Families of “desaparecidos” demand truth and justice from Colombo
Thousands of children, wives and parents have been waiting for years for news about the fate of their family members who disappeared in mysterious circumstances. War, political motives and terrorism are among the reasons behind the kidnappings, from the north to the south of the island. The story of the family of Madushka Haris de Silva, originally from Anuradhapura, who disappeared on 2 September 12 years ago.
Colombo (AsiaNews) - Thousands of children in Sri Lanka have lost their fathers, wives have lost their husbands, parents have lost their children, and brothers and sisters have lost their loved ones due to enforced disappearances.
The lives of entire families of modern Asian ‘desaparecidos’ are suspended, their lives shrouded in mystery and their disappearance linked to a wide range of factors, from war and terrorism in the north and south of the island to politically motivated disappearances.
Madushka Haris de Silva, originally from Anuradhapura, is one of the many victims of enforced disappearances, and his family is appealing to the president for truth and justice, so that ‘children like us, who have lost their fathers, know what happened. And to take measures,’ they warn, ‘to ensure that others do not lose theirs in the future.’
Ranulya Hansani de Silva, a 12-year-old girl, told AsiaNews that it has been exactly 12 years since that evening of 2 September when a group of unknown people arrived in a white van and took away a parent she did not even have time to get to know. She and her brother have been virtually orphaned since birth
. "Why have we never seen our father? When he was forcibly abducted (2 September 2013), my brother and I were still in our mother's womb. We have only seen our father in photographs,‘ said Ranulya.
In addition to her father, two uncles also ended up in the mysterious van, although ’after a couple of days they returned, but my father did not," confessed the daughter with tears in her eyes. ‘None of us really know what happened to our beloved father,’ she admits.
‘I miss him very much, and so does my brother. Our friends' fathers come to school and take them home. We don't have a father to do that, and it's very sad. My mother, my brother and I live in pain.’
‘My mother, Mayuri Inoka, told us that since we were born, we have gone to different places in Anuradhapura and Colombo every year on 2 September to protest. I remember going there when we were growing up,’ the girl continues in her story.
‘Many people helped us during those protests’ and tried to help the family in their search, but all efforts were in vain. That is why Ranulya entrusts AsiaNews with an appeal to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to tell ‘children like us who have lost their fathers what happened’ and, at the same time, to ‘take measures to ensure that others do not lose their fathers in the future.’
Furthermore, Mayuri Inoka herself suffered the same fate as Madushka, her missing husband, when she was kidnapped on 1 November 2014. The woman says she was threatened by her kidnappers, who asked her to abandon protests and initiatives aimed at shedding light on her husband's fate. Nevertheless, Mayuri did not give up her attempt to ‘find justice’ for the man she loved and who, with her, led a peaceful life.
Meanwhile, the authorities have announced the reopening of investigations into more than 10,000 cases of enforced disappearances that occurred before 2000 in various parts of the island, from north to south.
In this regard, Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara reported that new mechanisms will be introduced to strengthen the functions of the Office for Missing Persons (OMP) and the Compensation Office, adding that a sum of 375 million rupees (just over one million euros) has already been allocated.
Minister Nanayakkara spoke at an event organised by the OMP to mark the International Day of Victims of Enforced Disappearances at Temple Trees. He concluded by emphasising that enforced disappearances are a crime and assured that truth, justice and reparations would remain central to government policy under the administration led by the National People's Power (NPP).
.png)
30/08/2021 17:09
22/11/2018 10:36
