It has been four years since the Tamil rebels were crushed by the Sri Lankan armed forces. The Sri Lankan government, led by Mahinda Rajapaksa, still denies that any human rights violations occurred.
In March, a second UN Human Rights Council resolution called on the Rajapaksa government “to conduct an independent and credible investigation into allegations of violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law.”
This has fallen on deaf ears.
Human rights groups and the Greens have accused the Australian government of sending asylum seekers back to Sri Lanka without adequate refugee screening.
Thirty-eight of the 66 Sri Lankans, who arrived in Geraldton last month, were sent back because “they did not ask for legal help” the government said.
Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said: “It is crucial that the immigration minister start to clarify exactly what information asylum seekers are given when they arrive and whether they are told that they have a legal right for assistance and for putting forward a basic claim for protection.”
The government has been sending asylum seekers back to a country that still refuses to conduct a proper investigation into past war crimes.
Sri Lanka’s civil war was a consequence of colonial rule. Divisions between the Sinhala majority and Tamil minority were encouraged by the British and later solidified after independence when nationalist politicians disenfranchised Tamil plantation workers to prevent them voting for left parties.
The death toll from the civil war is estimated to have reached more than 40,000. More than 250,000 Tamils have been displaced.
One of the many displaced is Desh Balasubramaniam, the founder and director of arts and literature movement Ondru.
Balasubramaniam’s family escaped Sri Lanka’s civil war when he was 13 years old and after much uncertainty they were given humanitarian asylum in New Zealand.
“The most difficult thing is the memories of my childhood,” he said.
Balasubramaniam had to give up his youth at an early age. The atrocities of war surrounding him daily meant he witnessed things that most people could only imagine.
His father’s timber factory was burnt down, his father was kidnapped and held for ransom in the jungle and his family home was robbed at gunpoint. His young eyes saw refugee camps bursting at the seams with desperate people trying to stay alive.
But these experiences are what make Balasubramaniam a survivor and it is what has cultivated the resilience and motivation that is felt through his projects.
Ondru started in 2009 as a casual idea in Balasubramaniam’s backyard with no real direction for the project, just concepts and an aim to start an art movement that would create conversations not normally heard on the urban circuit of Melbourne’s art scene.
Balasubramaniam’s background as a refugee has influenced the direction and development of Ondru and it explores stories from refugees, migrants and indigenous communities.
The stories focus on humanity, the journey of endurance and achievements of people whose stories are so often tainted with false representations.
He said: “We want to do this through various means; arts, culture, politics, identities that mainstream media don’t want to talk about.”
One of Ondru’s accomplishments is Voiceless Journeys, a project that explores three aspects of the refugee journey: the struggle, the survival and the achievement, through 101 photographs of people who have taken the journey and are now living in Victoria.
The project celebrates refugees as active participants in the community and by exhibiting their photographs on the surfaces of buildings and urban structures it acknowledges that their diverse backgrounds contribute to the social fabric of Australia. It also asks people to look at a human face, their eyes and their identity.
Balasubramaniam said: “The refugees that I met during this project said no one has ever wanted to listen, you’re the first person to ask my story other than the time I was going through the immigration process. No one genuinely wanted to know.”
[Danna Diaz is a presenter and producer for 3CR community radio's Wednesday Breakfast show.]