REACH-April 2012

44OFFICIAL E-NEWSLETTER OF TYO-CANADA

REACHAPRIL2012

REACH - 44APRIL 20122

April brings to mind final examinations, assignments, projects

and essays but amongst all of that this year Canadian-Tamil

youth united for a remarkable milestone in our liberation

movement. April of 2012 saw the breathtaking performances

of youth of all ages came together to portray through various

artistic talents the history of Tamileelam. Art has always

been significant in any liberation movement the world has

witnessed. On April 27th, 2012, Canadian-Tamil youth used

drama, visual art, dance, and vocal talent to showcase every

step of the fight for a Tamil homeland. A well received show;

“Ilanthalir” is an example of the ”out of the box” thinking

that is necessary in order to educate wide ranges of audience

of the ongoing Tamil struggle. TYO-Canada urges the youth

to continue being involved with various forms of art and

to contribute to the struggle through their talents. Being

an advocate for Tamileelam through the various artistic

avenues available is an outstanding way to appeal to a greater

audience.

- TYO-Canada

TYO - CANADA APRIL 2012 3

p.15

p.17

p.5

p.18 p.20 p.22

p.6p.4 TYO Canada’s Ilanthalir

CTYA Robotics Competition

Colonel Shankar

C [youth canada] A [tamil history] D [world youth]

E [did you know?]

B [world history]

F [face-to-face] G [chef @ cheran] H [youth reflection]

TYO Italy - Liberation Day

UK - Resistance to Oppression +

Organic Food Make us “Jerks”?

An examination of Slavery in North America Part 3 of 3

w/ Vinisia Marharajah

Making Puttu Critical Theory Part 1 of 2

To work towards the enhancement of the Tamil Nation and to provide

an avenue for the betterment of Tamil youth in CanadaTYO

REACH APRIL2012

CONTENTS

44


Colonel Shankar joined the Tamil freedom struggle to fight for the freedom of the Tamil people and break the chains of oppression of Tamileelam. Col. Shankar has attained martyrdom with pride in fighting for his nation. His accomplishments and sacrifice is an important mark in the history of Tamileelam. Col Shankar’s accomplishments include the founding of the air wing and marine division of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

Colonel Shankar was born in September 1949, the second of six sons. He studied at the Tamil Maha Vidyalayam in Vanni and later as a boarding student at Hartley College in Point Pedro, Sri Lanka between 1959 and 1969. While there, he lived in Thamotheram House, and proved himself a talented sportsman, representing the college in cricket and football. He then went on to the Hindustan Institute of Engineering Technology in Chennai, where he studied aeronautical engineering.

During the rise and growth of the Tamil freedom struggle, three of his brothers who were involved with the with the national liberation movement attained martyrdom: Manoharan attained martyrdom by cyanide after his capture by the Sri Lankan navy; Vaseekaran, alias “Lieutenant Siddharth”, attained

martyrdom in a bomb blast when preparing for an attack in Mannar and a third brother was arrested by Sri Lankan forces and presumed dead after no further news was heard of him. The contributions of his family to the freedom struggle are immeasurable.

Col. Shankar had been an active participant in the Tamil people’s freedom struggle for nearly two decades. He was a close confidante of the National Leader of Tamileelam, Hon. Vellupillai Pirapaharan and accompanied him in the first historic meeting in the Vanni with Oslo’s Special Envoy, Erik Solheim, in November 2000.

Colonel Shankar attained martyrdom on September 26th when a deep penetration commando unit of the Sri Lankan Army triggered a claymore mine on Col. Shankar’s vehicle and he was killed on the spot. The incident occurred near Oddusudan in the heart of Vanni, in Tamileelam. His sacrifice and accomplishments will be engraved in this history of Tamileelam.

Colonel Shankar

A [tamil history]


PART 3 of 3

The expansion of slavery was incredibly high as previously stated because of economical reasoning’s. In the South, the region from Maryland and Delaware to Georgia, the climate and soil conditions were in favour of making more money24. Since there was such a high demand for crops in the South, the demand of slaves increased, making the South highly populated of slaves25. Populations estimated to about just fewer than 40 percent of the people lived in the South were slaves, however, their concentration varied within each region26. By 1700, in Virginia, there were about 6,000 slaves, which was about one-twelfth of the population compared to when slaves first arrived in 1619. By 1763, there were about 170,000 slaves, which made a gross total of half of the popula-tion27. Although abolitionists’ intentions were to ban slavery in 1807, cheap labour, discrimination had blinded the eyes of America making it hard to compromise and give acceptance to the slaves.

Although the population of slaves increased over time, slaves were also becoming more educated and were starting to question their rights. The free black population in the South had grown rapidly during the 1780’s28. Rebellious slaves went behind British lines to win their freedom and patriots freed others as a reward for enlisting their forces29. The revolu-tionary values of liberty and equality, “All men were created equally,” also led many slave owners to question their own morals of imprisonment30. In Virginia alone, ten thousand slaves were freed in the 1780’s. Although the basic founda-tion of the economy was slavery in the southern states, white men feared competition from freed black men31. Pennsylvania in 1780, New York in 1799, and New Jersey in 1804 each passed laws of gradual emancipation32. These laws did not free adult slaves but gave the children and opportunity to be free between the ages of 18 to 28. Many of these contradictions of freeing slaves were a controversial topic, which led to many arguments. Blacks were never treated with respect because they were considered property, even though in the Decla-ration of Independence it stated that all men were created equal. Many states started to free their slaves, however equal number of states did not believe in freeing their slaves.

Thus, slavery has been a growing institution, which has had

many struggles when trying to abolish it. However, there have been many significant movements, which have helped make society aware of the conditions slaves were put through. As discussed in this paper, slaves were forcefully brought to America to work on tobacco plantation fields for cheap labour. As the industry for tobacco increased, the needs of slaves also increased. Due to these inhumane acts, many aboli-tionists try to ban slavery by coming up with such documents such as the Declaration of Independence. Although the document took some time to process because it was written during the time when America was at war with Britain, it made people more aware of reality and acceptance. The Declaration was acted on the thirteen colonies and was always referred back to in the future when people attempted to ban slaves again. After the Declaration, the cotton gin invention brought the demand for slaves again. This was a wide spread act, and it was extremely difficult to bring any type of movement to ban slaves. Developing the economy was the only front forward movement that the American’s wanted to do. Along with cotton, tea, sugar, iron, cloth and other goods were manufac-tured in fields and factories with African slaves as the workers. This let the masters make profit off the slaves, which made it hard for them to realize slavery was not acceptable in society. Many debated and fought on behalf of the slaves, which was one of the leading factors to the Civil War. Therefore, it is evident that America was one of the last Western Nations to abolish slavery because it believed that slaves were only put for to develop the economy and not to be considered as individuals.

24 - Carter, P., opt cite, 141. 25 - Ibid 26 - Ibid 27 - Zinn, H., opt cite, 5 28 - Goldfield, D., opt cite. 141. 29 - Ibid 30 - Ibid 31 - Ibid142-143 32 - Carter, P., opt cite. 32

Bibliography Carter, Patrick, American History, Toronto: Edmond Montgomery Publications Limited, 2008 Goldfield, David, The American Journey: A History of the United States, New Jersey: Prentice Hall Inc, 1998. Haverman, A., The West and the World, Toronto: GageLearning Corporation, 2002. Sadlier, R., Black History: Africa, The Caribbean, and the Americas, Toronto: Edmond Montgomery Publications Limited, 2009. Vitale, Don. Declaration of Independence. United States of America: Archiving Early Americas, 1995. Zinn, Howard., History is a Weapon,. 1 January 2010. Retrieved 10 December 2010. <http://www.historyisaweapon.com>

An examination of Slavery in North America

B [world history]


IlanthalirTORONTO, ON

On Friday, April 27th, 2012, the Tamil-Canadian youth community put together a show called “Ilanthalir” and showcased a variety of artistic talent on stage. Ilanthalir started off with a heart-wrenching moment as the National anthem of Tamil Eelam was sung live.

C [youth canada]


The show compromised of 10 different scenes with an intercon-necting storyline that walked the audience through the perspective of two main characters. Starting off with the two young girls in school, they are exposed to their rich Tamil heritage and explore the ancient history of the Tamil kingdom.


Next, the Tamil Students’ Association at Ryerson Univer-sity portrayed the hardships and consequences of British coloni-zation on the island. RYETSA cleverly used a wide range of musical genres to convey this portion of history.


Next, the effect of the Sinhala Only Act was shown through spoken poetry. The audience was kept at the edges of their seat as the delivery of the poem encompassed the serious-ness of this particular Act. The Vaddukottai Resolution of 1976 and the burning of the Jaffna library were cleverly portrayed through various dance and drama segments.


High school students played a major role in the reenactment of Black July 1983 as they did for every dramatic scene throughout the production. This scene in particular however, was very well received by the audience, as the scene was portrayed impeccably by the young actors.


Following the 1983 riots, the York University Tamil Students’ Associ-ation’s displayed their rendition of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and the 2002 ceasefire. A fusion of hip hop and classical, YUTSA did an amazing job with a such a powerful performance that overtook the audience.


Next, the Tamil Students’ Associa-tion at Carleton University showcased the 2009 genocide and Tamil Diaspora protests. With props that decorated the stage, Carleton University TSA utilized their creative ability to help bring this specific part of the recent Tamil history to life.


The final scene of the show, the UN conference and Tamil Eelam’s independence touched the hearts of many individuals in the audience. The scene, complete with the main characters placing flowers at a Thuyilum Illam, evoked emotion and was the perfect ending to groundbreaking theatrical performance.


CTYA Robotics Competition

MARKHAM, ON

The Education and Career Devel-opment Council of Canadian Tamil Youth Alliance, alongside alumni engineering students launched a Robotics Competition at Tamil Kids Day at Markham Fairgrounds. The competition included youth between grades 4 to 8. The Edu-cation and Career Development council looks forward to estab-lishing more youth helping youth programs such as this one.


Liberation Day

Resistance to Oppression

ITALY

April 25th is Liberation day in Italy which celebrates the country’s liberation from the Nazi army and the dictatorship of Mussolini and this year. The Tamil Youth Organization-Italy participated in a commemora-tive event. They honored the heroes of Italian Resistance with a wreath and gave the mayor of Gattatico city the National flag of Tamileelam. Leafleting was also carried out by TYO-Italy at this event to raise further awareness about the Tamil Genocide.

UNITED KINGDOM

Activists from the Kurdish, Baloch, Basque, Sindhi and Tamil communities in the UK came together at an event co-hosted by respective diaspora organiza-tions and the Campaign Against Criminalizing Communities (CAMPACC), to examine the harmful effects of state oppres-sion and anti-terror legislation on their community, and to discuss ways of resisting it. Jan Janan-ayagam of the Tamil rights group, Tamils Against Genocide (TAG) as well as members of the TYO-UK participated in this particular event.

D [world youth]

REACH - 44 APRIL 201216

Career FairsNORWAY & DENMARK

Members of the Tamil Youth Organizations in both Norway and Denmark organized a highly informative high education and career fairs. Both children and parents alike were invited and informed of the countless school-ing and career opportunities that existed. Also, presentations by individuals from different career fields were well received by the attendees.


Organic Foods Make us “Jerks”?RESEARCH FROM LOYOLA UNIVERSITY

A psychology professor at the Loyola University in New Orleans conducted a study in which she discovered that people who eat organic products have a tendency to judge moral circumstances more starkly than those who do not eat organic food. What got the idea going for this experiment was the fact that many organic food items have moral terminology labeled on them, such as “honest tea”.

During the study, the professor had three groups set up. Each group was exposed to either comfort food such as cookies, regular food and organic food. She proceeded to show a series of clips about moral misdemeanors. For example, she showed a scenario where cousins were having sex. Next, she asked the groups to judge the situations on a scale from 1 to 7. Those exposed to comfort food judged an average of 4.89. Those who ate the normal food judged an average of 5. And lastly, those who ate organic food judged the scenarios at an average of 5.5. Thus, the study showed that eating organic food might make you more judgmental.

E [did you know?]


YOUR POEM THAT YOU ENTERED IN FOR THE ILANTHALIR: WHAT DOES ARTISTIC REVOLUTION MEAN TO YOU? VIDEO COMPETI-TION WAS WELL RECEIVED AND DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE IDENTIFIED WITH. WHY DO YOU THINK THIS COMPETITION AND “ILANTHALIR” IN GENERAL IS IMPORTANT?

Ilanthalir: The Artistic Revolution of Tamileelam is an extremely important outlet for talented Tamil youth, to showcase their talents, and show the world their true pride for Tamil Eelam, through the arts. I personally felt that the arts were not given enough importance in the Tamil commu-nity, certain talents never got to shine; such as spoken word, and modern dance/theatre. The Artistic Revolution was a creative, innovative spotlight for talents such as these, and so much more. It shows our community, and the world what Tamil youth are capable of. Ilanthalir was the perfect stage to showcase these talents, as it also showcased different messages about the civil war and genocide back home.

ART, WHETHER IT IS VISUAL, VOCAL, OR DANCE, IS ALWAYS USED IN THE REVOLUTIONARY REALM OF STRUGGLES THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. THE CONTENT OF YOUR POEM WAS DEFINITELY TIED IN WITH THE TAMIL PEOPLE’S FIGHT FOR SELF-DETERMINATION. WHAT INFLUENCED YOU TO CONNECT YOUR PASSION FOR WRITING AND YOUR PASSION FOR THE LIBERATION MOVEMENT TOGETHER?

This began in my writers’ craft class. I was told to write a story, and I decided to write about my mother’s life, while living in Sri Lanka, during the civil war. From this short story sprang many poems I wrote about the countless innocent Tamils that were slaughtered ruthlessly in the war. I wanted this poem to empower the younger generations to fight for their identity, their people and their rights. I want the young-er youth and future generations of Tamils to know about the history of their people. They must also do something for the liberation movement, as numbers do matter.

Vinisia Maharajah

Vinsia Maharajah is an18 year-old Canadian-Tamil. She currently attends Woburn Collegiate Institute and is an aspir-ing graphic designer. Vinsia recently won a 16 GB Blackberry playbook for her poetic video portrayal of what “artistic revolution” meant to her. The video competition was part of the “Ilanthalir” stage show by the Tamil Youth Organization-Canada. Vinsia hopes to inspire and entertain others through her poems and various forms of art that she is involved with.

F [face-to-face]


WE KNOW THAT YOU’RE VERY EXPRESSIVE THROUGH YOUR POETRY,

ARE THERE OTHER ARTISTIC AVENUES THAT YOU SHOWCASE YOUR

TALENT AND PASSION FOR TAMILEELAM THROUGH?

Yes, I have a strong visual arts background, and I hope to use this to showcase my talent. I’ve always wanted to paint a large mural showcasing the different aspects of Tamil Eelam. I am also a Youtuber, and a video for Tamil Eelam is on my agenda, I am just waiting for the right time, and the right people for this.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE QUOTE?

A quote that I live by is “Dare to be Different.” As much as I respect the conservative norms of the Tamil community, I love being bold, creative, confident and unique. In my social circles, I am often noted as the oddball, and I am quite proud of this label. I look at many things at a unique perspective, and I do things differently.

Would you mind shining light on some of your personal goals for the future ahead?

I am an aspiring graphic designer, as well as an actor, and Youtuber. I hope to bring an inspirational change and enter-tainment to the Tamil community, through my videos. I also hope to make videos that will shed light on various taboos and topics within the Tamil community. My goal in life is to keep people entertained with my videos, and personality.


Puttu INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups of rice flour• 1 cup of grated coconut• Salt to taste• Water

G [chef @ cheran]


4

1

6

3

5

2

Place the lid and allow it to steam cook for 5 minutes.

Mix salt into steamed rice flour.

Add water to the puttu maker. Once the water comes to a boil, add a handful of the powder into the puttu maker, followed by a handful of grated coconut.

Prepare grated cocunut Add boiled water to the rice flour little by little, mixing in between to form a powder. Ensure that dough is not formed.

Continue to alternatively add layers of the two until the puttu maker is filled


PART 1 of 2

It has been over 3 years since the war and yet there are a quite a few who lack understanding of our struggle. Doesn’t mean I’m any smarter than others out there but I believe that people should be in a consensus in what we are fighting for and why we are fighting for it. So people who are missing out of this “consensus” think of the view as an extremist view. This view of the “common consensus” is very extreme because it tends to create an entire system that is built from ground up that will tend to challenge existing system(s) and institution(s). This is called a critical theory. This form of extremism is absolutely vital and is what we call revolution. Revolution always seeks its solution from Critical Theory. Critical theories are often supported by the majority amount of people who are tired of existing flaws in the structure and move towards an entirely different one that will ensure their survival and recognition of their political power. The need for a revolution arises mostly when the problem-solving theory fails. The name of the theory is itself self-explanatory. The problem solving theory tries to address problems within the structure and present remedies that are meant to preserve the system and the infrastructure that is in function. The flaw with the problem solving theory is that it focuses too much on preserving the system and infrastructure that it fails to address people’s concern which

leads to disastrous outcomes and sometimes disintegration of the system and infrastructure itself. In our over 60 year struggle, both the approaches have been tried and the Critical theory has been so far remarkably successful. The reason problem solving theory didn’t work was because trying to solve the Tamil problem under a flawed system in a democratic way is just impossible and Chelvanayakam’s struggle evidently proved it when he started to embrace the critical theory in the 70s. The whole country of Sri Lanka is built on racist views against the Tamils from the ground up and many riots between the 1940s till now, has critically proved that the majority of the people and the structure itself have no concern for the Tamil population in the island. The flaw still exists and has broadened considerably after the end of the armed conflict. The simple way to prove their genocidal system they have implemented against the Tamils in the island still exists; lies in the very nature the Social Justice for the Tamils are being addressed. The government not only strictly denies its role in committing the atrocious genocide but also continually shows that the Tamils deserve no form of social justice and should be quickly assimilated into their racist society (in the name of reconciliation) which again will only give arise to another set of discriminating policies and riots against the Tamils residing in the north and east of the state.

H [youth reflections]


Speak Out As Tamil youth in Canada, we have the

ultimate duty of educating others, as well as ourselves of the suffering of the Tamil

people. Understanding is crucial. And with understanding comes awareness, the most

essential step in the path to progress.

Join TYO Our doors are always open to new

members that are looking to make a difference for Tamils around the world.

As an organization with the interests of Tamil youth at heart, TYO provides

opportunities for Canadian Tamil youth to network, contribute, and develop their skills

in various areas as well.

Interested in getting involved?

Please contact us at [email protected]

Or visit us at WWW.CANADATYO.ORG

REACH Team Editor Laxana. P

Designer Shiyamdev. S

http://www.facebook.com/pages/REACH/18660939839

http://issuu.com/reach

https://twitter.com/#!/TYOCanada

http://www.facebook.com/events/162087407234910/?ref=ts

REACH-April 2012

Documents

Transcript of REACH-April 2012