Sri Lanka’s Mothers of the Disappeared- August 2025
Portraits of Persistence: Sri Lanka’s Mothers of the Disappeared Why grief alone won’t silence the search for truth. In the war-torn landscapes of Sri Lanka, long after the guns fell silent, the search continues—not for peace treaties or political promises—but for sons, husbands, and fathers whose disappearances remain unacknowledged. The mothers, aging and determined, have become the archivists of justice and the authors of public memory. As the global conversation shifts toward accountability and reconciliation, their voices must lead the way. Background: A Legacy of Disappearances and Enduring Grief Sri Lanka’s history since the 1980s has been scarred by enforced disappearances on a staggering scale. Tens of thousands of people were abducted or arrested and never seen again during two brutal eras: the Marxist insurrections in the predominantly Sinhalese south (late 1980s) and the armed conflicts in the Tamil-majority north and east (1983–2009). A 1999 Unite...