#LankaPositive4: An unlikely end when I visited a terrorist leader’s house

By Sachin Bhandary

Rebellion is romantic. All of us have sometime pasted posters of rock stars, rebel leaders and ravishing women in our bedroom. Whether the Government likes it or not, LTTE’s supremo Prabhakaran is one such poster for many people.

But where did he find his rebellious streak? Which streets did he walk? With my visit to Sri Lanka, I had the opportunity to find out. 

My teenage years were spent day-dreaming of rebellion (without ever actually creating any). My dysfunctional family added to the teenage angst. Heroes of the Cuban revolution Fidel Castro and Che Guevara were my heroes too. It was back then that I got introduced to Prabhakaran and his army of ‘Liberation Tigers for Tamil Eelam’ through newspapers. Holding a gun and getting others to as well were signs of a great man, according to my immature mind. 

 

My own rebel mission

The decision was made; I would visit Prabhakaran’s house in Valvettithurai or VVT. The question was how? It was to be my own rebel mission. The Sri Lankan Army has a sizeable presence in Jaffna. This region was the birthplace of separatist movements like the LTTE. And the Army obviously does not like Prabhakaran being glorified.

Hope came in the form of a friend of a friend who lived in northern Sri Lanka. He agreed to take me to Point Pedro. “Thailavar’s house is near,” he said. Thailavar or the boss was no one else but Prabhakaran. The poster boy of Tamils probably had the opportunity to make things better for his people. But he chose to remain inflexible and violent.

After crossing tobacco farms, busy town centres and swanky electronics showrooms, we reached Point Pedro. This was the northernmost point of Sri Lanka and the landscape successfully managed to express its location. Rows of anchored boats floated lazily in blue waters. The coastline was sandy and rocky in equal parts. There weren’t any tourists, only a few fishermen squatting beside the road that runs parallel to the sea. Point Pedro hid its turbulent past quite well.

“We can’t go further, this is Army area,” said my friend. I could sense that he was uncomfortable. On probing he revealed “Army people will ask questions, not good for me”.

So I settled to click pictures of the lighthouse from a distance. It seemed as if we left as soon as we had arrived. 

 

Time stands still in VVT

A short bike ride later we entered a small town with narrow roads and old houses. Wooden doors had intricate carvings. They belonged to a different time. And time had chosen to stand still. This was VVT or Valvettithurai, Prabhakaran’s hometown. A town that stood witness to its own changing fortunes. From enterprising residents who built international commerce to the wealth from smuggling and later to the birth of a son who would lead Tamils into a bloody war for freedom.

A few 100 metres later, we noticed a statue with its arms missing. The man looked familiar but I couldn’t place him at first. It was MGR, the Tamil Nadu superstar and Chief Minister of the same Indian state. He was a known sympathiser of the LTTE. An article in The Hindu newspaper suggests that the statue was installed by residents of VVT around 2003-’04 as a tribute to the man.

We expect build up and climax to our stories. But real life is quite different. The bike stopped with almost a jerk next to a tree at the mouth of a lane. “There, that is Thailavar’s house,” I was told. 

No grandeur, no signs. In fact, there was no house either. All that is left of Prabhakaran’s house is a small part of the boundary wall. At one time, the boundary wall announced ‘House of The President of Tamil Eelam’. That day it had a humble graffiti meekly stating ‘Prabhakaran’s house’.

This is where Prabhakaran spent his childhood years before departing to lead a life of rebellion.

The house was razed to the ground by the Army for the fear of it turning into a Tamil separatist shrine.

And then suddenly I was taken over by fear. The Sri Lankan Army had destroyed that house. Maybe even I was unwelcome there. I was not even a local, not even a Tamil for that matter. What if the Army arrived? What if they had difficult questions? 

My teenager enthusiasm disappeared in a hurry. All I wanted to do was leave.

Then a man in a sarong claiming to be Prabhakaran’s neighbour appeared. He mentioned that Army folks didn’t make frequent visits anymore. That gave me the courage to stay back for a while and make some small talk.

Sri Lanka now has an opportunity

The conversation made two things clear. People might have hated the war, but Prabhakaran remains popular. He was and is the hero of majority of Tamils in northern Sri Lanka. And it will continue to be that way for some time. But, also that Sri Lanka now has an opportunity. 

It might have taken another strong man like ex-Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa to end the LTTE and its reclusive leader. But the march towards inclusion of Buddhist, Tamils and other communities has to be led by a very different kind of leader. A leader who is more inclusive and probably even unassuming.

“Sirisena, parva ille,” said the standing man next to Prabhakaran’s house. For someone who grew up in Prabhakaran’s backyard to accept a Buddhist president as good was momentous. It is proof that Sri Lankans, even on the other side (northern) are ready to move on.

Whether Sirisena and other Sri Lankan politicians will rise to this great occasion, only time will tell. But as I rode back under the beautiful Sri Lankan sky, the breeze brought optimism.

The country hadn’t fought decades of war for nothing. And by the time Sri Lanka evolves into a truly inclusive society, the remnants of my teenage rebellion should have disappeared too. Let’s hope both these statements turn out to be true. 

(Sachin quit a successful, decade long career in public relations to pursue ‘The 12 Project’. It involves him traveling to 12 countries and taking a monthly challenge in each one. He recently traveled through Sri Lanka to write positive stories about the country. He believes that Sri Lanka has unfortunately been suffering from the war stereotype for way too long. He believes traveling is the best way to learn and wants to encourage more people to take trips with a purpose. When not busy with keeping himself alive, Sachin shares his experiences through on these platforms: Website: www.theoddtraveller.in; Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Odd-Traveller/777044725674620; Twitter: @theoddtraveller; Instagram: @theoddtraveller. Follow him, he promises to take us on an interesting ride!)