A Mullivaikkal kanji distribution event was held on Friday in Madhu, Mannar, as part of the ongoing Tamil Genocide Remembrance Week observed across the Tamil homeland ahead of May 18 commemorations.
The event was organised by members of the public with the support of the Mannar District Ex-Combatants Welfare Association and took place in the Periyapandivirichchan East area under the Madhu Divisional Secretariat division.
Mullivaikkal kanji, a thin rice porridge associated with the suffering endured by Tamil civilians trapped in Mullivaikkal during the final stages of the genocide in 2009, continues to be distributed annually during remembrance week as a symbolic act of collective memory, mourning and solidarity.
The kanji recalls the desperate humanitarian conditions faced by civilians who survived on rice boiled in water with salt whilst enduring starvation, displacement and relentless shelling by the Sri Lankan military during the final months of the genocide.
Friday’s remembrance event was held at around midday within the premises of the Periyapandivirichchan Maria Goretti Church.
The porridge was also distributed to people travelling along the road in front of the church.
Religious leaders, war-affected civilians, members of the public, teachers and students participated in the event.
Across the North-East, Mullivaikkal remembrance events, kanji distributions and memorial gatherings continue to be held throughout Tamil Genocide Remembrance Week in honour of the tens of thousands of Tamils massacred during the final stages of the armed conflict.
The commemorations remain deeply significant for Eelam Tamils, with remembrance activities serving both as acts of mourning and assertions of collective memory amidst ongoing calls for truth, justice and accountability for the Mullivaikkal genocide.