Still Counting The Dead: Survivors Of Sri Lanka's Hidden War

Description

The tropical island of Sri Lanka is a paradise for tourists, but in 2009 it became a hell for its Tamil minority, as decades of civil war between the Tamil Tiger guerrillas and the government reached its bloody climax. Caught in the crossfire were hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren, doctors, farmers, fishermen, nuns and other civilians. And the government ensured through a strict media blackout that the world was unaware of their suffering. Now, a UN enquiry has called for war-crimes investigations. Those crimes are recounted here to the wider world for the first time in sobering, shattering detail.

Reviews

An extraordinary book. This dignified, just and unbearable account of the dark heart of Sri Lanka needs to be read by everyone who upholds human rights. As a Sri Lankan myself, knowing what I do about the war, I was very moved by Harrison's beautiful clear prose, her straightforward retelling of the complex situation there, and her refusal to compromise the evidence. Every member of the UN Security Council should be sent a copy of this book - Roma Tearne, author, Mosquito Very important, and very timely... makes the full horror of the last months of the war almost unbearably real - Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and JusticeHarrison demonstrates journalism at its best - Helena Williams, Huffington Post Harrison reclaims the human catastrophe from the statistics - Steve Crawshaw, Observer Gripping and deeply disturbing - Ellen Otzen, Alert Net A heart-breaking read... [This] reminds us of the need to remember this tortured corner of modern history - Emanuel Stoakes, Huffington PostPowerful - James Crabtree, Financial Times"

Author description

Frances Harrison was educated at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, and at SOAS and Imperial College in London. For many years she worked as a foreign correspondent for the BBC posted in South Asia, South East Asia and Iran. From 2000-4 she was the resident BBC Correspondent in Sri Lanka. She has worked at Amnesty International as Head of News and while writing this book was a visiting research fellow at Oxford University.