3 Review(s)

In Still Counting The Dead: Survivors Of Sri Lanka’s Hidden War, British journalist Frances Harrison accounts untold stories of the Sri Lankan civil war, one of the most brutal conflicts of the world which is hardly known to a few. The book unveils shattering details of the war along with first-hand testimonials from the victims of this heinous occurrence. Summary Of The Book Sri Lanka, the tropical Island of the East has been a tourist paradise for decades now owing to its scenic beauty and historical legacy. But the country has also simultaneously witnessed one of the most lethal civil wars in the history of the world. This conflict between the Sri Lankan government and the separatist militant group LTTE lasted 26 years, taking the lives of hundreds of thousands of Lankan citizens. However, the Sri Lankan government had successfully blocked the media throughout these war stricken years, leaving the world oblivious to the massacres that haunted the island. In a diligent attempt to divulge the ghastly happenings that took place in Sri Lanka in between 1983 and 2009, Frances Harrison writes Still Counting The Dead: Survivors Of Sri Lanka’s Hidden War. The book encompasses the politics, the aftermaths and the unfaltering effects of this cross fire that consumed the lives of rebels and civilians alike. On a fact-finding spree, she uncovers the secrets that were neatly tucked away and writes about the pitiless yet systematic way in which the government attacked the LTTE forces for five months before it all ended in May 2009. Having lived in Sri Lanka for four years during this time, the author finely captures the essence of the Tamil rebellion and dares to ask why there were more civilian deaths than that of rebels. She collates a good number of testimonials of those who were inhumanly victimized for no mistake of theirs. These were not rebels, but common people like fishermen, school children, doctors, nuns, teachers, shopkeepers, volunteers and more who had to bear horrifying acts of torture that included eviction from their homes, bombings, starvation, rape and physical abuse. While detailing the brutality of the Tamil Tigers in using civilians as human shields, the book also points out the callous attitude of the Sri Lankan government that misleadingly involved its own innocent citizens in the warfare. The author doesn't spare the United Nations either and holds the UN accountable for leaving Sri Lanka just when they were needed the most. Written with an extremely sensitive eye for detail, Still Counting The Dead: Survivors Of Sri Lanka’s Hidden War calls for the world to take a closer look at the most under-reported civil war and reconsider the agenda for achieving world peace. About Frances Harrison Frances Harrison is British journalist. After studying English Literature in Cambridge, she attended London University for her MA in South Asian Area Studies. She also holds an MBA from the Imperial College, London. Through out her career as a foreign correspondent for the BBC, Harrison has worked in several South Asian countries including Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Iran and Bangladesh. She was the bureau chief at BBC's office in Tehran and has also been the Head of News at London's Amnesty International.