Fisherman in Batticaloa, in the Eastern Province. The villages around the lagoons and ocean were badly affected by the 2004 tsunami, thousands of people lost their lives.
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Kallady Beach, Batticaloa.
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In the village of Navalady, between the Bay of Bengal and the Batticaloa Lagoons. The only evidence that a thriving community once called this home are the foundations of houses and the water wells. These were the only structures that were not uprooted from the ground by the waves. There are a handful of two-story houses that have been re- built, but most people are still afraid to return.
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A thunderstorm approaches over the Batticaloa lagoon and Kallady Bridge.
These lagoons were once fired across during the war, the Sri Lankan military from the town and the LTTE in the villages.
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A shop keeper in Colombo.
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Children take a break from lessons at a school situated high up in the Knuckles Mountain Range.
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Watching the New Year celebrations, Colombo.
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Three sisters that run a small women’s centre in Puttalam, in the North West Province.
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A meeting with The National Peace Council and local religious leaders to discuss the progress of a new locally initiated language school.
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A family run jewelry business in the centre of Puttalam.
In October 1990, The LTTE announced that the Muslim community of Jaffna Penisula, in the Northern Privince had 24 hours to leave their homes. Many of the displaced Muslim community settled in Puttalam. This was the largest forced eviction of Muslims during Sri Lankas civil war. Researchers estimate that close to 75,000 people were forced to leave without any of their belongings, land deeds or money totaling more that US$2.25.
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The general manager of a community centre holds mushrooms that are grown in the garden shed, named The Mushroom Project. The charity run centre provides support to isolated communities by giving them the training to grow their own food.
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Pet cats at the community centre.
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A volunteer makes roti in the community centre kitchen.
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Saturday school games in the mountains of the Central Province.
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Udadumbara, The Knuckles Mountain Range.
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Waiting at the front door, near Udadumbara.
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Boys wait for instructions at school. Udadumbara, The Knuckles Mountain Range.
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A farmer tends to his land in The Central Province.
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he Halfway Home Mulleriyawa is a place where women with mental health issues are cared for. The patients have mostly been abandoned by their families who cannot care for them. There are 475 women residing in the hospital. When it was first discovered, mostly abandoned, in 1984 the hospital had 1300 women and was called ‘Unit 2’.
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In 2005, a charity called Nest was given a dilapidated ward at the hospital to turn in to an occupational therapy centre. The women are encouraged to engage in activities such as dancing, cooking, painting and sewing.
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Stray cats sleep on the patient’s beds. There are still funding problems for the hospital and conditions could still be improved. There are many dedicated people who have been constantly campaigning for the welfare of the women at the hospital since 1984.
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Mental Health has become less of a stigma in Sri Lanka in the last two decades, thanks to a few dedicated people who took it upon themselves to campaign for the welfare of ‘Forgotten Women’ and raise awareness of mental health issues in the country.
These photographs were taken whilst travelling in Sri Lanka to produce the photo story 'We are everywhere the same, listening' (also featured on this site). The photographs featured here act as a behind the scenes account of my time spent meeting with people about the project and visiting various organisations in the North, East and Central provinces of Sri Lanka.