ஈழத்தில் மாவீரர்கள் மண்னில் விதைக்க பட்டனர்

ஈழத்தில் மாவீரர்கள் மண்னில் விதைக்க பட்டனர்
When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaws.” – Nelson Mandela.

The late Nelson Mandela once said “When we decided to take up arms, it was because the only other choice was to surrender and to submit to slavery.”

His principles apply to the situation of the Tamils in Eelam (currently under occupation by #SriLanka). Had the Tamils not raised their voices and engaged in a struggle against the Singhalese to defend their race, the Tamil population would have been completely annihilated by the state-sponsored genocide of the Sri Lankan government. We would only be able to learn about the Tamils and their culture when visiting anthropology museums. However, the Tamils are a resilient people who have survived over 500 years of slavery - They banded together and came up with a plan to take back control of their lives. Unfortunately, as the British packed up ready to sail back to their homeland, they handed the Tamil’s future to the Singhalese, effectively stripping an entire ethnic group of their rights and freedoms. Ever since Sri Lanka’s independence, we have been subject to oppression by the country’s extremist Buddhist population. This suffering forced the Tamils to raise a struggle to free themselves and future generations from lives of abuse and intolerance. The brutality of these extremist groups forced thousands of Tamils to pack their bags and seek refuge all around the world, fleeing as fast as possible from the Sri Lankan regime. We had finally come to acknowledge that living in slavery wasn’t an option and the freedom from our oppressors was a clear necessity. Our struggle was integral in protecting our lives, identity, and future. Today, we live on to tell the stories of those who were victimized.

Radical religious terrorists have threatened the western values that Tamils have come to cherish. We came to the West to escape the values of the Sri Lankan government, who encouraged genocide against the Tamils. These government forces killed over 150,000 people during the last stage of the war, many of whom were innocent civilians. Whereas the Tamils were murdered in cold-blood after agreeing to surrender, Nelson Mandela and his compatriots were thrown in jail, from which they eventually emerged with their freedom and political aspirations.

On November 27th, Tamils all over the world will remember those men and women who fought for the liberation of their race. Like the African National Congress, the Tamils were defeated in war, however they eventually succeeding by transforming into a democratic force. The Tamils must continue our struggle peacefully through democracy, like those in East Timor and Kosovo. We must learn from their histories and take inspiration from their stories.

Today, we remember the dead only because we were taught to stand up and think like Tamils. We were called taught to act independently and ask questions that otherwise would go unanswered. We have come to acknowledge that we are a race that will not be obedient to others because our skin is darker than theirs. We pray that infighting within our community stops and our egos take a backseat to the issues at-hand in society. We pray for the destruction of societal evils that were once introduced to us by foreign forces.

Tamils are hardworking, energetic, and passionate people. However, we must work together to show the world that we are not all terrorists and they didn't die for no reason. Let us transform them into freedom fighters.

We must always stay true to our beliefs legitimize them through legal means. We must remember our forefather’s struggles but also the innocent lives lost during the conflict. We must remember our veterans as well, they need our support.

The problem is that we have to plan and execute how we will eliminate the stigma surrounding our heroes.

We have not reached our destiny yet, but we have gotten on a good path. We have become more politically active and our aspirations are more well-known internationally. On this day, we will come together as one community without the plagues of egotism. Let us all help carry forward our mission of becoming a strong, international voice, in order to win the hearts and minds of those around us. If we carefully guide our actions then history will repeat itself in our favor, one day. Till then, lest we forget.
Therefore, on this day, let us remember the fallen and those who defend us against the oppressors in our homeland, whether they be the Sri Lankan government or the colonizers. They died for our Tamil homeland, and we will continue their fight through peaceful means.

Long live Tamil EELAM

எங்கள் வீரர்களை பயங்கரவாதிகளாகவே தூங்கவிடப்போகின்றோமா என்று
யோசித்து விட்டு முன்னே செல்வோம் - பூக்களை போட்டுவிட்டு நகர்ந்து செல்வதல்ல
நாளை என்ன செய்யப் போகின்றோம் என்பதை உணர்ந்து செயற்பட தயாராகுவோம்.

Raj Subramainan