Children send school items to peers in war-torn north

Thousands of children from the south recently donated school stationery and prayed for their wounded and displaced peers affected by civil war in the north.

As government troops advanced for a final showdown with the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, children wearing white school uniforms and carrying flags flocked to the national Basilica of Our Lady of Lanka in Tewatta, carrying books and other school items.

Tewatta is 20 kilometers north of Colombo.

“We bring school books and stationery to the offertory at Mass, to be given to our displaced peers because they are going through tremendous suffering in many refugee camps,” said Shalika Madhushani, 16, who is from St. James Church in Colombo diocese.

Madhushani, herself, was seen carrying a large parcel containing school items.

Government forces have encircled the LTTE within a 30 square-kilometer patch in the Vanni jungle region where thousands of civilians are presently trapped.

The government has started temporary schooling for displaced children at refugee camps, but there are few teachers and facilities. Most of the children affected by the fighting have not gone to school since the beginning of the year.

In Tewatta, 20,000 children and 600 teachers from 180 parish Sunday schools gathered at the basilica on March 7 to celebrate Archdiocesan Children´s Day, which had the theme, “Children in prayer for peace.”

Archbishop Oswald Gomis of Colombo celebrated the Mass together with retired Archbishop Nicholas Marcus Fernando of Colombo. Mass participants included hundreds of priests and nuns.

“At this very moment many children of your age are suffering in Vanni. We must pray for them,” Archbishop Gomis told the children. He encouraged them to pray the rosary daily and said, “Very soon, you will see the fruits of your prayers, the dawn of peace in our country.”

Children handed over piles of school books and stationary during the offertory at Mass.

“I contributed some books for our friends in Vanni to express our concern and solidarity with them because they are suffering very much,” said Akesh Tyrone, a Tamil pupil from St. Teresa´s Church in Colombo.

“We are not only giving things to our friends,” said Madhushani. “We are here also to pray to Our Lady of Lanka for children of our own age who have been deprived of education, and are wounded and displaced in the jungle and refugee camps.”

Father Indra Fernando, in charge of catechists in the archdiocese said it was important to “plead to the Blessed Mother” to intercede for peace in Sri Lanka.

Media reports have quoted UNICEF (the United Nations Children´s Fund) sources saying the LTTE has recruited more than 5,600 underage soldiers since 2002, some of them under 15 years of age.