It is now days after the commemoration of the First Anniversary of the victims of the April 21, Easter Sunday carnage, we remembered them in silence in our homes and apartments, they who were mercilessly killed by the suicide-bombers. They have gone to their eternal rest.
Church and temple bells rang out across Sri Lanka, marking one year since over 260 people were killed and more than 500 others wounded by a group of suicide bombers. The Hindu and Muslim communities too joined in remembering the dead. But there were no large-scale ceremonies with the participation of a large number of people in churches and temples or visits to the sites of the bomb blasts which killed many innocent people or to their graves. This year, on April 21, radio stations and television channels joined in observing a two minute silence in tribute to those killed on Easter Sunday, 2019.
A private ceremony was held on Tuesday for survivors. There had been plans to unveil two monuments to those killed and to hold a number of church services. The prevailing outbreak of COVID-19 had changed everything. But the day was forgotten and unmarked - not least by those whose lives were changed forever by the violence.
Thinking about the devastating experience one year after, brings fresh memories of the massacre. The screaming and crying of those who died under tragic circumstances still rings and echoes in our ears. Their cries bring to mind the cries of Abel to the Heavens, when he was killed by his own brother Cain and which is recorded in the Sacred Scriptures. That was the first murder recorded in human history.
All those who died in their innocence have now joined the rank of the martyrs. That is the only solace we have to lessen our pain of mind.
They offered their lives for the faith they stood for, bringing memories of the past, when Sri Lankan Catholics had undergone similar experiences and fates, under the hands of our own regional kings or governors, and under the hands of the imperialists who were opposed to the Catholic faith. The Martyrs of Mannar is a classic example. Those who were brutally killed on Easter Sunday-2019, in Sri Lanka would be honoured as the Martyrs of the 21st century in Sri Lankan history.
I had just entered the Daily News –News Room when I heard the thundering blast of bombs and someone came rushing to me with the news that there had been a bomb explosion at St. Anthony’s Shrine, Kochchikade, Colombo. Before the heat of the news of the blast at the Shrine ceased , more news kept pouring in to say that several bombs had exploded in several places within the Colombo district and the Gampaha district in the Western Province. They included the bomb blast at St. Sebastian Church, Katuwapitiya, Negombo, ‘the famed Little Rome’ and the Zion Evangelical Church in the Eastern city of Batticaloa. The explosions struck within a short period of time, all targeting the faithful as Easter services were beginning in churches packed with worshippers celebrating Easter.
Three other explosions took place in three leading luxury hotels in the Colombo. They were the Shangri-La, Kingsbury and Cinnamon Grand hotels where tourists were enjoying Sri Lankan hospitality in abundance. There were two other blasts, one at Dehiwala and another at Dematagoda, causing heavy casualties.
In quick time, I managed to send reporters and photographers who were at Lake House at the time to St. Anthony’s Shrine, Kochchikade and got the reporters in Negombo to visit St. Sebastian’s Church, Katuwapitiya. I also rang our local correspondents in Batticaloa to visit the Zion Christian Church.
Phones were ringing and staff was taking notes on news coming from various sources, and they were also busily finding out the latest news. We run to Dinamina and Thinakaran Editorials and in turn, they come to us to obtain news they have missed. We keep watching and listening to radio and television channels, until our reporters come with what they had gathered. The photo department comes with more eye-catching photos for a photo page.
I recall the experience I had when the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) carried out a shooting targeting the Lake House building, hiding at Holiday Inn Hotel in Colombo. I had come to work at the Sunday Observer News Desk on the day of the shooting. Those present at Lake House heard the shooting and how our security guards were trying to respond with their guns. Those of us at Lake House in the early hours of that morning ran for safety and then we were taken out of the building by the Police and army personnel. Subsequently, we went visiting and collecting information to tell the tale.
The day, April 21, 2019, when bombs were blasted was a Sunday; a Sunday of very great significance to all Catholics and Christians of other denominations in Sri Lanka and the world. It was Easter Sunday.
The ‘Easter Sunday’ attack of hallowed places remains a major cause of worry and anxiety. The humble opinion of many is, that the brutal attack, however, has exposed the naked truth of the callous attitude of those responsible, and their failure to maintain the security, peace, and harmony of the country.
In the meantime, within my soul, I was searching for an answer. Why………why have they targeted innocent Catholics attending Easter Service in their respective localities? Why did they target Catholics attending Easter Sunday, the most sublime day of the Catholic faith? Faith in the Resurrection of Christ and in turn the resurrection of all those who believe and abide by the teaching of Our Saviour, Redeemer of Humanity, the Lord and Master?
The ‘Easter Sunday’ carnage had caused the loss of a good number of innocent lives and had left many others with fear and bodily harm. This had awakened the Government and people from their dream in a world of safety and serenity.
The bomb blast triggered against the Sri Lankan Catholic community in particular caused an irreparable damage to the country’s future with the loss of many precious and valuable lives.
It was very sad for us Catholics, to learn that some Catholic families had lost several members of their respective families. The people who were saved from death are forced to live with physical injuries, and the endless, life-long agony and mental suffering owing to what they had experienced.
It is alleged that a group of misguided youth, seeming to have no sense of feeling for others, and practising no religion had caused fear in the minds of the people through their drastic action, and caused anxiety about the future security of the country.
The Easter Sunday terror attack aiming the Catholic and Christian communities gathered to worship at the Altar of God, to hail the feast of Resurrection, is now under investigation.
The Holy Week of 2019, commenced with the news of the 850-year-old Catholic Shrine of fame dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of Jesus, the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris,, coming under a ruthless attack. It is a shrine where millions of devotees from all over the globe, visit and pay homage. Nobody dreamt that Sri Lanka would face a similar or worse fate at the conclusion of the Holy Week of 2019, on Easter Sunday. But that devastating massacre of innocent lives, that carnage, took place in this country referred to as the ‘Pearl of the Indian Ocean, the ‘Tear-drop of the Asian region and the ‘Country of Small Miracle’.
Delivering His Message, to mark the first commemoration of the victims of the Easter Sunday carnage, His Eminence, Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, the Spiritual Head of the Colombo Metropolitan said: “ We as the church have forgiven in Spirit the attackers. But those who motivated, mobilised and moved them to attack the innocents should be brought to justice.” He also said that the families who suffered are close to his heart and that “he will be with them always.”
On the day of the blast, His Eminence lamented and expressed His feelings this way: It is “a very, very sad day for all of us.”
“I express my deepest sorrow and sympathy to all those innocent families that have lost someone, and also to those who have been injured and rendered destitute”. Cardinal Ranjith went on to say: “I condemn – to the utmost of my capacity – this act that has caused so much death and suffering to the people.” He also called on the Government to hold “a very impartial, strong inquiry and find out who are responsible behind these acts”.
The Holy Father, Pope Francis said: “the multiple attacks on churches and hotels around Sri Lanka have wrought grief and sorrow. I entrust to the Lord all those who have tragically perished,” he said, “and I pray for the injured and all those who suffer as a result of this tragic event.”
The Catholic Church in Sri Lanka along with all Catholics and men of goodwill trust that the truth will come out and justice will be done.