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Ishara S. Kodikara / AFP - Getty Images
Former Tamil Tiger rebels prepare backstage during a rehabilitation official ceremony fashion show in Colombo on March 29. The program to release nearly 400 former combatants to their families. Officials said more than 10,000 ex-combatants have been rehabilitated and released to their families since the war ended in May 2009.
Ishara S. Kodikara / AFP - Getty Images
Sri Lankan former Tamil Tiger dancers perform during an official ceremony for former Tamil Tiger rebels in Colombo on March 29. The program to release nearly 400 former combatants to their families. Officials said more than 10,000 ex-combatants have been rehabilitated and released to their families since the war ended in May 2009.
The Tamil Tigers were a notorious terrorist group in Sri Lanka, beginning in 1983. In their efforts to create an independent Tamil state, they enlisted women in suicide attacks that terrorized the country for over 20 years. According to the FBI, they are credited with inventing the suicide belt. These attacks lead to the death of tens of thousands of people, according to TIME:
The LTTE (the group is formally known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) has bombed public buildings and transportation hubs, Buddhist temples and other locations, and is known for missions involving female suicide bombers and for recruitment of child soldiers. Fighters reportedly wear cyanide capsules around their necks that they swallow if they are about to be captured by government forces.
The conflict in Sri Lanka largely came to an end when the rebels were defeated in May 2009, but the lasting effects of the war are still present. It is encouraging to see that these women are being offered some assistance in rebuilding their lives.
Ishara S. Kodikara / AFP - Getty Images
Former Tamil Tiger rebels prepare backstage during a rehabilitation official ceremony fashion show in Colombo on March 29. The program to release nearly 400 former combatants to their families. Officials said more than 10,000 ex-combatants have been rehabilitated and released to their families since the war ended in May 2009.
Ishara S. Kodikara / AFP - Getty Images
Former Tamil Tiger rebels prepare backstage during a rehabilitation official ceremony fashion show in Colombo on March 29. The program to release nearly 400 former combatants to their families. Officials said more than 10,000 ex-combatants have been rehabilitated and released to their families since the war ended in May 2009.
Ishara S. Kodikara / AFP - Getty Images
Former Tamil Tiger rebels prepare backstage during a rehabilitation official ceremony fashion show in Colombo on March 29. The program to release nearly 400 former combatants to their families. Officials said more than 10,000 ex-combatants have been rehabilitated and released to their families since the war ended in May 2009.
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Pakistan needs a lot of lipstick.
Ummm... Sri Lanka is an island south of India... No where near Pakistan.
Thousands of people killed and to what end? I don't expect this story will change the minds of most terrorists but it does offer a glimmer of hope that positive change can happen.
I guess I was referring to change of heart from terrorism to "live and let live".
Don't think lipstick will help Pakistan.
Mail order brides?
I Pakistan, women tend to be the victims.
Loves' me some Indian food man! Exotic cultures rock.
Just glad they are finally able to go home and begin a real life...Hugs
I love the way these forums attract the lowest common demoninator of intelligence among the posters. If you 3 fools had bothered to read the artcile before posting , you'd have figured out that this is in Sri Lanka, not Pakistan. Not only a different ethnic group but also a different country. Good grief! No wonder those in other countries think Americans are arrogant fools.
Amen Codger - it's so sad
Absolutely right. Height of ignorance and stupidity.
Ah it was an analogy folks. What was being said is it would take A LOT more lipstick to fix Pakistan's problems then what the Tamil's in Sri Lanka were using in the pictures.
Yeah he was referring to this happening in Pakistan, if so it would need a lottttt of lipstick.
From carrying a gun, recruited for your strenghth and agility, to being recruited to work a fashion show, where what you look like is the prize - I would love to hear those women's stories, their thoughts - what's it like to go from underground soldier to fashionista? What's the mental transition these women have to make? Will these women be stronger, more agressive and therefore not as desireable to the males in their country? How do you mentally go from brave, strong soldier to submissive wife? Just wondering - wondering if there's a similar narrative with any country's women soldiers -- Let us all work for peace.
This is just a completely different culture. The people I know from Sri Lanka are pretty strong anyway, which is probably part of why they were recruited.
The Tamil people speak a different language, have different culture. They're so different. Hopefully the program is trying to show them that they can be something beautiful. There is so much potential and determination on this island. I remember toward the end of the war hearing reports of people having to go through an obnoxious number of checkpoints trying to prevent suicide bombings. People were interviewed in the lines. Every response was patient. The people had to live their lives despite people being blown to pieces. So, they actually appreciated the security presence.
And there was also this guy who built a large 5-star hotel. A reporter asked if he was concerned about it being targeted. He said, "Sure, it could be targeted. I do my best to protect it, but we can't just stop our lives because of this." I mean that is perseverance to actually work to build something like that in the middle of the war. And so now, it is paying off.
I agree though. I hope the peace is lasting. There was so much ingrained in people on both sides. Hopefully, the violence is over.
They were submissive and brainwashed into being suicide bombers in the first place. (You can't equate these women to our women soldiers.) Trying to reintegrate them into society would be a good thing.
It gives me some hope for the human race...at least one bloody chapter is closed. Hopefully there will at least be some peace in that corner of the world, which is getting smaller.
At last, a happy ending. My heart and prayers are with the Tamilians and Sinhalese Sri Lankans alike.
Let peace reign, and may everyone be given equal opportunity, regardless of ethnicity or religion.
This is a great story, but I wish there was more, such as interviews.
Kate,
Here's guessing they'll be found plenty desirable.
A lot of men like strong women.
@commonsense:
You wrote this:
I heard that!
I studied the photographs for a while, and what I see are 9's and 10's . . .
If they are as handy with a gun as they were with a rifle, then . . .
Mi casa es su casa! :-)
in addition, they are beautiful, all of them...at least the one's shown.
I hope the rehabilitation and the settlement of the Tamils go well. The Sri Lankan government has to go a long way to make up with their minority population.
The article does not mention the final weeks of the Sri Lankan Civil War
Sri Lanka is a beautiful country. Glad to see the was is over
Links: copy and paste the URL
channel4.com/programmes/sri-lankas-killing-fields/4od
nytimes.com/2012/03/23/world/asia/rights-body-passes-measure-on-sri-lanka.html
OMG they are beautiful
I wonder about their education. It seems from a number of stories I've read in the past that women and girls in refugee camps and prisons have reading and other lessons, and are more literate and more likely to run a business than women who never left the countryside.
It is a minority group based in north Sri Lanka closer to the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. After a grueling civil war the Srilankan government they are now getting back to some normalcy. good luck with your future folks!
God Bless!
As a Hindu I am glad to see these young women make major steps towards redemption. The Sri Lanka Civil War was a horrible example of inter-ethnic bigotry on both sides whose participant disgraced the tenets of Hinduism and Buddhism, especially of ahimsa: Noninjury to one's fellow beings. Terrorism for the sake of politics is the foulest of motivations and methodologies, no matter who commits it. The killing of innocents is never, ever justified.
Hopefully this is a genuine rehabilitation so that both the Sinhalese and Tamil Youth can go on with their lives. For reader interested how humanity allowed this, pls see the INDEPENDENT Award winning:
British Channel4 Special Reports collection - Jonathan miller:
RTS Award-winning independent DOCUMENTARY:
May this bring Hope to the future.
Apparently hyperlinks are not allowed in the comment I put above. To get to the links, Google:
1. "Channel4 sri lanka civil war"
2. award winning channel 4 killing fields sri lanka (you can see the INDEPENDENT documentary video) (viewer discretion advised!)