It is well known that Sri Lanka was engulfed in a civil war between the Tamil north and Sinhalese south. The cause of the war is less well known. Sri Lanka was settled quite independently by two groups, the Sinhalese in the South and the Tamils in the North. Over time the Sinhalese became the dominant population and sought to unify the country by making Sinhalese the national tongue. However the manner in which they set about doing this caused conflict. They banned the Tamil language, set up a government that excluded the Tamils, and engineered education plans and employment opportunities that disadvantaged the Tamils. A group of 5 Tamil students opposed the moves, and subsequently a 10,000 strong force of guerrilla soldiers, the Tamil Tigers was formed. They fought in the jungles against 110,000 Sinhalese armed forces and another 100,000 Indian peacekeepers for 26 years. Eventually concessions were made and the war came to an end, but not before the Tigers booby-trapped many buildings throughout Jaffna to trap the unwary forces. Jaffna was off limits until 2008 and whilst the city is now being slowly rebuilt signs of the conflict are still widespread.
Jaffna has always been a place of conflict, owing to its strategic importance on the trade routes. The impressive Jaffna Fort was built as a four-sided garrison by the Portuguese in 1619, captured by the Dutch in 1658 and expanded to a pentagon shape fortified with a star-shaped moat, then finally captured by the British in 1795 and used as an administrative garrison. Sadly the massive church which used to stand inside the garrison was destroyed by the Tamil Tigers, and all that remains is a massive pile of rubble. The walls of the fort, which are 40ft thick, remain largely intact. Nowadays most excitement is to be found in the car park where the locals had set up an impromptu game of cricket.
We visited Nallur Kovil, the most important Hindu temple in Jaffna. In common with other religious sites we had to remove our shoes to walk around the site. The interior was closed to the public. I am not sure if I was relieved or disappointed as to enter this temple men also have to remove their shirts!
 |
| Nallur Kovil |
We passed on the opportunity to visit Nagadeepa Rajamaha temple which is located on an offshore island. Our driver struggled for a long time to find the right road to the ferry, but we were put off by the massive overcrowding of the small boats where everyone was herded below decks like sardines, and it was a lottery whether or not you received a life-jacket. It was an unwelcome reminder of the fate suffered by so many Syrian refugees fleeing their homeland in small boats across the Mediterranean.
Our compensation for two wasted hours was that we were able to stop at another
 |
| Painted Storks |
Was Jaffna worth the visit? It was a day's drive to get here from Anurahadapura with little of interest on the way. There wasn't much to see, and the principal site was closed. However, it was a salient reminder of the devastating consequences of war. Form your own conclusion!
 |
| Point Pedro - the northernmost point of Sri Lanka |
No comments:
Post a Comment