Word: singham
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2003-2003
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
When Thavarasan Singham returned to his grocery shop in May, the shutters were still riddled with bullet holes. Back in 1990, Singham's town of Mankulam, in northern Sri Lanka, was caught in the cross fire between Tamil guerrillas and Sri Lanka's predominantly Sinhalese army. After the Tamil fighters retreated, the army drove into Mankulam. Singham knew what was coming next. Pulling down the shutters of his shop, he ran out the back door with his wife and four children, just before bullets and mortar shells burst into every store in the Tamil-dominated village. For the next...
...Like Singham, millions of other Sri Lankans are finally beginning to rebuild their lives. As the 20-month cease-fire between the government and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) brings Sri Lanka its first real respite from a 20-year civil war, the island nation of 19 million people is enjoying its biggest economic boom in decades. Foreign tourists are rediscovering Sri Lanka's fabled beaches, local consumers are on a spending binge and corporate profits are surging. The economy is expected to grow by 5.5% this year. Land prices are rising, and the stock market...
...Muslims in the region. "At once our business dropped," says Rohita De Silva, the hotel's manager. Now the gleaming hotel sits almost entirely deserted, an eerie premonition of what could happen to the country if a few reckless politicians scuttle the peace talks. Even the pugnacious shopkeeper Thavarasan Singham knows he'll have no choice if the shooting resumes. "I'll have to pull the shutters down and go back to Mallavi," he sighs. The next time Singham's little shop closes down, so will a big part of Sri Lanka's future...
| 1 |