BETA

This has been a week of remembrance for many people in the Tamil community, this week saw the annual day of remembrance, otherwise known as ‘Maveerar naal’, for those lost in the war in Sri Lanka. Currently CIA statistics estimate that as a result of the on going conflict in Sri Lanka that 60,000 civilians and fighters have died and more than one million have been displaced. Surely after 26 years of fighting the question on everybody’s mind is, ‘when is this all going to end’? Sadly I do not have an answer or even a prediction for this, but what I can offer some insight into is why it is so important for our community to remember those who have died in the war. The fighters and innocent civilians who have been killed have all been killed in the name of ‘Tamil eelam’ and pursuing the belief that one-day there will be a Tamil eelam. 
What I am attempting to explain is why the Tamil community places such a divine importance on this day itself.
Ultimately besides the political importance of the date, is one thing that makes this day resonate amongst the Tamil Diaspora around the world, that one thing is remembrance. In everyday lives where one worry precedes another, work is hectic, chores are plentiful and daily stresses cloud ones mind there is no time to think about personal worries let alone the worries of an entire community. So the allocated date of the 27th is all the more poignant for Tamil who live outside of their native homeland. It is a day where personal worries are left behind and the thoughts turn to more profound worries of an entire nation. The collective gathering and feeling of unity helps each individual grieve and remember those who have sacrificed their life for the greater good of the Tamil community.
It is important for everyone to remember, for who knows what the future may hold and our generation is already less informed than our older generation. When the next generation of Tamils emerge, that is our children, they will have been brought up by parents who have been born and brought up outside of Sri Lanka and have little or no detailed knowledge of the conflict. Eventually memories held by the older generations will start to fade and with it will censor certain events, thus the observance of one day in the year for fallen ‘heroes’ is more than appropriate.
Without remembrance, many of the immense accomplishments around the world would long be forgotten and taken for granted. World War 1 now has no survivors and World War 2 has few left, but by holding a remembrance day the entire world can relive and contemplate what fellow men have done in order to make the world a better place. Independence days around the world celebrate the giving of independence after bitter struggles to gain it, in America thanks giving is held to thank the forefathers for founding the constitution to which Americans live their life by, the list of these days of thanks and remembrance are endless. However, the one thing that stands out among all this is that the world acknowledges the need to hold times of commemoration to pay tribute to and honour the brave heroes of the past.

Without remembrance we are doing those who have given their life for their county (and for the people of the country, many of those whom they never knew) a great injustice. Often times we remember those who we may not have met or never would have had the chance to meet, but this does not mean we are unable to remember them just as well as their family or friends would have been able to. To quote from Oscar Wilde ‘people know the price of everything, but know the value of nothing’; hopefully by holding this day of remembrance our community does know the value and the importance of all aspects of life, especially the lives of those who have sacrificed their life for the community’s well being.