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The many Balachandrans of Jaffna
by Rishi Sat Apr 13, 2013 9:31 pm
http://m.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-many-balachandrans-of-jaffna/article4573887.ece/?maneref=http%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FkPJ1TAqjaN
We were visiting an exhibition the Tigers had organised on the
grounds of the Nallur Kandaswamy Temple when we came across a group of
15-20 children, younger-looking than Balachandran and not half as well
fed. They were all in military fatigues, wore caps and walked silently
in single file. Seeing our surprised looks, the guide explained that
they were “cadets” of the LTTE’s military academy.
Hundreds of such children, many forcibly taken away from schools, had
been sent as cannon fodder by Prabakaran and his lieutenants in the
fanatical pursuit of their dream. In fact, some of us who managed to
slip out of Subhash Hotel, where we stayed, were told by long-time
contacts that child recruitment by the Tigers had become so rampant that
mothers and fathers stood guard outside school gates to prevent “cradle
snatching”.
There were whispers that while most children suffered the fate of being
sent off to fight, Prabakaran’s older son, Charles, then just about as
old as Balachandran was when he was killed, was driven to school in an
air-conditioned SUV and wore expensive clothes and shoes that others
could only dream of.
This then is a requiem for not only Balachandran but all those nameless
children who perished fighting in the Sri Lankan conflict.
We were visiting an exhibition the Tigers had organised on the
grounds of the Nallur Kandaswamy Temple when we came across a group of
15-20 children, younger-looking than Balachandran and not half as well
fed. They were all in military fatigues, wore caps and walked silently
in single file. Seeing our surprised looks, the guide explained that
they were “cadets” of the LTTE’s military academy.
Hundreds of such children, many forcibly taken away from schools, had
been sent as cannon fodder by Prabakaran and his lieutenants in the
fanatical pursuit of their dream. In fact, some of us who managed to
slip out of Subhash Hotel, where we stayed, were told by long-time
contacts that child recruitment by the Tigers had become so rampant that
mothers and fathers stood guard outside school gates to prevent “cradle
snatching”.
There were whispers that while most children suffered the fate of being
sent off to fight, Prabakaran’s older son, Charles, then just about as
old as Balachandran was when he was killed, was driven to school in an
air-conditioned SUV and wore expensive clothes and shoes that others
could only dream of.
This then is a requiem for not only Balachandran but all those nameless
children who perished fighting in the Sri Lankan conflict.
Rishi- Posts : 5129
Join date : 2011-09-02
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