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AIBU?

Sri lanka's killing fields

27 replies

pumpernickel10 · 14/06/2011 21:34

I was reading that C4 were unsure about showing this documentary.
Is it something we should all watch and learn from or are some things better not to be shown?
Personally I'm in two minds whether to watch it or.
What are your views?

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expatinscotland · 14/06/2011 21:35

I'm going to watch it.

Right now am watching 'Our War' on BBC3.

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prettyfly1 · 14/06/2011 21:37

I have chosen not to watch it on the grounds that the immensely sensationalistic advert tries to sell it on the grounds of "most shocking programme ever" with literally no focus on why it needs to be shown. Torture porn isnt my thing.

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pumpernickel10 · 14/06/2011 21:40

My thoughts exactly there's been too much press about it that's it's the worse thing that's ever been televised. For that reason I'm not watching it.

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animula · 14/06/2011 21:46

There was a very good interview on R4 about it. I'm glad that it has at least achieved some publicity for what has been going on in Sri Lanka. Our local shop is (almost certainly) Tamil-run and they've been carrying newspapers with devastating pictures for such a long time now, and leaflets asking people to boycott the cricket.

Will I actually watch it? No, I don't think I can bear it, to be honest. Which makes me feel a bit ... something. But I am pleased it's raising consciousness on this issue.

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megapixels · 14/06/2011 22:22

I will be watching. I have a feeling it'll be heavily biased, but will probably reveal some uncomfortable (to put it mildly) truths as well.

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FreudianSlipper · 14/06/2011 22:41

no i didn't watch it

all apart from the elite in sri lanka are suffering not jsut the tamils, the country is not totally split between sinhalese and tamils as often portrayed in the news (and the other ethnic groups). the biggest problem is the corrupt government, police, military everything is done with backhanders and nearly everyone is on the take. so sad as it is such a beautiful country

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theinet · 14/06/2011 22:42

i'll be curling up with the popcorn next to the cat to watch the atrocities..
not..

just don't get this sort of programme. probably serves a purpose for UN agencies and courts and the like to view it , but to your everyday viewer it's just snuff movies.

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megapixels · 14/06/2011 23:03

"all apart from the elite in sri lanka are suffering not jsut the tamils"

What do you mean by that Freud, in what way do you mean?

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FreudianSlipper · 14/06/2011 23:18

the wealthy, those in government and positions of power. it is a very poor country, its a corrupt country and the suffering is amongst the sinhalese as well as the tamils (and other ethnic groups). the huge amount of corruption needs to be highlighted because this is causing suffering for all.

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sharbie · 14/06/2011 23:23

what prettyfly said

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megapixels · 15/06/2011 00:05

My God that was horrible, horrible, horrible :(.

Freudian I am a Sri Lankan (I know you've mentioned on a thread that your family is from SL) and I would say that the country in general is actually happier that the war ended. Oh but at what price :(. Unbelievably enough, huge amounts of people hero worship the git that rules now and couldn't be happier with how things are.

I wouldn't say that all in SL are suffering by the way. SL is pretty corrupt but less so than neighbouring countries I think.

Actually, I can't think of what I need to say, I'm still shaking from the footage.

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BoiledFrog · 15/06/2011 00:25

I think people do need to watch it, it shows exactly what human beings are capable of. The elite are bad enough, but it wasn't the elite that carried out these atrocities.

This needs to be seen and the injustice witnessed, .

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BoiledFrog · 15/06/2011 00:28

It is not torture porn fgs, it is real people losing their lives and undergoing suffering you could not imagine.

We should ignore it yes? it had a dodgy advert oh boo fucking hoo, this goes on day and night around the world. Get a fucking grip.

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BoiledFrog · 15/06/2011 00:50

The horrid pictures of dead people including children were awful, but not the worst part. The people who perpetrated these acts were presumably "normal" at some point. It just drives in the message of the Holocaust, people are easily led and will do what authority tells them.

The fact that a large proportion of people would rape me or shoot me in the head given the right propaganda is a scary thought.

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jasminetom · 15/06/2011 08:29

Godwins Law strikes again. I spend a lot of time in Sri Lanka (have a home there) I do agree that not all people are unhappy since the war ended. To get to my house in Galle, I have to drive 2 hours through Tsunami villages. Remains of houses, roadside graves and people living in cardboard boxes by the sea. All I am saying is that life is not easy there for a variety of reasons. British television has a tendancy to believe that people must be told these stories. However, in the context of a Surrey living room, it is hard to appreciate the context. Life in Asia is hard, people starve if they don't work. You have to pay to go to school. If your place gets wiped out by a big wave you are homeless.

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Pumpernickel10 · 15/06/2011 10:36

Wel DH did record it. I don't know much about it if I'm honest

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megapixels · 15/06/2011 11:05

There is controversy about some of the videos though, propaganda played an important role in that war. In the previously shown footage, the SL government rejected that video as tampered with. The documentary gave the impression that the UN experts found the video to be authentic. The truth is they found it authentic in terms of it being consistent with a real execution etc., but what the government claimed was that the audio in it had been tampered with. In uploaded by AFP (warning, very graphic*. This is one of the videos shown on the program yesterday) the "soldiers" are speaking Tamil, whereas in the footage shown yesterday they were speaking Sinhalese.

I was very uncomfortable with the showing of the rape victims naked, even in one case identifying her by name (the newsreader Isaivani) with her before and after pics . Though showing breasts isn't a big deal in the western world it is totally the opposite there and though they want their story told to the world Ch 4 should have portrayed it with the dignity of the victims in mind too.

You don't have to pay to go to school in Sri Lanka. In fact not just primary and secondary but even university is free. (sorry forgot to check the name of the poster who mentioned it)

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jasminetom · 15/06/2011 11:20

Yes but it is limited and not always available locally. It is not like the UK state school system where it is automatically available and taken for granted by all. Have you lived there?

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megapixels · 15/06/2011 11:39

I am a Sri Lankan, not just of SL origin but born and bred in Sri Lanka and only been in the UK for the last few years. Government schools are not limited and they are always available locally, in fact it is paid/private schools that you don't get all over Sri Lanka. How did you think there is such a high literacy rate (for a third world country) in a nation of so much poverty?

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jasminetom · 15/06/2011 12:06

Well you are Sri Lankan so obviously you know better than me. Just not my experience that's all. Currently paying school fees for our cleaner's kids who had an accident and had to take out loans to feed his family while he was sick. In all he owes about £1000 but pays more and more interest every month. It will take him 3 years away from his family in the Middle east to pay this off. He does not have access to DECENT education, I know that I have been there many times.

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FreudianSlipper · 15/06/2011 13:03

i agree people are much happier now the war has ended of course they are, but there is so much corruption it really has to be dealt with as it is holding the country back. i know it is the norm in many countries

i have family too that work in dubai that support family in sri lanka, my dad supports his sisters and their families (he lives in teh states) everyone helps out in some way. much of my family are desperately want to get out its a hard life, i was shocked at how much things cost, when my cousin was here last year she bough a suitcase full of stuff from the pound shop. i really do not know how they get by and without everyone helping out i hate to think what would happen

again that is normal in many asian countries and is expected of you and no one complains

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jasminetom · 15/06/2011 13:15

It is such a shame, after being a nurse in NHS A E for years, it makes me sick that people have absolutely no idea that this "right" to be picked up and put back together after an accident is actually a wonderful gift along with benefits and all other support. I cannot imagine how it feels to leave your family for 3 years just to keep them going.

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figgygal · 15/06/2011 13:37

I have been to Sri Lanka in 2008 before the war but at a time when bombs went off in Kandy (missed them by a day) and experience the military presence and road blocks.

The people of Sri Lanka who benefit from the tourist dollar are going to suffer even further which i think is a shame. We witnessed great areas of poverty and hardship while we were there but also great strength and people making the most of what they had i worry that news/documentaries like this will make people continue to be nervous about going there and will impact people even more.

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knittedbreast · 15/06/2011 13:54

theres no porn in it.

im not going to watch it on the grounds of....rubbish. you need to watch it, everyone does. no poit sticking your head in the sand.

those children hiding in a dich in the ground crying in fear as the bombs started will stay in my head forever, and rightly so.

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megapixels · 16/06/2011 15:17

I don't blame anyone for not wanting to watch actually, I couldn't sleep half that night thinking about it. Maybe because it wasn't some foreign land with people speaking a strange language to me. I tried to tell my sister about it but she brushed it off saying war isn't pretty and the program would have had a heavy pro-LTTE bias and contained distorted information. I wanted to but couldn't bear to tell her to try and watch it.

It would have been helpful for people who are not familiar with the story to have been given some background on the war and the aftermath - they didn't even mention the commander of the SL army, who was hailed as a hero by the people but thrown in jail by the president for his political ambitions. I think they also failed to address the distinction between the LTTE (a blood-thirsty terrorist organisation who the general public had no qualms about being annihilated) and the Tamil people.