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Memories of Navaly

July 9th 2020 marks 25 years since the bombing of Navaly by the Sri Lanka Air Force.

My name is Maureen Ernest; these are my memories of the day, how I witnessed the aftermath, and my journey since.

Life in my village

Navaly is my village, located about 8 km from Jaffna, in Sri Lanka. It is surrounded by paddy fields. Navaly has produced many famous people - one of them is Navaliyoor Somasundara Pulavar. He was a popular poet and Tamil scholar, who was highly regarded in Eelam (the native Tamil name for Sri Lanka) during his lifetime, till his death in 1953. His poems for children contributed immensely to contemporary Tamil literary work.

Navaly has a popular natural water well named ‘Idikundu’ which translates to ‘thunder well'. Legend says it was created by a lightning strike in the early 20th century; some speculate it might be an asteroid that struck. The depth of this water well is so deep and it is unknown.

Navaly has many Hindu Temples, St Peter and Paul catholic church and a few Protestant churches. The Tamil meaning of Navaly comes from the village having nine Hindu temples.

Navaly has its own primary schools and one secondary school, till O/L. I am proud to say I am a past pupil of Navaly St Peter's Roman Catholic Tamil Mixed School.

My primary schooling at Navaly St Peter's school, and my achievements at Navaly YMCA

The pain of being Tamil

On 9 July 1995, the Sri Lankan armed forces launched a large-scale military offensive against the positions of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) north of the city of Jaffna to retake the Jaffna peninsula. ‘Operation Leap Forward’ began at dawn on July 9th. The military warned civilians to clear the south-west of its base at Palaly, recommending churches and temples as shelters. The operation was already highlighted by the use of intensive artillery shelling and air strikes, immediately forcing tens of thousands of civilians to leave the area. As part of precautions to avoid civilian casualties, the military had distributed leaflets requesting Tamil civilians in the rebel-held peninsula to seek refuge in temples and churches to minimise the chance of death or injury. Thousands fled with only the bags they could carry to safer areas.

Photo via Tamil Guardian

Witnessing a mass exodus

A mass exodus of fear and panic stricken people screamed and squeezed through the narrow roads of Navaly to seek refuge. I stood in front of my gate, next to Sinthamani Pillayar Kovil, giving water to those who walked for miles. The road was clogged. People were walking with goats, cows, dogs, birds in cages. Some loaded their bicycles with necessities and walked together with others. Some men carried their children, elderly, pregnant women, disabled people in their bikes. Some travelled in bullock carts. There were few motorcycles, cars, and tractors which were seen among the massive displacement.

Many of the displaced sought shelter in churches and temples, including several hundred people who took refuge in the Navaly Church of St. Peter and Paul, and Navaly Chinna Kathirgamar Murugan Temple. Many came to Navaly barefoot, having fled their homes to escape the fighting.

Left: Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, via public post on Google Maps | Right: Navaly Murugan Temple

A hospitable village

Navaly people welcomed the refugees and provided them with daily necessities such as milk, dry rations and clothes. I saw the Navaly GS (Grama Sevaka), village Head man Ms. Hemalatha going to the Navaly St Peter's church to provide assistance for the refugees. Navaly people gathered in the church compound, to prepare food for dinner and accommodation for the night. The church was packed with Navaly residents and refugees who had fled earlier air raids.

Disaster from heaven

Late evening on July 9th 1995 - I saw a plane. I saw some small black things coming out. I thought they were leaflets from the Sri Lankan government for some direction to save our lives. The man next to me commanded us to lie down on the floor. I laid down on a stony ground. Later I learnt it was an Argentine-made Pucará fighter that flew toward the Navaly church, 3 km outside the combat zone and dropped a cluster of 8 bombs, which fell in 8 different locations. The 8th bomb fell on my paternal grandfather’s house. Many houses were razed to the ground and others heavily damaged.

Bottom photo: My paternal home, the well damaged by the 8th bomb

The lost value of human life

Most of the people huddled inside the church were women and children, many of whom were killed immediately. Others had limbs blown off. Bodies were retrieved from the debris. one among them was my mum's cousin. The ‘Navaly massacre’ resulted in devastating carnage, with many babies pulled from the rubble later by rescue squads to no avail. People died being stuck under the rubble of the buildings. Many were killed by the sharp pieces that exploded from the bombs. Over 150 were seriously injured, sustaining the loss of limbs. My paternal aunt also was injured by a piece of a bomb.

My paternal aunt

The fight to survive

It was very difficult to find transportation to take the survivors to the Jaffna Teaching Hospital, which is 6 km away. Some were taken by tractors. My aunt was taken by motorcycle, and on the way she was transferred to the ambulance. That evening and into the night, the Sri Lanka Red Cross staff evacuated most of the wounded by ambulance to the Hospital. But the Hospital and its lone surgeon weren't prepared. They soon ran out of bandages, antibiotics and beds.

Illustration via ENB-TENN

Life becomes the fear of death

All the people of my village Navaly fled to safer areas as refugees. Many relatives were devastated, not only at losing their loved ones but at being robbed of the chance to perform last rituals or burial ceremonies. We passed through torn limbs and pieces of human flesh strewn over the area, and also found blood stains on the floor and blood stained clothes still lying about. Delegates of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) present the next morning at the scene of the attack noted the widespread damage and measured the extent of the tragedy. Also, they noticed many of the bodies had not yet been removed from the rubble.

Damage to the roof of the church. Still from a video via NewTamils.Com

The meaning of life was pain

Next two weeks, I spent my time in front of the Jaffna Hospital ICU, where my aunt was admitted. During that time I witnessed the hospital filled with LTTE soldiers and innocent people. Always I heard the mourning of the wounded and the screaming of their loved ones. The days at the hospital were full of agony. Also I saw the dead bodies piled up front of the mortuary like garbage. That was a very traumatizing moment for me. I suffer with the brutalized images of the blood, dead bodies, body parts until this day.

Brutally killed for being Tamil

My paternal aunt died at the Jaffna hospital on 24th of July 1995. Until that day we remained in Jaffna. We returned back to Navaly with her dead body. It was the second tragic death for the family by the Sinhala government.

My paternal grandmother was alive when she lost her youngest daughter to the Sri Lankan air bombing. She has lost her husband as a young widow. He was beaten by the police during his Satyagraham against the Sinhala Only Act and later died of cardiac arrest. It was so painful and heartbreaking to lose a loved one innocently. There was so much anger and resentment towards the Sri Lankan government. The bomb thrown from the sky dwelled in my heart like a venom.

Monument at the church, in memory of all those killed in the bombing.
Photos of those killed by the bombing, placed at the church, via TamilNet
Memorial for the church bombing, held in 2017. Photos via Tamil Guardian.

Healing myself

Many of those who survived remain traumatized by the incident. I am one of them. The 2019 Easter Sunday bomb attack brought me back the memories of the Navaly bomb blast. PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) is a lifelong battle I fight every day.

Pieces created during art therapy, as part of my own healing journey

My hope for restoration of one Lanka

I look forward to a day when Madam CBK (former Sri Lankan president Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga) will apologize to the Navaly people and take responsibility for the Navaly bombing, so we can heal ourselves to journey towards reconciliation.

Photos of the church, present day, via public posts on Facebook and Google Maps.
My own journey of reconciliation - walking the paddy fields of Navaly with my Sinhala friend

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