I had numerous questions concerning my ethnic roots, a muddled history that even my family can’t really explain. I had no recollection of my first 2 years of my life there and I didn’t know what to expect of my birthplace after 25 years, but I felt I needed to know to gain closure about my identity and I was very excited to see what could have been.
For as long as I could remember, I’d beg my Amma (my Mom) to take me to Sri Lanka. ‘Soon,’ she’d say, ‘once there is peace.’ In May 2009, the civil war ended. The leader of the Tamil Tigers was killed by the Sri Lankan army, and Tamil citizens were forced to relocate to a strip of land that was considered a no bomb zone. But one year later in the summer of 2010, Amma kept her promise and we made our way back to our native Sri Lanka.
As our plane descended, all I could see from my window was lush greenery for miles. Already I was feeling awe from how beautiful my motherland looked from above. The military presence was obvious as soon as we got on the road. There were soldiers with AK-47s standing at various intersections and the checkpoints were a plenty. I wasn’t sure if this was for our safety and protection, or for other reasons.
Colombo, the capitol, reminded me of the big cities in Tamil Nadu, India – the cows on the street (not as many as India), the autos, people traffic, noise and pollution. The city is split into smaller neighbourhoods and I was staying with my family in a part of the city that was well-known as a Tamil area. Everyone spoke English, and a lot more people spoke Tamil than I had thought, with loads of different accents. It was the second time in my life that I had been in a country where I knew the local language which made me feel not like a tourist at all, and I had never been more grateful for learning my mother tongue. But Amma reminded me to always speak English, unless I knew it was a Tamil person I
was speaking to.
I am no stranger to amazing travel adventures, but this being a family vacation, I had strict rules, one being that I was not allowed to venture out on my own. In Colombo I stayed with my grandmother and my uncle, so I was able to only explore the city with my uncle escorting me around. In a way I felt like I was in an Islamic nation, but all these precautions were being taken because of how unsafe it really was. Thefts and kidnappings were not unheard of, especially after dark. The streets were crowded with men standing
around, seemingly looking for
someone or something. The women generally stayed home to cook, and watch TV.