The Sri Lankan war of 2009 marked the termination of a long and bitter fight for autonomy for the island’s Tamil community. Benjamin Dix and Lindsay Pollock tell the story of Vanni, the Tamil region on the island’s north.
The Ramachandrans are an ordinary family. In 2001, they live in a coastal village called Chempiyanpattu.
Antoni fishes and sells his catch at market. Rajini cooks and cleans, sorts the nets, tends to the chickens and fetches water. Their children Theepa and Michael are helpful, cheerful and attentive. Community is strong in Vanni – a stronghold of the LTTE or ‘Tamil Tigers’.
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