In My Mother’s House: Civil War in Sri Lanka

In May 2009, the Sri Lankan army overwhelmed the last stronghold of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam — better known as the Tamil Tigers — officially bringing to an end nearly three decades of civil war. The conflict resulted in massive displacement of people from their homes.

The figures are shocking around 80,000 Muslims were expelled from the LTTE controlled north, and nearly half of all Sri Lankan Tamils were displaced during the civil war.
Sharika Thiranagama’s book focuses on two groups of displaced peoples : Sri Lankan Tamils from the north and Sri Lankan Muslims. Through detailed engagement with ordinary people struggling to find a home in the world, Thiranagama explores the dynamics with and between these two minority communities, describing how these relations were reshaped by violence, displacement and authoritarianism.

She tackles three major themes: the ideas of home, transformations within the family, and the impact of political violence on ordinary lives and public speech. Only by taking stock of these new Tamil and Muslim identities forged by the civil war can one envisage and work towards a peaceful future for this troubled land.