Sri Lankan -Canadians mourn victims of bomb attack

OTTAWA — Sri Lankan-Canadians were gathering Monday to mourn those killed in a massive terrorist attack in their homeland as the Canadian government stepped up cautions for anyone considering visiting the country as it grapples with the fallout from the widespread violence.

At least 290 people were killed and hundreds more injured in a series of co-ordinated bomb blasts that rocked churches and hotels across Sri Lanka on Sunday. Authorities said many of the attacks, believed to be carried out by suicide bombers with a local Islamic group, targeted worshippers gathered to celebrate Easter.

As Sri Lankan government officials wrestled with latest explosions, imposed a curfew on the public and blocked the bulk of social media activity in the country, the Canadian government urged travellers to exercise “a high degree of caution” if visiting the area.

Closer to home, however, Sri Lankans organized vigils from coast to coast to both pay tribute to those killed and seek solace among those who have witnessed violence in their homeland before.

Edward Anura Ferdinand, president of the Sri Lanka Canada Association of Ottawa, said hundreds of Sri Lankans are expected to gather in several cities to light candles, sing hymns and come to terms with the recent bombings. One such vigil will unfold Monday evening on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

Anura Ferdinand said the horror of Sunday’s violence is compounded by the memories it revives, adding many Sri Lankan-Canadians are grappling not only with the latest events but memories of the bloody civil war that drove many of them out of the country in the first place.

“We are in the position of healing our wounds after a 30-year war,” he said in an interview. “There was a time when breaking news was a common thing, every now and then you would hear explosions . . . . There are so many bad memories that come to my head personally and so many of the other members when we heard about this.”

In the civil war, which came to an end in 2009, a powerful rebel army known as the Tamil Tigers was crushed by the government.

While anti-Muslim bigotry has swept the island in recent years, fed by Buddhist nationalists, the island also has no history of violent Muslim militants. The country’s small Christian community has seen only scattered incidents of harassment in recent years.

Sri Lanka’s health minister said intelligence reports had repeatedly flagged threats of violence, but alleged the warnings went unheeded by government officials.

While no group has officially taken responsibility for the attacks, Rajitha Senaratne attributed the attacks to a group known as National Thowfeek Jamaath.