Breaking The Silence Journal: UCL

23

November 2013

The #BreaktheSilence campaign continued as students from the University College London (UCL held their e!hi"ition detailing the history of human rights violations and #ar crimes in Sri Lanka on $onday% &unning an e!position in the "usy 'orth Cloisters section of UCL( they campaigned #ith the goal to raise a#areness amongst the student "ody and to gather support for the gro#ing demand for an independent international investigation into the countrys actions during the last months of the ethnic conflict%

)rganised "y the UCL Tamil Society( their Campaigns )fficer( stressed the urgent necessity of these campaigns%

Speaking to Tamil *uardian( the Campaigns )fficer (#ho has close family in the 'orth+,ast and therefore #ished to remain anonymous said( the average student in university #ill "e a"le to tell you at the very least that there are issues in -ra.( Li"ya( Syria( etc% But those same students usually have no idea a"out the atrocities #hich occur in Sri Lanka on a daily "asis% -f no one kno#s( then no one cares / and if no one cares( then nothing #ill change%0

)rganisers produced posters and display "oards capturing the history of Sri Lankan discrimination against the Tamil people( and highlighing ho# the structural genocide conitnues and ho# the situation in the rural 'orth+,ast remains dire%

Students #ere also asked to transfer their opinions onto outlines of their hands( each hand coming together to create a metaphorical #all of disgust(

discontent( and dissatisfaction at ho# so little has changed%

1oignant and simple phrases such as 2hy3( 4o# could this happen( $urder is #rong #ere com"ined #ith more accusatory statements( including The U' has allo#ed another 4olocaust( increasing the strength of the e!position as the #all gre#%

Some passers"y #ere simply left speechless( #hilst others .uestioned the international communitys failure to act% )ne student asked( -f Sri Lanka has "een allo#ed to get a#ay #ith acts such as this( ho# much more has actually "een hidden from us3 -f something of this magnitude #as s#ept under the carpet( 5ust imagine ho# much more has "een hidden from us / organisations like the United 'ations have a lot to ans#er for%0

-f you #ish to follo# the Breaking the Silence e!hi"ition series( you can do on T#itter "y using the 4ashtag 6#BreaktheSilence6% Stay tuned for the ne!t piece in the Breaking The Silence 7ournal( as the e!hi"ition travels to universities across the U8%

(9: 'ov ;<9= Breaking The Silence 7ournal> London School of ,conomics