Sri Lanka
Jan 2014: Robbed of her youth, freedom and dignity, Rizana was a victim of circumstance; an immigrant, a maid, and a child- exploited by traffickers and a legal system predisposed against her...
Nearly one million schoolchildren - about a third of the school-age population in Sri Lanka - do not have safe sanitation, despite the island’s overall sanitation coverage reaching near 89 percent of the population.
Oct 2013: Female-headed households are particularly vulnerable to sexual harassment, exploitation and assault by army personnel, domestic tourists and others due to the women’s poverty...
April 2013: While visiting a north-western province in Sri Lanka, I had the chance of observing a community development initiative that focused on women’s empowerment...
For over two years we had been working to save Rizana, in the firm belief that justice would be done. But justice was not done. Rizana's execution was a betrayal of any UN conventions...
Jan 2013: Saudi Arabia executed Sri Lankan domestic worker, Rizana Nafeek...
Thousands of southerners, come to visit war attractions as well as a well-known Buddhist temple north of the Vanni. But, with few chances to interact, deep divisions remain between the Tamil locals and the mainly Sinhalese visitors.
When Sri Lanka's long civil came to an end in 2009, landmines and other unexploded devices were left behind. But now efforts are under way to rid the country of this scourge once and for all.
October 2012: Sri Lankan President is set to participate in the first Asian Corporation Dialogue. The President’s office has indicated an intention to broach the case of Rizana Nafeek, a Sri Lankan housemaid sentenced to death row in Saudi Arabia in 2010...
Aug 2012: The Asian Human Rights Commission resumed calls on the Sri Lankan government to intervene for Rizana Nafeek's protection and fair trial.
July 2012: There are an estimated 110,000 persons still in camps, and several thousand unable to return, because their home areas have not been “demined”...
The final stages of the Sri Lankan civil war in 2009 claimed the lives of over 40,000 civilians, leaving over 80,000 widowed, 25,000 children orphaned, and 146,679 Tamils unaccounted for.
Sri Lanka, an island known as the pearl of the Indian Ocean, boasts an exotic beauty – attracting thousands of tourists every year.
It’s this public face of pride, serenity and beauty which the government seek to portray, whereas, the reality is far worse.