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Toronto Tamils Speak Out
The Sri Lankan government's current offensive against Tamil fighters has taken a horrific humanitarian toll. Toronto's Tamil community, along with a diverse group of allies, has organized multiple demonstrations over the past week and a half. Last night I went to the Sri Lankan consulate to witness their latest effort, a candlelight vigil and call for peace.
The event was scheduled for the evening of Sri Lanka's Independence Day, and the turnout was very impressive, with thousands of people carrying candles, placards, and flags. There was a wide array of guest speakers, including representatives from various unions and student groups, and from the national NDP. The event was partly a vigil for civilians killed in the recent fighting, and partly a plea for Canadian diplomatic pressure on Sri Lanka.
"Sri Lanka: Stop The War! Canada: Help Us!" was the most commonly heard chant. "We are counting on the support of all Canadians," one man told me. "Stephen Harper and Michael Ignatieff will listen if there are enough of us."
The superficial similarities between the two crises forced me to compare this demonstration to the rallies for and against the recent Israeli strike on Gaza. Due to the dire situation Tamils in Sri Lanka face, I knew there wouldn't be any of the discordant jubilation displayed by the pro-Israeli side, but I was impressed by the total absence of any sectarian attacks against Sri Lanka's Sinhalese majority. I had no reason to expect support for the Tamil Tigers, but after seeing all the Hamas flags at pro-Palestinian rallies, this, too, was a welcome absence. The only intemperate behaviour I witnessed was the beating of an effigy of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa with sticks, and this was quickly stopped by organizers.
So, why is this the case? Why are Torontonian supporters of Israel and Palestine so much more heated when most of them are neither Israeli nor Palestinian. After all, the majority of people at this event were either Sri Lankan immigrants or first generation Canadians. Tamils in Sri Lanka aren't any better off than Palestinians in Gaza, and certainly face far worse troubles than Israelis. So why is Toronto's Tamil community able to express its opposition to Sri Lanka's actions without resorting to the deplorable behaviour so often seen at Israel and Palestine rallies? Is it their very proximity to events, if not literal then historical, that forces them to act more soberly?
Whatever the reason, I was happy to see it. The plight of Sri Lankan Tamils is, of course, depressing, but it was encouraging to witness such an event with no religious bigotry, no calls for ethnic cleansing, and no support for terrorism. I wouldn't think that's asking for a lot.
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http://www.thestar.com/article/581981
Seriously. There is more to Tamil people than the LTTE.
Cluster bombs used against civilian targets, phosphorus bombs recently used in the attacks. Attacks on civilian infrastructure (i.e. hospitals & schools) - whose killing who? Many are referring to the past to cover up the genocidal agenda of the present government. Let's stay in the present, lets resolve the present issues.
Everyone has lost relatives in this war. That's the truth.
Why can't the SL government draft a political solution and bring a peaceful resolution? It's is not in the best interest of the government to do this until they have massacred the remaining Tamils. Where's the democracy then? A government's first duty is to safeguard the civilians of its country yet SL insists on the opposite. For those who want to look at the history, here's a great resource (http://www.pagegangster.com/p/2Lweq/).
This is not war on terrorism, it is WAR ON CIVILIANS
We can not label every Tamil as a Tiger nor a terrorist. It is like condemning the entire Muslim community to death in the name of defeating the Al-Qaeda.
You can clearly see the motivation when they are shells more 5000 cluster bombs on the safe zone, hospitals and schools when there are less than 600 Tamil Tigers left. There is obviously a systematic genocide of Tamils happening in Sri Lanka and UN and western countries are failing to identify this due to restricted information by the government.
Well, when someone challenges your very identity and makes insisting that you do not exist part of every criticism, things will get awfully heated. I do not know whether the same assertions are part of the Sinhalese-Tamil conflict. If not then that is surely part of the difference. (The massive difference in media coverage is, of course, another.)
Thanks for your comment. I've read that Star article and the Human Rights Watch report it cites. Doesn't the very fact that the Tigers have to use threats of violence to get Torontonian Tamils to contribute to their cause show that support for the LTTE isn't widespread? Of course some Torontonians do support the Tigers, just as some support Hamas and Hezbollah and even the Ku Klux Klan. I don't see how that changes the fact that there was no such support asserted at this event.
(By the way, I am a bit surprised to see you write <i>calls for all Palestinians in Gaza to be killed or for a second Holocaust just because of these things</i>. I have read your last post. You said that someone who was worked up said to you, <i>"Israel won't be safe until they're all destroyed." Who? Hamas or the Gazans? "Is there a difference? They elected them."</i> I do not know what that man meant but, assuming he wishes for all Palestinians in Gaza to be killed, it is something of a stretch to imply that such a wish is widespread, as you do. Did you hear people chanting this? Signs calling for it? I am addressing this because it seems a rather serious accusation to make, so one would hope it was a truthful one and not an exaggeration.)
Why is does Toronto only have pro-Tiger protests? It's because we don't have a Sinhalese community, only a Tamil community.
Why weren't any Tiger emblems visible? Because they've actually been listed as a terrorist group, along with World Tamil Movement, making any visible manifestation of those groups illegal.
You need to actually know something before writing a piece like this, but then I'm sure it's simply feigned ignorance and you're writing on behalf of the terrorists just as you were with respect to the Palestinians attempted genocide in Israel.
Tigers get support through intimidation and threats against Sri Lankan resident family members of the Tamil diaspora, just as the Chinese Communist spy agencies force Chinese-Canadians to work for them against the democracy movement, Taiwan, Falun Gong, and to conduct industrial espionage in Canada's defence and technology industries. The University of Waterloo is the epicentre for the spy activities of both groups, as evidenced by the conviction of several Waterloo students for material assistance of the Tigers and the interesting behaviour of many Chinese students on UW's research teams, primarily UWARG, the robotic helicopter project.
We are close to the end of this vicious conflict, although even the Sri Lankan government acknowledges that they will face a guerilla insurgency once the Tigers have been rolled up as a coherent entity. What we as Canadians need to do is to ruthlessly pursue terrorist enablers in our midst like NAV, CUPE, the NDP, the Liberals, and the malicious criminals who have infiltrated and preyed upon our immigrant communities and have suborned most of our political parties.
No one has intimidated me to speak out. No one has intimidated me to stand in the cold to protest against the killing of Tamil civilians. THE WORLD, NOT JUST THE TAMILS is voicing their support for a ceasefire to stop the killing of the civilians. If the Sri Lankan government was able to so quickly corner the LTTE, why haven't they finished their mission? It's because they want to use LTTE as the scapegoat to continue killing Tamils.
When more Tamils die, they blame it on the LTTE. How convenient? There's a reason Tamils in the North prefer to stay with the LTTE. THEY FEEL SAFE! The government has not guaranteed the safety of the Tamils.
If you live in the safety zone, you will be bombed
If you live out of the safety zone, you will be bombed
If you move to any other locations, you are kidnapped and killed
If you fight for your freedom, you are labeled as a terrorist and killed
In this circumstances, would you leave the people who are fighting to save you and walk into the hands of your killer? I doubt you would.
Furthermore, anyone who is cornered and attacked will fight back. This is nature. The motherly love will always put the child before the mother. A father will always defend his family, fight to death if that means his family will live. Tamils will always stand together and voice their support to the Tamils in Sri Lanka. This is not because of intimidation, but because of the love we have for our Tamil Eelam.
"I don't know, what other elements do you think are important, Nav?"
I really don't know. I suspect part of it is that the Israel-Palestine conflict is a fashionable cause on university campuses, which draws a lot of people who don't really know much about the conflict and are thus more susceptible to this kind of counter-productive behaviour. Perhaps this is more the case with the pro-Palestinian side, though I'm not sure. I wouldn't really want to conjecture beyond this. I asked these questions in the post because I really don't have answers to them, but was hoping thoughtful comments like yours would help me figure things out.
As for your other concern, I should have made it clear that I wasn't speaking specifically about the Israel rally I had previously covered. I can see how you'd get that impression since I linked to that post in this one. The fault is mine. At other pro-Israel rallies in Toronto there have been multiple signs saying things like "Islam Is A Death Cult" and unlike the effigy at this rally, which was nowhere near as offensive, organizers didn't put a stop to it. That's not exactly calling for all Palestinians to be killed, of course, and maybe I mixed up the two issues too much in my mind.
But as for the fact that comments like that weren't so widespread at the Israel rally I attended, or that calls for a second Holocaust weren't widespread at Palestinian rallies: I understand that not everyone, or even a large group of people, at those rallies felt that way, which is why I took pains to present a balanced portrait of the Israel rally. I was simply contrasting it to the Tamil event where NO ONE I heard made comments like this. Where NO ONE I spoke to called for any sort of collective punishment. But I should have been clearer.
"With the imminent collapse of the Tigers, there is only one reason to protest for a ceasefire - to try to save the Tigers from defeat and continue the vicious terrorist activities of the Tigers."
Couldn't it possibly be the bombing of hospitals and other civilian targets? To suggest that everyone at this rally supported the Tigers when no one said anything of the kind is outrageous.
"Why weren't any Tiger emblems visible? Because they've actually been listed as a terrorist group, along with World Tamil Movement, making any visible manifestation of those groups illegal."
Hamas and Hezbollah are also terrorist groups. So why can their flags fly at rallies in Toronto?
"Tigers get support through intimidation and threats against Sri Lankan resident family members of the Tamil diaspora"
So all these Tamils in Toronto support the Tigers, yet the only way the Tigers can get people to contribute is via threats? I don't see the logic there.
"What we as Canadians need to do is to ruthlessly pursue terrorist enablers in our midst like NAV, CUPE, the NDP, the Liberals, and the malicious criminals who have infiltrated and preyed upon our immigrant communities and have suborned most of our political parties."
Sure thing, Joe McCarthy. (By the way, I don't see how the NDP and Liberals can be "in our midst" when there's far more of their supporters than there are of good honest Tories like you.)
I am disturbed by the comparison of this situation to "ethinc cleansing", and your reference to "plight of Sri Lankan Tamils". Genocide is in NO way what is going on in Sri Lanka. Sinhalese and Tamils live alongside each other in harmony and there is absolutely no descrimiation of Tamils in Sri Lanka. I should know especially since my fahter is tamil and my mother, sinhalese. I swear i have lived in Sri lanka all my life(in Colombo) and there is absolutely no tension between the two races. However, I am very sad about the civilian casualties in Jaffna. The government is so adament on crushing the LTTE (Liberation TIgers of Tamil Eelam) that they would even do it at the expense of civilians, which is WRONG! The LTTE however, are using civilians as "human shields", (This can be confirmed on the website of any mojor news network) and not letting them leave. They engage in the recruitment of children as soldiers, and brainwash their members to engage in suicide missions(detonating themselves or a suicide bomb). Both sides are the wrond do-ers in this case. They have both killed inocent civilians who have nothing to do with the war. I hope and pray that the civilians are allowed safe passage into an area where they can not only be offered food, medicine, and shelter, but a new way of life and hope for a fulfilling future. I encourage you(the writer of this article) or any other to engage in dialogue with me so we can discuss these issues and actually make a difference. I have lived in Sri Lanka all my life and I therefore understand the reality of the situation. I wholeheartedly admit that the government of Sri Lanka is a very corrupt one, which has misused the tax funds of hard working Sri Lankans, and abused their power in order to fulfill their massive greed. I also believe that the LTTE are cowards for using innocent civilians as a shield. ALl the millions of dollars that have been used to fund this organization and this futile war could have been used to build Jaffna. If that enormous amount of money would have been used this way, Jaffna would have been a soaring, advanced, beautiful place. NOte that most of the intellects and scholars come from Jaffna, and it is also a beautiful city which offers breathtaking scenery, beautiful beaches, and very fertile soil or agriculture. If you want to alleviate the struggle of the people in the North, this war has to stop. THe LTTE have to realize that they can never win this battle becuase they cannot compete with the army of a whole nation. It is unrealistic. THey should therefore be encouraged to surrender so that the innocent people stuck in Mullaithivu(Jaffna) can salvage whats left of their lives and put this horrible ordeal behind them, in order to have a good future. Please feel free to let me know if you agree with me. I am starting an organization for the rehabilitation of the people in Jaffna and therefore I am eager to know your opinions. Remember that I am completely neutral on this issue, and support neither organization(the government nor the LTTE). In addition I hope you realize that SInhalese and Tamil leave in peace in Sri Lanka, ever since the horrific Black July. Everyone learnt their lessons and since then we have been living in peace.
Thankyou for taking the time to read this and always pray or hope that the innocent civilians who have been affected by this war will be rescued and rehabilitated, so they can have a chance of living a wholesome life.
I never used the term "ethnic cleansing" to describe the situation in Sri Lanka. I also never used the term "genocide" at all (though certainly many at the rally did, as you can see in the second photograph). But I did use the term "plight of Sri Lankan Tamils" to describe the civilian casualties resulting from the actions of the Sri Lankan military and the LTTE, because I think it's appropriate. I appreciate your comment because I think it provides some necessary perspective, but I'm afraid you've misread parts my article.
I'm far from an expert on Sri Lanka, so I'm not sure how much I can add or engage with the rest of what you said. Hopefully others can. I'll continue to educate myself.
I admire your courage to speak openly and equally about both sides.
Just like you, I have also lived in Jaffna and in Colombo. During the '83 riots, I was in Colombo. My mother ran holding me in her arms, we hid where we could, we stayed hungry for days, we prayed that the cruelty would end. At the end, we were the lucky ones. Thousands died during the riot, I'm sure you remember this since you lived all your life in Colombo. I just wanted to give some background so you know that I'm not writing for the sake of writing. I lived in these places and I know what I experienced.
Now back to some points that you have mentioned:
1. LTTE is using civilians as human shields - Yes, some organizations and media has reported this, but can you confirm that this can be independently verified. The problem is that the government controls all of the news that leaves the country. I think that the Sri Lankan government is using civilians as human targets. Can you find an independent organization to deny my claims? My point is that we can't just point fingers and use key words to make a point. We need independent and reliable verifications. The government should allow such organizations to the already "liberated" areas. What's there to hide?
2. Recruitment of child soldiers - The government is also at fault. Have a read of the WSJ article at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123352301226437183.html. Here's a blurb "In December, Unicef estimated the TMVP had 133 child soldiers in its ranks." I think when condemning the use of child soldiers, you should also mention the Sri Lankan government. Not mentioning this key point will give the wrong message to all of the fellow readers.
3. Most of the intellects and scholars come from Jaffna - They also come from the East, West and the South. Sri Lanka is full of many intellects who are willing to speak up and stand up for justice. The problem isn't that the LTTE has hindered this growth, rather the government has either quieted them, forced them to leave the country or worse, killed them. Lasantha Wickrematunge spoke for the people who were silenced. But now he's silenced. Who will speak for him? Such intimidation is what's stumping the growth of this beautiful country.
4. The LTTE have to realize that they can never win this battle becuase they cannot compete with the army of a whole nation. - LTTE isn't facing just 1 nation. It is facing 2 nations; India and Sri Lanka. LTTE might be destroyed, but they have shown their resilience in the past so time will tell. But the millions will remember that they stood up for the equal rights of the Tamils. Today we live aboard and we expect that the community that we have integrated with will give us the same rights that they enjoy. When immigrants/refugees to a foreign country can expect such equal rights, why can't the Tamils who were born in and lived for generations in Sri Lanka ask the same?
5. Genocide is in NO way what is going on in Sri Lanka - You can call it genocide, ethnic cleansing, crossfire, collateral, what ever that makes you fall asleep at night and look in the mirror in the morning. The fact is that civilians are dying. Tamils are being targeted on a daily basis and being indiscriminately killed. Why can't the Sri Lanka government destroy LTTE with the infinite military superiority? They were able to corner the LTTE is such a short period, why not finish the last mile? Why target schools and hospitals? All these infrastructures that are now being destroyed were built with tax funds of hard working Sri Lankans. I can point fingers, but you know who is firing and who is dying.
Finally, I think your motivation to help the Tamils in Jaffna is honourable and I look forward to seeing your work. I will support anyone, whether its a nation, an organization, a group or an individual who is willing to make a difference and help the Tamils in Tamil Eelam. If you have already registered a nonprofit organization, please let me know if the name, perhaps a website and your roadmap (what I'm interested is to see how you are going to help the Tamils). I look forward to reading your response.
Warmest regards!
I agree, Jaffna is a beautiful place, I have lived there for 15 years. I wonder how many of us still can remember the beauty when all our memories are filled with Sri Lankan Army's brutality, rape, and torture, which still resonates. Every time you think of Jaffna all its bring is tears. The fact is Sri Lankan government can blame LTTE all they want, but no one can deny LTTE is direct result of inequality faced by Tamils ever since British left. Jaffna could have produced more intellects and scholars but there are still more waiting to rise up when they are given equal eduction rights, which Sinhalese fear the most, because its an arena that they have struggled to compete. May be your history of ethnic cleansing of Tamils started with Black July, but why don't you read about the Sinhalese Only Act ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinhala_Only_Act ), removing Tamils as national language (Imagine severity if Canadian government decided to remove French as a national language). Only way to track Sri Lanak's motivation is to examine every action it have taken ever since its independence. There is no point in celebrating independence when other half of the country is under bloodbath by the same government.
I'm not sure how many of us can put our painful memories behind us when so much life have been lost due to the "Sinhalese Only Nation" ideology. May be its time to put this ideology behind?
Thank you for your kind words and your support. I just came back from a local temple (Friday is our holy day) and seeing the children play with amongst each other, parents talking to their friends, the iyar (our priest) perform the rituals brings happiness in one way, but it also reminds me of the truth that the children in Sri Lanka can not even go out to play. Its devastating and just last night (Sri Lankan time), the government bombed again, killing 48 people. What tragedy!
I hope that you will pass on what you have learned about our struggle to your friends and help us find peace.
Thank you.
Its important to have a balanced view and not take sides.
Have a look this Sinhalese Prof Clarifies Whats Actually Happening in Sri Lanka.
http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200901/r334759_1514920.asx
http://www.tamilsagainstgenocide.org
It is safe to assume that if Canada was in a state of turmoil we would not pack up and flee but rather , stay and help resolve, rebuild or fight.
It seems the thousands illegally blocking our streets should board planes taking them home where they can deal more directly with the problem without interfering with their our home and its long standing residents.
Canada likes to follow people, this is what they are specialize. They followed the Americans and Brits to war in Afghanistan and Iraq? Why did we do that? Based on Wayne's comments, that should not have happened. But it did. BECAUSE IT WAS POLITICALLY CONVENIENT! How can the Canadian government say NO to its biggest exporters?
If Canada did not meddle in our business, we would have solved it on our own. That goes for all the countries who wanted some spot light.
Don't be ignorant just because you haven't experienced anything but a tax hike in your life!
That goes for anyone who think that war equates and justifies killing innocent civilians. Put yourself in our shoes before putting your shoe in you mouth.
Fortunately for you, your heritage is in Canada and you are not oppressed to know how it must feel in Sri Lanka.
Some links that might open your eye and mind:
http://tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&;artid=29217
http://tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&;artid=29215
You should use the wealth of knowledge you have learned from your culture to tell the Canadian government to urge the Sri Lankan government to stop the war. It is the government who is waging the war, not the Tamils in Sri Lanka, not the Tamils is Canada nor anywhere in the world.
Hey!! You now live in Kanada!! Worry about Kanadian problems (we have plenty here without you bringing more!!! If you PUNKS were bloking MY vehicle I would RUN YOU DOWN - ALL OF YOU!!! WHAT GIVES YOU PEOPLE THE RIGHT TO TAKE OUT YOUR PROBLEMS OUT ON US????
You are a fuckin' ignorant bunch of punks!!!! Fuck you!!
take it out on Canadians by blocking OUR streets, disrupting OUR lives??? We did not create the problems in your homeland and IF YOU
want to fix them then please go back there. As the above reader says WE HAVE OUR OWN PROBLEMS HERE. We do not need anyone else's.
I am disturbed when I see what is going on on our streets!!!
I think of myself as empathetic, and well read, but if I didn't do my own research about the issues in SriLanka, I'm not sure what I would be getting from the media? And I wonder what the average Cdn gets from the TV news?? If I was involved with the protesters, I would be making some serious changes to my public relations/communication plans. I know it may seem shallow in the grand scheme of things, but I don't feel hopeful for the way things are proceeding right now.
As a 4th generation Canadian, and one of the few people in my circle of friends/acquaintances who was actually born here, I have to say "I told you so."
Canada is becoming the laughingstock of the world, and now, apparently, it's garbage dump, too. Our reputation of being quiet, polite and conciliatory is a nice myth, and I dare say it is coming to an end. Exhibit A: Stephen Harper's popularity. (Outside Toronto, of course.)
I only possess one passport. When (insert victim ethnic group of the month) pisses all over MY country and then drags it down to their level, they are free to leave because (of course) they are 'dual' citizens. My allegiance is only to one country. Canada. When Canada becomes a bankrupt, bitter Third World country, you are able to leave. I cannot.
Being the spouse of a recent immigrant, I know all about the tales of woe and reasons for needing/wanting to leave one's country of birth - but that is the point. Leaving, as in leave it behind. Come here to embrace Canada's ideals and values, to leave 'yours' behind.
Here is the spoiler, boys and girls: if you don't leave your 10,000 year tribal spats behind, all that will happen is that you will succeed in dragging Canada down to the level that you left.
Then you will have me to deal with. You are welcome here, but you must research and understand what made (past tense) Canada the best country in the world to live in.
I dare say that 'real' Canadians are getting fed up and Sunday's shenanigans on the Gardiner are only solidifying their (our) stance.
What's that I hear? Is that the sound of our borders slamming shut?
Both sides in that civil war have committed atrocities and I recall supporters of the LTTE crowing about how great the Tigers were when the war was going well for the LTTE. They cheered on suicide bombers.
The only reason the want a ceasefire now is because they are taking a hammering. War was fine while they were doing OK, but now that they are cornered they are complaining about how horrible it is. I don't recall them talking about the humanitarian situation when they were still doing OK in the war.
If they really were worried about the humanitarian aspect of this the LTTE would surrender. They only ask for a ceasefire so that they can continue to exist in some form. I don't think we will ever get a true picture of civilian casualties because these folks will say anything to get world attention. That includes lying about casualty levels. They want someone to step in to save the LTTE from being wiped out. That is what this is all about.
Obviously, the typical route of protesting was having no effect, consequently the Tamils decided to take a more publicly visible form of protest. Yes, this tactic was not exactly peaceful as some police officers were assaulted. Even if no police officers were assaulted, these Tamils disrupted a major highway route. They succeeded in attracting attention, at the expense of disrupting lives of some commuters for 6 hrs as well unnecessary police expenditures to monitor the situation.
If you care about where your tax dollars are spent, regardless of your financial well-being, or lack thereof, surely you must concede that our tax dollars are better spent elsewhere. Rather than assisting immigrants with their homeland woes.
Simply put, this is not our problem. I don’t live in Sri Lanka, nor do the Canadian Tamils. Their relatives do, but once again, not our problem.
If money was no object, then of course I would agree that we could/should do whatever we can to assist those in need, wherever they reside.
In summary, send a clear message to these immigrants that we will not succumb to their pressure tactics. Why should we? Moral obligation? I don’t share that view as Canada’s resources are currently...better spent elsewhere.
A countries balance is best achieved from the inside, even if that balance is achieved through genocide. You may not share that view, so be it.
I am Canadian and will stand up for my right to say to the Tamils: protest to the oppressors, not a neutral nation, my home country. You have overstayed your welcome with your unlawful protesting tactics and waving your Tamil Tiger flags is not winning any bonus points.
On a lighter note, I'm sure if the Tamils ask some nice fisherman in Nova Scotia to build some row boats, they would ship them off free of charge and say good luck. Heck, they'd probably even give them some free oars.
Have a great long weekend,
Freddy Fudpucker
I think what this situation has proven is that the supposed "melting pot" is not working. The problem we have is not one of racism, it is simply a culture clash. Canadians love the culture of Canada, although that has been slipping away with every new batch of immigrants who are not coming to this country to join in with our culture, but are simply looking for a more comfortable environment for them to continue their own cultural practices -- which we all know were responsible for bringing down their own countries. We don't want that to happen here (arguably it already has) and tossing out the race card is just an easy way to silence the people willing to stand up for our country.
When you block our roads, restrict access for people to get to hospitals, and purposefully attempt to cause inconvenience for a cause that has nothing to do with the majority of people here, you are not making friends. You show no interest in 'joining' this country or becoming true Canadians (note the amount of times the Tamil protesters interviewed referred to Sri Lanka as "my country") who share our collective ideals. You are here for free health care, better education and opportunities for your children, and if/when you bring down our country, you will simply go back to your own country and continue as you left off. Too bad the real Canadians (with one passport) won't have that option.
Tamils in the GTA invite all cultural groups in Sri Lanka to design and build two large sculptures that functions as a docking station for 300+ bicycles. The sculptures to be a collage of cultural symbols from Sri Lanka. The two sculptures will be given as gifts to the Canadian government and to the GTA as a symbol of peaceful multiculturalism and environmental consciousness.
Background
Over the past 7 years, we have been honoured to work with numerous community groups, businesses, friends and an art group from Parkdale Activity Recreation Center [PARC], to design and build over 50 bike art sculptures that are now installed on sidewalks throughout Toronto. Support for these installations came from Business Improvement Associations, Toronto Arts Council, the City’s Economic Development, the Royal Ontario Museum and the city’s Transportation Department, who installed the artistic bike stands free of charge on City property. Toronto was also the first City to incorporate safety and functionality guidelines with this art form. View bikestandart.net
William Thorsell, the ROM’s CEO said the City should have “thousands more of these all over town”. He said it was a “liberating of the creativity’ in this City. See ROM video and other sculptures on bikestandart.net.
This art-form, first developed in Toronto, has flowered in many cities in North America: New York, Des Moines Iowa, Winnipeg, Ottawa, LA.
Bike stand sculptures that act as tree guards are even more powerful visual statements. IOC approval was given for a sculpture in Chinatown,this sculpture, a gift to the Chinatown BIA from the Yonge and Lawrence BIA and the Parkdale Village BIA
Details of Proposal
Whether or not, as a general rule in the realm of public art, the artist should put his or her best foot for forward and then work to have the community stand on his or her shoulders maybe debatable; however in the case with this sculpture, we believe it is an absolute necessity. The Tamils must use every opportunity to speak out against the gutter talk of the Toronto Sun and possibly the next Mayor Rob Ford whose opposition to the 500 Tamil refugees is: “we can’t take care of the 2.5 million people we have”. From our perspective: a person without vision who can only see numbers should not be allowed to manage a small daycare let alone the lives of millions of people in a large City.
At its best, this artwork could speak out nationall, internationally, to the Sri Lankan government and to their loved ones in Sri Lanka who have suffered beyond what we can imagine. If orchestrated well with other religious and cultural communities from Sri Lanka the design and construction of the sculptures will support the entry of the 500 Tamil refugees.
The Tamils need a sculpture that has an excuse to be abnormally large and visible, ideas so far are:
1. Using 2 elephants, side by side, holding a long pipe with their trunks, the pipe carved into a log with docking stations in the shape of cultural symbols attached to it. Incorporating four large stone inlays on both sides of the two elephants. The stone inlays to depict cultural symbols from Sri Lanka.
2. One or two teams of elephants in one or two parades holding two or more log with all the cultures represented. Riding the elephants and alongside them are cultural symbols from Sri Lanka
We can initially design the docking stations to hold 100 bicycles, however, I suspect the Tamil community, and maybe the other communities from Sri Lanka, will take hold of this project with a passion, as such we will need a bike stand for a minimum of 300 bicycles, possibly 600 bikes. Some form of survey – petition should travel around the Tamil community so as to get a better idea of the interest and numbers.
Once the Tamil community decides on a form for the sculpture they will invite other cultural and religious communities who have in the past lived in Sri Lanka to join with them in designing and building the sculpture.