18
Kumar , Sri Lanka
The story shows that Kumar :
• Lived through a war and experienced violent conflict as a young man .
• Witnessed sexual violence towards a close family member and others .
• Was subsequently arrested and tortured .
• After release from prison , was in constant fear and went into hiding .
• Experiences cognitive changes .
• Is permanently in physical pain , which amnesia
• s feelings of abasement and self-loathing .
• Finds contact with others difficult ; can be dismissive but not aggressive .
Kumar was born in the north-eastern part of Sri Lanka , to an agricultural family . He was a child during the civil war between Tamils and Sinhalese and on several occasions witnessed Tamils being subjected to violent abuse . When Kumar was 17 years old , his father was killed , and he saw some people in his village being shot on the spot and others being abducted . Some of those abducted disappeared permanently . On one occasion he saw his cousin and other young boys and girls being sexually abused by Sri Lankan soldiers .
Kumar became increasingly involved in the Tamil liberation struggle and allowed himself to be recruited into the Tamil Tigers ( LTTE ), an armed separatist movement . He was involved in several operations but combined his political involvement with keeping the family farm and starting his family . Life went on despite much unrest in the country .
When the situation escalated in 2002 , Kumar was mobilised more actively and given more responsibility . Kumar knew he was in danger because the authorities ’ counterinsurgency response was extensive and brutal . He was arrested in 2006 , tried and sentenced to life imprisonment .
During his imprisonment , Kumar was subjected to brutal interrogation that included torture . Among other things , he was beaten , kicked , and burned on various parts of his body ; on several occasions , plastic bags were placed over his head so that he could not breathe . This treatment was extraordinarily painful , but the sexual assaults were worse still . Objects were inserted into his body , often smeared with chili powder or similar products . To humiliate him , he was stripped naked . On a number of occasions , he was taken from his cell at night by guards or others he did not know , and raped by several men who mocked and threatened him . Once he was also dragged from his cell to witness the torture of someone with whom he had shared a cell . This felt especially cruel and brought back memories of what he had seen as a young man .
The torture was designed to elicit a confession and at one point he confessed to participating in LTTE operations and to being a terrorist . Some prisoners were released after such a confession , but he remained in prison for several more years . He was finally let out in 2011 . After release , he remained in hiding for several years because the situation was increasingly uncertain for former LTTE members , and he was afraid of being rearrested . In 2016 , Kumar decided to move to a