Sri Lanka was amazing! I will split up our travels into the different places we visited throughout the week. Vavuniya was not our first stop, but definitely set the tone for the remainder of the trip and I think these girls had the biggest impact on our students. So a very brief history on Sri Lanka; the country is made up of mostly Sinhalese Buddhist (~80%) and Tamil Hindus (~20%). The two groups have struggled for position and recognition for most of their history. Since Sri Lanka gained its independence around 1950, the Sinhalese have controlled the country. ~30 years ago the Tamils decided they wanted control and civil war broke out. The war finally ended in 2009.
In Vavuniya, we first visited an orphanage for Tamil girls age 14-18. All of the girls at the orphanage were impacted by the war as their fathers, and often their mothers and other family members were casualties, some even fought or were training to fight when the war came to an end. Communication was very difficult for all of us as we do not speak Tamil and they do not speak English. We tried to learn names and ended up playing a game together. The girls challenged our boys to arm wrestling and one girl could very easily have you on your knees all from a pinch in your hand.
After lunch and playing at the orphanage, we headed down the street to a vocational training center for about 40 girls (18-23 yrs old) who were former Tamil Tiger (considered by many to be the most successful terrorist organization ever) soldiers in the war. Most of these girls volunteered to fight or felt obligated because they watched their father or brothers killed by the Sinhalese army. Whether it was training new recruits, making and placing land mines, security guard for high ranking officers, suicide bombers (clearly not fulfilled), or simply out to kill the “enemy”, these girls (18 to 22 years old, recruited at 11 or 12) were soldiers in every sense of the word. Now that the war is over the country does not have a need for terrorist bomb makers or assassins, so they need a skill. At the training center they learn to support themselves and contribute to society by sewing/making purses, clothes and shoes.
At the training center the girls sang and danced for us. We tried to reciprocate but quickly realized these (singing and dancing) were NOT our group’s strong suits! The 2 hours we spent there could best be summarized as “Girls just want to have fun!” And 20 year old girls have the most fun when boys are present! As they danced they simply went up to our boys and pulled them into the circle to dance with them. Our boys were incredible uncomfortable, but opened up quickly and let lose! As we left the girls followed us down the road to our bus and waved and screamed and even jumped on the bus to give one last goodbye hug. For only being with these two sets of girls for such a short period of time our time with them will long be remembered. Here was a group of young ladies that have never played with dolls, never played dress up, never even gone to school. When they were little kids, they learned to kill and as 18-23 year olds they are learning how to live with only one leg, or with the pain of shrapnel lodged in their bodies, or the horrible memories of what they did or what was done to them in the war. Yet, in the time we were there, we saw smiling faces and heard laughter. It is truly amazing what having someone show them the love of God (the ladies that run the training centers were pastors before their churches were taken from them when they were sent to refugee camps) has done for them. These girls, most of whom have killed numerous people in their short lives, are being changed by God and we feel privileged that God would allow us a glimpse into His mighty life-changing power.
More to come on the rest of our trip…
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