sinhalese few who lived in Jaffna and those areas had already escaped.
We representatives of the Sinhalese do accept our guilt but journalism does slant to sensation and even exaggeration and tinges of subjectivity do creep in. Jayantha’s second article carries a quotation from Paul Sieghart in Sri Lanka: A Mounting Tragedy of Errors. Commission of Jurists 3/1/84. “For day after day Tamils were beaten, hacked or burned to death in the streets, on buses, on trains…” True, but the expression ‘day after day’ implies a long time while the local fury and wanton murder and destruction was from 25 July to the 30 with say three days of mass tumult..
Also were massacres committed in trains? Cass would like to know since this sounds like a take-off from what happened during partition in India. Cass assures Jayantha his articles are timely and have immediacy. We need to be reminded of Black July and its aftermath since Sri Lanka seems forever poised on an active volcano. His second article is titled: July 1983: Tamils do not Blame Sinhalese People. Most Tamil people consider the July ’83 horror was by politicians, carried out by incited and inebriated Sinhala hooligans.
Cartoon of the week
Congrats Jeffrey of The Island for your brilliant cartoon on Monday (24). He pinned down Keheliya Rambukwella’s face with a syringe. The cartoon carried so many innuendoes of the statement. But being a typical limpet-like politician, who sticks to the Health Ministry as its minister.
