Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day shows gratitude, with pain and sadness

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Pain was still etched in voices and faces as nearly 200 Tamils ​​gathered at the bandstand in Lamoureux Park on Saturday to mark Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day.

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There was an equal measure of gratitude, which was transferred to first generation Tamil-Canadians like Vamini Mohanthas, who MCd with Thilakarajah Rajendran.

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“My generation has to carry on the stories we (our parents) live through,” Mohanthas said during a break in the proceedings.

With her was her mother Rathiwathana, who fled Sri Lanka in the final stages of a civil war that effectively ended the Tamil struggle for an independent country.

“It’s our duty to be the voice of those who have perished,” said Mohanthas, who shares PTSD with her mother, from the anxiety as a youngster hearing about family members being killed or injured “physically and mentally.”

“We are the echoes and we are in front of (Cornwall and the area) to tell the truth.”

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She said her generation’s lobbying was instrumental in getting the federal government to bill May 18 as a day of remembrance, allowing Tamil newcomers to recognize the 2009 Mullivaikkal massacre.

Rathiwathana said she was lucky to make it to Canadian shores.

“We were under bombed bunkers; I was one of the lucky few hidden under the boat,” she said. “Some sacrificed their lives for us.”

Although much was achieved through the proclamation, Mohanthas told his fellow Tamils ​​that it was not easier to accept the genocide.

“It is with a heavy heart, but also with unwavering determination, that I face the 15th anniversary (which has included) a series of atrocities,” she said.

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Canada’s acceptance of Tamil refugees is something monumental to build upon and cannot be replaced.

“I can’t even imagine something like that (being refused entry),” Mohanthas said afterwards. “Canada opened us with open arms; we landed as refugees. Yes, there was an adjustment to a new place, a new culture, and we left everything behind and had all those traumas to carry with us.

“But we felt so welcome here, being able to come in front of the community for something like (the memorial) and be able to talk about it.”

The event under clear and warm skies included several Tamil ceremonies, such as the lighting of a lamp and display of roses (to honor the lost).

As usual, the Tamil national anthem was sung after O Canada, with the Tamil flag hoisted by Sivaruban Nitharamaveeralinga, brother of slain war veteran Captain Mullainathan Nitharamaveeralingam.

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