Thursday, March 1, 2012

The Streets of Jaffna

Jaffna, the northern most city in Sri Lanka and the former stronghold of the Tamil Tigers is where the majority of the violence took place during the country's thirty year conflict.The thirty years of civil war is evident throughout the streets and the buildings all display some form of destruction from the violence. It was an eerie, but peaceful place for a visitor.

The 250 km, 10 hour bus journey from Trincomalee wound through lush fields, armed check points and was littered with giant potholes. It was a grueling adventure, but having the chance to photograph the streets of Jaffna and meet the people was worth the trip. The people were very outgoing and those who spoke English shared stories about living life in the middle of a conflict. These pictures are for those people, the ones who went out of their way to remind me how lucky I am to have lived without the fear of war and violent conflict each day.

Most of the streets are very quiet with little traffic and many goats and other livestock scattered amongst the bombed out buildings and deserted back streets.



The muslim school for children
Double Zig Zag Door

Cracks in Cement


The old mosque



The typical scene of many of the houses in Jaffna





Endless Passages




Despite the 2009 ceasefire there are many reminders of what life was like for 30 years for the people of Sri Lanka.

1 comment:

  1. Great pic Kaid. please write to jaffna restaurant. i i would liek to print some of the picture and hang them.

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