TYO - Canada
MAY 2008
Vol - 3
REACH
Official Newsletter of TYO - Canada
Water will flow from a well in the sand in proportion to the depth to which it is dug, and knowledge will flow from a man in proportion to his learning. - Thirukkural (Verse 396)
To work towards the enhancement of the Tamil Nation and to provide an avenue for the betterment of the
Dear treasured youth,
Tamil youth in Canada
Welcome to the third edition of TYO - Canada’s newest endeavour REACH, an e-newsletter tailored to the needs of our Tamil youth.
- TYO’s Vision
For the month of May, we follow the life and times of Mother Poopathy, a remarkable woman whose heroic death is only one of countless examples of the strength in one, and the stand against oppression. We also take a look at the latest news from the Tamil Students’ Associations (TSA) of universities in Ontario. These are but a small sample of the concern and devotion these driven students harbour. Thank you to those who submitted a piece for our monthly topic. These insightful pieces can be found on pages 4 and 5 of this month’s issue. We thank you again for your much-appreciated feedback and suggestions. To ensure you receive all emails from REACH, please add reach@canadatyo. org to your address book or list of safe senders.
INSIDE - REACH Fast for freedom
p. 2
YOUTH Actions
p. 3
YOUTH Submissions
p. 4
Get Involved
p. 6
TYO - Soccer
p. 8
In solidarity, TYO – Canada
Message from TYO - Canada
MAY 2008
TYO - Canada
Vol - 3
REACH
Official Newsletter of TYO - Canada
The history of the Tamil struggle for national self-determination is a history of extraordinary examples of courage, determination and sacrifice. Into the history of great feats of courage and determination must go the struggle waged by a 56 year old mother of ten children and grandmother, Mrs Kanapathipillai Poopathy. Mother Poopathy, as this extraordinary woman has come to be affectionately known, went without food for thirty days before her death on 19th April 1988.
military operations came to her doorstep. Poopathy’s 28 year old son was shot dead by the Sri Lankan army. She tried to remove her family from the area of military operations by shifting to Navatkerni near Batticaloa. Again however, her eldest son by the second marriage was randomly shot dead
she herself had been. Poopathy amma as a member of the Mother’s Front, became a vociferous critique of the military operations and widespread violation of human rights by the Sri Lankan armed forces. Undeterred by the armed forces potential for killing and maiming, Poopathy protested against the military atrocities of the Sri Lankan troops. She often went to the army camp to enquire about the disappearance of husbands and sons.
Fast For Freedom Mother Poopathy
Historical View
There is nothing extraordinary in Poopathy’s childhood. Her biography reflects this history of her times. She was one girl among three, with two brothers. The best interests for a girl the family held was to fulfil the ideal type of life that prevailed at that time. Thus Poopathy, with basic literacy skills, was withdrawn from school and married at the age of twelve.Two sons were born from this union. At a very young age Poopathy soon developed the emotions of a matured woman. Married at twelve years of age, twice a mother and widowed all within a short span of life. But Poopathy married again to Mr Kanapathipillai, a widower with two sons and a daughter. Her family then expanded.Two more sons and two daughters resulted from this marriage and Poopathy became a mother of ten children. Poopathy struggled to raise a family in the face of shrinking opportunities for Tamil and Muslim children and mounting Sinhala State oppression. The young men of Poopathy’s children’s generation were targets of the military operations by the Sri Lankan armed forces. Indiscriminate killings, ‘disappearances’ and torture confronted the generation of her children. Eventually the horror and pain of
The height of Poopathy amma’s political campaign against the oppression of the Tamil and Muslim people and the violation of human rights came during the occupation of the north and east by the Indian army. The outbreak of war between the Indian army and the LTTE and the subsequent death and atrocities perpetrated against innocent Tamil and Muslim people horrified Poopathy amma.
by the Special Task Force. Another son, arrested during round up operations, was held in Boosa army camp and subjected to severe torture. Poopathy’s response to the death and pain of her children was grief and sadness. But grief and sadness, rather than weighing her down in perpetual morbidity, turned to rage and selflessness. Poopathy amma transformed depressing, individual emotions into positive social action. Poopathy knew that her experiences were the experiences of countless numbers of women. She came into contact with the Mother’s Front in Navatkerni and through this organisation was able to support, help and inspire other women who were going through the same traumas as
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Poopathy amma, with grave risk to herself from a ruthless army of occupation, was determined to lodge her protest against the war and the consequent death and mayhem caused by the Indian army. When political activity was banned by the Indian army, Poopathy boldly ignored the orders and organised demonstrations and protests against the atrocities perpetrated by them. On 19th March 1988 Poopathy amma took up residence at Mahmangam Pillayar temple and commenced her fast. She put forward two demands: (1)An immediate unconditional ceasefire between the LTTE and the IPKF. (2)Unconditional talks between the LTTE and the Indian government. Courtesy: www.tamilnation.org
TYO - Canada
MAY 2008
Vol - 3
REACH
Official Newsletter of TYO - Canada
Nivarana Alaikal – UTSC TSA Originally held as a fundraiser for the victims of the tsunami catastrophe of 2001, University of Toronto at Scarborough Tamil Student’s Association continued to make waves with their Waves of Relief talent show in April. This year’s third annual Nirvana Alaikal, with attendance in the hundreds, showcased the endless talent of Tamil youth. Creativity marked the night with many distinguished dance, dramatic and musical performances. The raised funds for this year will go towards the Youth Centre for Science and Education, which is dedicated to providing means to obtaining science and technology related knowledge for our Tamil youth back home.
Press Releases Callous assassination of human rights defender condemned by TYO-Canada For immediate release April 22, 2008 Tamil Youth Organization of Canada (TYO - Canada) condemns the recent senseless attack on the chairman of the North East Secretariat on Human Rights (NESoHR), Rev. Father M X Karunaratnam. He was killed on the 20th of April 2008 on the Mankulam-Mallavi road in Sri Lanka by a claymore attack carried out by the Deep Penetration Unit of the Sri Lankan military.
YOUTH Actions
As the sole witness and voice to the devastating human rights violations against Tamils in the North-East, NESoHR served to bring some semblance of security in what is more often viewed as a land of abandoned law. Read more
Sri Lankan army attacks on sacred church condemned by TYO - Canada For immediate release April 10, 2008 Since the initial attack early Tuesday in Sri Lanka’s north, the Sri Lankan army’s offensive attacks in the sacred Madu church premises, has brought devastation to a site which housed thousands of internally displaced people. Madu is revered as amongst the holiest of places by pilgrims each year. The indiscriminate attacks instigated an immediate fleeing of nearby civilians clergy. Read more
York University students urge for objective media reporting April 17, 2008 For Immediate Release The media plays a crucial role in raising awareness about important national and global issues. The media plays a huge role in what the public knows. The recent articles written in the National Post present a biased perspective on the ongoing situation in Northern and Eastern parts of Sri Lanka. The Tamil Students Association at York University believes that the article severely damages the view of how the public portrays the Tamil people, and in turn hides the very real truth of the human rights violations occurring in SriLanka. Read more
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MAY 2008
TYO - Canada
Vol - 3
REACH
Official Newsletter of TYO - Canada
YOUTH Subimssions
The communication gap between parents and youth The clothes we wear, the food we eat, the education we receive, and homes we live in are provided to us by our parents. The one thing that gets overlooked is the strength of a relationship between a parent and his or her child. As marvelous as our lives can be, living resources is not entirely what life is based on. Healthy parent-children relationships are rooted through one essential component needed for success in our lives: communication.Youth today spend a great deal of time improving their communication skills with friends, co-workers, and classmates, but do not take the time to seek the same with their parents. Why does communication break down between parents and children? To some extent, the question probed in this paragraph is slightly unfair; every family is dynamic in their own ways. However, it does not prevent us from analyzing what parents and children fail to do to narrow the gap. With respect to children, aging is one reason. It is natural for all youth to reserve certain things from being discussed with parents. Parents provoke children to further prevent any open form of communication by constantly interrogating them; from my personal experience and of many others, it is never effective. Children today are also more enticed towards social networks, in person or through the Internet. For them, it is a way to “popularize� themselves amongst a vast number of people, have fun, and make friends. During the process, parents are neglected (many of whom are technologically inapt) to understand the nuisances of such tools. To further support this claim, I might add that today’s children believe their parents are incapable to understand what goes on through their lives. It is unfortunate that kids make that ignorant assumption, as parents were young themselves once-
upon-a-time. Moreover, there are those who are very busy with their school and work lives that find it hard to talk to parents on a regular basis. Parents, on the other hand, are just as problematic as their children. Although their attempt to being as open as possible does bring about their flaws, they should not be ignored for their part in not communicating well with their children. Parents have an extremely stressful task of trying to raise children into well-respected individuals. As great as that sounds, parents sometimes end up being the foe in inducing weak familial bonds. One of the reasons for this is their constant goal of working hard. Focusing on just their jobs, they find themselves having little time for their children on most occasions. There are some parents who simply do not talk to their kids whatsoever. It is hard to justify as to why that is, as all families have a different chemistry that bonds them together. In my opinion, the one glaring problem that parents commit is the assumption that kids make of parents: assuming kids do not understand certain things. Since we have come to agree that both parents and children make this error upon each other, let us rectify this issue. When parents and children share the same view of each other, it becomes evident that there is a lack of trust amongst both parties. In this day in age, friendship is viewed as perhaps the most superior relationship mankind can ever possess, but why is that? Friendship is compounded on three important factors: trust, respect, and open communication. When children and adults are great with their friendships outside of home, do you not think it is sensible to treat one another at home the same way? Parents would certainly feel comfortable being treated as friends instead of as parents; this does not mean you treat
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them informally as you would with friends. The respect, trust, and uniqueness that is featured in friendships would certainly aid parents and their children to be more open with one another in many situations, whether it be in conflicts or for general relaxing conversations. Trusting one another for support will pay so many dividends in the long run, because life constantly deals with on-going social and environmental fluctuations. In the case with our Tamil diaspora, it is important that parents and children maintain their social interactions between each other. In the struggles for our own home, it is even more tragic if families are not cohesive through open communication.Try it yourself: treat your mother or father with respect, the same way you would with friends.The result would not only enhance familial bonds, but would also make one even more respectable in society. Shindujan Yogaratnam (York University)
TYO - Canada
MAY 2008
Vol - 3
REACH
Official Newsletter of TYO - Canada
Children of immigrant parents have great difficulties communicating with their parents as a result of a lack of time spent together and differences in language, attitudes, tastes, values, beliefs, culture, socialization and education. Parents who were socialized in collectivistic cultures are unable to digest the attitudes and tastes of their children who were socialized in more liberal western environments. Children who were raised in liberal western societies are unable to comprehend the complexities of the traditional values their parents try to impose on them unless they were exposed to them from an early age. This gap in understanding could be bridged easily if parents and children spent more time actively listening to one another. Time is scarce, and with the rise of dual-income families, parents and children are finding it difficult to make time to spend with each other. After a long day of work and a list of chores to be done, some parents do not have the energy to spend time with their children, and as a result parents and children fail to build a friendship among each other, which allows for miscommunication. Children need to recognize that parents are working hard to provide a better standard of living for the family while parents need to recognize that is more important to spend time with their children offering support and love rather than spending their time running around with work or house chores. Both parents and children need to set aside some time in their day to talk freely to one another. This allows for a greater understanding of the other.
Parents who build friendships with their children are able to understand why their children act the way they do, through this friendship they are easily able to make their children aware of what is right and what is not. Children are also able to compromise and make their perspective known to a parent who lends an active ear. Youth are more likely to listen to a parent who explains issues with compassion and under-
Tamil immigrant parents pride themselves when their children can speak fluent English, yet do not realize that need to also emphasize the importance of the Tamil language, culture and history from and early age. Children who are exposed to the Tamil language, traditions and cultures from an early age are more likely to understand the attitudes of their parents. Tamil children and youth cannot expect their parents to let go of all the values and beliefs they have so tightly held on to for many years and adapt to western values, children must adapt and compromise with their parents – and this could only be done through speaking freely with them. This is not to say that the entire weight of bridging the communication gap should be carried by the children, parents too need to recognize that their kids are growing up in a different environment and culture than they had, and as a result there needs to be some adjustment on their parts as well. It must be recognized by the parents that it is unrealistic to expect his or her child to abide by every norm and expectation they were taught, instead they should also learn to compromise with their child through open communication. Without a friendship between children and parents, it becomes difficult to understand one another. You get to know a person by spending time with them, and many parents and children fail to build that friendship within their family first, which results in miscommunication and a lack of understanding among one another.
YOUTH Subimssions
The communication gap
between parents and children standing versus a parent who orders the child through yelling and enforces through punishment. Children who feel they can freely express their emotions with their parents will have more love and respect for their parents rather than fearing them as authoritative figures. Parents need to teach children from an early age of their roots, language and cultures rather than encouraging them only to succeed in the western system. Many
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Saran T. (York University)
MAY 2008
TYO - Canada
Vol - 3
REACH
Official Newsletter of TYO - Canada
“If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.” - Geroge Washington
Speak Out As Tamil youth in Canada, we have the ultimate duty of educating others, as well as ourselves of the history, plight and suffering of the Tamil people. Understanding is crucial. And with understanding comes awareness, the most essential step in the path to progress. Ignorance is not bliss. • • • • • •
Stay updated with recent news Write to your local politicians Attend rallies Enlighten non-Tamil peers Write a poem, article, essay Research, understand and recite
Join TYO
Get Involved
Tamil Youth Organization is always looking for hard-working, dedicated youth who would like to join in serving the Tamil community. 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. Interested in getting involved? Please contact us at contact@canadatyo.org Or visit us at www.canadatyo.org
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TYO - Canada
MAY 2008
REACH
Official Newsletter of TYO - Canada
For our next month’s issue: Submit your written work under the topic of
‘Why is it important for Tamil youth to learn Tamil language?’ Please follow the guidelines below. Don’t forget to add reach@canadatyo.org to your e-mail safe list. We appreciate all of your time and effort. TYO - Canada
Guidelines:
Get Involved
o All submissions must be in English o You may create your own title for your work o Written work should be within 750 words (or 2 pages letter sized), 12 pt font (Times) o Can be written in any form (article, research essay, poem, story, etc.) o Include your name, contact info, and University/ College/ High School (If applicable) o Submit before May 30th, 2008 o Must be e-mailed to reach@canadatyo.org with the subject ‘Reach-June 2008’ o Please attach a word file or copy and paste your work in your e-mail
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Vol - 3
TREACH YO CUP
MAY 2008
TYO - Canada
Vol - 3
Official Newsletter of TYO - Canada
In memory of Pon. Sivakumaran
SOCCER
JUN In association with Canadian Tamil Sports Association
07 2008
Contact:
TYO - Canada 647. 338. 1359 www.canadatyo.org contact@canadatyo.org