Among the forgotten victims of the North

This past October 30 marked the 35th anniversary of a mass crime that has all but faded from public memory. The British High Commission, in collaboration with Collective for Historical Dialogue & Memory hosted a documentary screening and panel discussion to mark 35 years since the expulsion of Northern Muslims.

- BY JEHAN PERERA

More than 75,000 Muslims were driven out of the North by the LTTE in 1990. (File Photo)

On that day in 1990, the entire Muslim population of the Northern Province was ordered by the LTTE to leave their homes within hours. In Jaffna, the cultural capital of the Tamil people, families were given only two hours to leave. In other parts of the North the time ranged from one to two days. They were told they could take only their clothes and a few belongings. The LTTE justified the expulsion of the Muslims by claiming it was a security measure against collaboration with the government. At checkpoints, LTTE cadres seized money, jewellery, and deeds to property. Some women had their wedding necklaces pulled from their necks. Those who attempted to reason or plead were told that everything earned in Tamil Eelam belonged to Tamil Eelam.

The number of people expelled is estimated at over 75,000. Many walked or were taken in overcrowded boats to Puttalam and other parts of the country. They slept in schools, temples, and under trees, and lived for years as displaced people. Their tragedy was overshadowed by the larger war in which hundreds of thousands of Tamils and Sinhalese also suffered death, injury, and loss of homes. The Muslim expulsion became one more episode in a conflict that had already become too vast to be given any special priority. In the immediate aftermath the attention of the government and international agencies was on the massive displacement of Tamils whose numbers ran into a million or more. When resources were scarce, priorities had to be made. The Muslims of the North, who had lost their lands and property but not their lives, were placed lower on the list for assistance.