Like in other countries where a violent guerrilla group fought the government, the situation for Sri Lankan refugees is complicated. Not least because the facts of the war they are fleeing from have not been agreed upon by the Sri Lankan government – particularly its final stages, in early 2009. But another complication is their relationship with the Liberation Tamil Tigers of Eelam, or the Tamil Tigers as they were commonly known. Bala was raised in an area that was controlled by the LTTE. He would have known no other world. Many times, they would have provided him with protection. At other times, they also brought danger into his life – as this video shows. Director and Interviewer: Selvan Raja Director of Photography and Editor: Dinesh Raveendran Sound: Sri Sivakurunathan Producer: Shakthi Sivanathan Mentors: Shakthi Sivanathan and Mark Taylor Thanks: Kerry Stirling and Good Grief -- Further info: One of CuriousWorks' 2011 community projects has been with a group of recent Sri Lankan refugees. Half the group have been learning classical Indian dance; the other half film and new media skills. The final outcome, only just completed, is a short classical Indian dance film. But before that final work, the film group also made some other videos. Their first one was this short interview with a friend of theirs, Bala. More on the lankaproject can be found at www.lankaproject.net
