Figure 6. Ilavalai, in the Jaffna district at the northern tip of Sri Lanka. Tamil areas in the north and north east of the country were significantly impacted by a drawn-out civil war (1983-2009). UN data indicates the killing and/or disappearing of over 100,000 civilians and 50,000+ fighters from both sides of the conflict (Petrie, 2012). There has been little to no state-sponsored work to address gross human rights violations that took place and there is continued militarization of the region including efforts to forcibly erase Tamil history, society and culture.