Journey from war-torn Sri Lanka to Berlin

I was born in Pavatkulam Unit Two, a small Muslim village in Vavuniya, in the north of Sri Lanka. Life there was simple and rooted in the rhythms of Jand and water. Our homes stood between a great village tank and vast paddy fields that fed us. Most families were farmers, some fishermen, and together we formed a close-knit community of about 400 Muslim households.

- By Dr. MoHAMED ‘SHAREEF ASEES

My father, the GS village headman, was a man of respect and responsibility. I was the sixth of his children. My earliest memories are of running through the fields barefoot, helping at harvest, praying at the mosque, and returning home to the smell of wood-fired meals. Childhood was untroubled—or so it seemed. None of us imagined how quickly innocence could shatter.

1990: The year that broke us

By 1990, Sri Lanka’s civil conflict had worsened. That year, the LTTE expelled more than 75,000 Muslims from the Northern Province, uprooting entire communities in a matter of days. Fear seeped into every wall of our own village. We never knew when it would be our turn. On the night of 21 October 1990, that fear came alive. Around 250 armed LTTE fighters entered Pavatkulam. Their mission: destroy the army camp located in the middle of our village, and punish anyone they accused of aiding the military. Their accusations were false, but their ruthlessness was not.

Families gathered at our home, believing safety lay in numbers. Our family had two houses: the old Mahagedaera, where my siblings were born, and the newer one, where I happened to be that night. At 10 p.m., the stillness shattered. Gunfire, shouting, the sound of boots on our doorstep. Armed men stormed inside with guns and swords. We had no electricity—only the dim glow of chimney lamps. One of them grabbed me, demanding that I lead him to the army camp. Fear paralysed me. To say no meant death; to obey meant betraying my people. In a desperate burst of courage, I tore myself free, ran to the kitchen, and climbed up the chimney, pressing my body into its sooty hollow.

Hiding in the chimney