"It is with a profound sense of solidarity that The Sikh Activist Network marks the 30th Anniversary of the Tamil Genocide during Black July."

Although thirty years have passed since the anti-Tamil pogrom of 'Black July' 1983, stories of the thousands of Tamil victims are yet to be unraveled.

The thousands that fled, many not to return for years and decades to come, all too often buried their painful memories as they struggled to make a new life for themselves in new lands as refugees.

Silenced Voices by www.blackjuly1983.com is a noteworthy archive. Yet it is striking that thousands of individual stories, of the many ordinary Tamils, remain unheard.

Thirty years on, these stories are starting to trickle out - even then, not from the victims themselves, but from their friends and loved ones, and most of all, their children and grandchildren.

As the Tamil nation marks this poignant anniversary, we have endeavoured to collate the small snippets of the nation's memories, that have been shared with the world via social media sites.

Despite the time that has passed however, there is little doubt that the personal anguish remains. Whilst those that shared their families' memories were keen for the stories to be heard, many we approached asked that they remain anonymous, out of respect for the deep privacy of their parents and grandparents in relation to their own experiences of Black July.

My parents refuse to talk about the details. But someone warned them, and they fled. When they returned, there was nothing.. #BlackJuly

"30 years ago this day my dad was dragged out of his car in the heart of Colombo whilst a government-incited mob baying for Tamil blood attempted to pour kerosene on him and set him alight. 3 months after the July 1983 pogrom which left up to 3000 Tamils dead and 150,000 homeless, the entire Rajasingham* / Ratnarajah* clan had left Sri Lanka forever and 3 years later I was born in Sydney – still very much a Tamil but an Australian. And that has made all the difference."

The US development agency, USAID has said it will design a livelihood project for vulnerable groups, including “women-headed households, those relocated due to the conflict” and others.

A statement by the US embassy in Colombo said:

In order to support further reconciliation of the Sri Lankan people, the U.S. Embassy, through its development office of USAID, is designing a new livelihoods project that aims to increase household incomes in the dairy, poultry and horticulture sectors. This initiative seeks to reach women-headed households, those relocated due to the conflict, and other vulnerable groups.

The Sri Lankan election commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya has said that all candidates taking part in the provincial council elections will have to submit a signed affidavit with their nomination, swearing that they respect the territorial integrity of the country and unequivocally oppose any moves to divide Sri Lanka.

“Thirty years ago today in Sri Lanka, violent mobs of armed extremists began carrying out attacks against the country’s Tamil population. Hundreds of Tamils were killed and thousands of homes and businesses were destroyed in the ensuing riots."

“In the years since the Black July pogrom, July 23 has become a day of mourning and remembrance for members of Sri Lankan Tamil communities around the world, including the 200,000-strong Tamil community in Canada."

"As we reflect on the violence that began on this day in 1983 across Sri Lanka, I take the opportunity to reaffirm Canada’s commitment to promote and uphold our fundamental values of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.’’

“I stand with the Tamil-Canadian community in commemorating the senseless destruction and tragic loss of life during Black July.”