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Sri Lankan Tamils in Germany cheer Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s downfall, but not all will return

  • Since fleeing civil war, many Sri Lankan Tamils have juggled blue-collar jobs and trying to preserve their heritage while fitting into German society
  • Antipathy towards Rajapaksa remains high, but while many are relieved he’s resigned, some say Germany is now home – not Sri Lanka

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Tamil devotees wait to enter the Sri Mayurapathy Murugan Temple in Blaschkoallee, Berlin. Photo: Isabel Joy Kua
Isabel Kuain Berlin

First the Maldives, then Singapore and now Thailand – disgraced former Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s moves have been closely watched by many in Asia.

But almost 8,000km from Sri Lanka, one group in Europe is particularly fixated on news about Rajapaksa: the Tamils who fled the civil war and went to Germany as refugees.
They express relief that Rajapaksa has resigned but are dismayed that countries like Singapore have hosted him.

“Rajapaksa is a very bad and corrupt man, why would Singapore allow him to stay for more than 14 days? I hate it. It is disgusting,” said Kumasamy Rajalingam, 64.

Kumasamy Rajalingam, 64, in front of the Sri Mayurapathy Murugan Temple in Blaschkoallee, Berlin, Germany. Photo: Isabel Joy Kua
Kumasamy Rajalingam, 64, in front of the Sri Mayurapathy Murugan Temple in Blaschkoallee, Berlin, Germany. Photo: Isabel Joy Kua

“He is a criminal. Everyone (in the Tamil community) was against Singapore housing him,” said Kumasamy, who works as a driver for Nepal’s embassy in Berlin.

Rajapaksa, a Sinhalese nationalist who helmed the country’s defence ministry in the thick of the civil war, has been accused of war crimes including torture and killings. A United Nations investigation said as many as 40,000 mainly Tamil civilians had been killed in the final months of the war, which lasted from 1983 to 2009.

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