An invisible war: why you should care about Sri Lanka

Editor's Note: This article is the first in a three-part series on the civil war in Sri Lanka.

In today's society, many international issues have received vast amounts of media coverage and worldwide attention, and deservedly so. Whether it's the horrific genocide in Darfur, Sudan, or the ongoing war between Israel and Palestine in the Gaza Strip, the world is tuning to these stories on a daily basis.

But while these issues seem to be more in vogue in the media and the consciousness of most Americans, many of the people I have had the opportunity to talk with are unaware of the devastating civil war that has been going on in the country of Sri Lanka for almost three decades-one of the longest civil wars in modern history.

Recently, Time magazine reported that the situation in Sri Lanka, a small island country located in south Asia was the third most underreported story of the year (behind the Pentagon losing six nukes in Taiwan and the displacement of thousands due to the civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo). The tiny nation has been engaged in a civil war since 1983 that has left over 70,000 of their civilians dead.

In 2008, there were more civilian deaths in Sri Lanka than in Afghanistan, yet Sri Lanka seemed to be absent from the news headlines. The war began as a conflict between two religious groups: the Sinhalese, a group of people who make up roughly three quarters of the country, and the Tamil people, who represent about one fifth of the country. Conflict arose when a group of Tamil civilians wanted to break away from the country of Sri Lanka and start their own country, Tamil Eelam. Since then this group of Tamil people, known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, have been fighting against the Sri Lankan government in an attempt to take over certain areas of Sri Lanka to form their own nation.

The Tamil Tigers has been deemed a terrorist organization by numerous countries, including the United States, and is guilty of many human rights violations. The group has been accused of using children as soldiers and is considered responsible for the assassinations of several Sri Lankan government officials. The Tamil Tigers also engaged in suicide bombing in government-controlled areas of Sri Lanka.

While the Liberation Tigers of Tamil has certainly engaged in horrific, unethical, and terrorist-like behavior, the Sri Lankan government is not completely innocent. More recently, many have begun to see corruption within the Sri Lankan government since it has been attempting to destroy the Tamil people altogether-essentially engaging in ethnic genocide. There is clearly a distinction between a terrorist organization and innocent civilians, and the intentional destruction of the Tamil civilians is something that needs to be stopped.

One popular celebrity who has brought this issue to the surface is Sri Lanka-born M.I.A., a singer and songwriter who is also a Tamil civilian and whose various songs raise attention to the conflict within Sri Lanka. M.I.A. has condemned terrorism, but has criticized the government of Sri Lanka for engaging in genocide against Tamil civilians.

It is clear that both sides within this conflict are guilty of unethical and unjust actions, and it's hard to see a light at the end of the tunnel for the country of Sri Lanka. There have been some cease-fire arrangements, and many attempted peace talks between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil, but none have ever resulted in permanent stability.

This horrific situation in Sri Lanka is certainly an issue that has been absent from the American news media, but is certainly one which warrants much more attention. People should be made aware of this bloody conflict that has claimed the lives of both innocent Sinhalese and Tamil people, and more action should be taken to end the fighting on both sides.

If this situation continues to stay below the radar, people throughout the world will not know about this conflict and it will never improve. By informing people and raising attention about this civil war in Sri Lanka, I sincerely hope that more people will become cognizant of various international conflicts throughout the entire world, like the civil war in Sri Lanka, that may not receive much media attention, but certainly require it.