“In Their Memory”: An everyday journey

By Divya Thotawatte 

In a poignant tribute to the victims and survivors of the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka, “In Their Memory”, a memorial storytelling exhibition, was recently opened to honour and share the stories of those affected. 

The Easter Sunday attacks of 2019 left an indelible mark on Sri Lanka, claiming over 250 lives and leaving behind a profound sense of trauma and loss that continue to weigh heavily on its survivors, as well as the families and friends of its victims. Five years after the tragedy, Sri Lankan authorities are yet to provide clear answers regarding the attacks leaving many unresolved questions. Meanwhile, the path to healing for those affected has been slow and fraught with challenges. 

It is in this context that the Sri Lankan Reconciliation Movement (SLRM) creates the Easter Attack Survivors Project (EASP) as a platform to raise awareness of the survivor community and contribute to reconciliation and peace building efforts in Sri Lanka. “In Their Memory”, a memorial exhibition for advocacy through storytelling, is one initiative by the EASP, in collaboration with SLRM and InterNews Sri Lanka. 

During the inauguration, EASP Co-Founder Aamina Muhsin spoke about the lasting impact of the attacks, highlighting how they had shattered what had felt like a fragile peace that Sri Lanka had experienced for a decade after the war. She recounted how 269 innocent lives were taken without warning, including 45 foreign nationals, who had seen Sri Lanka as a paradise. These attacks left behind 269 clusters of people who, even today, are grappling with the trauma and devastation of that day.

“Since 2019, a lot has happened. Governments have changed multiple times. Investigative units from around the world have come down their work and gone. Commission reports have been released. Accountability and justice have numerous times been called for. Whole communities have changed the way they function and the way they behave. I know because I come from one. So much has happened in relation to the Easter Sunday attacks in these past five years, and yet nothing much has been done for those that survived that day. The pain, the trauma, the questions that continue to haunt them every single day is something we just cannot ignore anymore.”

“In Their Memory” is a memorial exhibition to honour those who passed away and also those who survived the Easter Sunday attacks. It focuses on the narratives of the direct survivors and victims, raising awareness through their stories, and will revolve around three main themes; trauma, grief and loss, inter-faith and inter-ethnic relations, and understanding the importance of reconciliation and memorialisation. 

These themes are deeply relevant subjects to Sri Lanka’s ongoing journey of healing and reconciliation, as well as its broader social and political landscape. Each piece displayed at the exhibition attempts to capture and highlight the profound suffering of victims, narrating their stories to ensure that the pain, strength and hope of survivors and those lost will not be forgotten. They aim to spark more discussions around the tragedy, with the hope of bringing long-awaited answers and justice for survivors and families of the lost, as well as fostering reconciliation between communities – a necessary part of the country’s journey towards healing. 

“Countless survivors have told us that people only remember them during April of each year,” said the organisers, expressing pride in hosting “In their memory” outside of April, breaking away from the limited annual recognition the tragedy receives. This off-calendar tribute will ensure that the stories of survivors and victims will resonate beyond the anniversary, their trauma and experiences honoured everyday as an enduring part of Sri Lanka’s history and collective memory. 

Pix by Shehan Gunasekara