In May 2009, 30 years of civil war in Sri Lanka came to an end. The Sri Lankan military defeated the Tamil Tigers and the long military campaign was over. The Truth That Wasn’t There is a documentary which, unlike any other, tells the story of the aftermath of the civil war. The filmmaking brains behind it are three students, intent on discovering the truth behind the headlines.
Beginning on July 23 1983, the separatist military organisation, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE, also known as the Tamil Tigers) forced an insurgence against the government in order to create an independent Tamil state, called Tamil Eelam, in the north and the east of the island. The next 25 years brought hardship to the island of Sri Lanka that nobody could have foreseen.
Killing somewhere in the region of 80,000 to 100,000 people, the atrocities caused by the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan government resulted in the Tamil Tigers being branded a terrorist group by 32 countries around the world. Their tactics involved air raids, roadside blasts, suicide bombs and land and sea battles. While most of the bombing took place in the north, the Tiger rebels also penetrated the heart of Sri Lankan society, when they carried out devastating suicide bombings in Colombo in the 1990s. The affliction of Sri Lankan civilisation became an international concern.
And it still is. Many Sri Lankan civilians are still living in internment camps and are unable to return to their homes because of government prevention and danger from land mines. With the civil war at an end, the sense of loss is as present as ever and the state of Tamil has long since suffered with grief. The largest and most controversial of Sri Lanka’s refugee camps, Manik Farm, holds about a quarter of a million Tamils who fled the war zone in the final weeks of the conflict, when the government finally won victory over the Tamil Tigers.
But as one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists, discovering the real truth behind the severity of the situation is by no means an easy task. The refusal of the Sri Lankan Government to allow independent journalists in the war zone during the conflict has caused many to raise questions about what they are hiding. The press are restricted. There are no-go areas. The journalists are escorted by army authorities, even in permitted areas. The refugees who are allowed out of the refugee camps are freed by a letter authorising their exit and stipulating an exact date of their return.
So what is the truth? Guy Gunaratne, Heidi Lindvall and Philip Panchenko endeavoured to find out. They travelled deep into LTTE territory and took a look inside Manik Farm to see what life behind the barbed wire was really like. With claims of excessive crime and violence by the BBC and Channel 4 News against the Sri Lankan authorities, the denied access to journalists became a story in itself, and this is exactly what these three filmmakers wanted to turn on its head.
In three parts, it is the most insightful look at the aftermath of the Sri Lankan civil war yet. The first part is named ‘Our Anandian Manchang.’ ‘Manchang’ refers to a ‘mode of communication whereby one utilises networks of influence in order to get what one wants’ (a direct quotation from Guy’s blog.) ‘Manchang’ means ‘buddy’ in Sinhala. So for these three journalists, photographers and filmmakers, it is not a case of what you know, but who you know.
Guy’s ‘path to influence’ resulted in an invitation to Chalai near Mullaitivi, the final battleground of the LTTE fight. Nobody had previously gained access to the battleground, bar soldiers, and they were the first journalists to travel this far north. Gaining access to Manik Farm, the student filmmakers were about to get a real sense of what life was like for those displaced by the Sri Lankan war. Despite educational facilities, amenities and a ‘culture centre’, what crept to the surface was an overwhelming sense of fear and a ‘climate of wariness’.
To the government, these camps seemed fit for the people, a method to distract them from their own poverty and destitution. Medication and water for over 300,000 people are logistical nightmares. From Manik Farm, the journalists ventured to Chalai, only to be confronted by beauty that was tainted by history. The tranquillity they found was the culmination of violence and bloodshed. A beach walk was not on the cards with the threat of landmines under their feet.
The Truth That Wasn’t There: watch the videos and see for yourself the acquisition of truth behind the propaganda. (Look at Guy’s blog at www.relev$1$3ttruth.wordpress and watch the videos on YouTube).
