Amnesty International activists raise banners in support of the Sri Lankan displaced.
By Tim Molyneux, a volunteer working in Amnesty International’s Sri Lanka team.
On Monday night I took part in a big event to raise awareness about the hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people in Sri Lanka currently confined in mass detention camps.
This marked the first day of an international week of action in support of the ‘Unlock the Camps’ campaign, calling on the Government of Sri Lanka to ensure safety and dignity for all displaced people in Sri Lanka.
A harrowing poem “Broken Pottu” by Mahesh Munasinghe was read to remind us of the personal tragedies of all the children, parents and families who remain trapped in the camps, suffering in silence.
We then gathered outside Shoreditch town hall and stood huddled together in the cold, completely still and silent in a message of solidarity with those whose liberty is denied and whose voices go unheard.
I felt inspired by the enthusiasm of so many different people coming together to speak out for the displaced; we raised placards written in a wide variety of languages, illustrating the huge breadth of support for people whose basic human rights are denied, and the growing demand for the camps to be unlocked, and their freedom, safety and dignity to be restored.
after having been ravaged by war for over 20 years with the world being just an onlloker to human rights violations, the international community and in particular the west has waited for half a year to pass before the plight of the people to be ’seen’, its terrible when you realize that it never has been about the people then has it..?