Homes burned down.
They rush out.
Fear grips.
Superhuman strength
To escape
Anywhere - Overpowers.

Herded together,
Wealth lost strength sapped,
They sit with frozen faces.
Brahamin or Harijaan.
Castes mix.
Tensions split
With shared broth.

REFUGEE 2

Everything I loved is lost,
Jewels, home, and son.
On this cold land
I stand,
Dreaming a tropical sun.
In my country
Disillusion.
Youth in arms agitate
With senseless warring.
Humans make Humans break
Years of careful building,
Does life go on in this storm of
Futile fighting.
Refugee I am,
In this cold land,
I strive to build again,
I puzzle to know and speak,
I struggle the dreaded loneliness
To overcome.
My mind is like a sieve,
It cannot retain,
The forces of a culture alien.
I see my Motherland
All torn and crushed.
I close my eyes to shut out All.
I grip my hand and
See a cold cold land.

Poems by Ranjani Mendis
___________________

Earth mother
crying
earth mother dying

A purple haze of plutonium
a yellow cloud of uranium
the trees are all burning
the vulture keeps flying

searching
searching
for corpses
rotting

War and arms for profit
no credit for nature
to crush and maim their goal
and steal earth mother's soul

Earth mother
crying
earth mother dying

bombs and bullets and butterfly mines
exploding limbs of yours and mine
deadly new virus's germs and diseases

immune system...
freezes

lyric of song by
Nimal Mendis
___________________
**BUTTERFLY MINES
Millions of these small green mines were scattered from helicopters or launched from artillery throughout the war in Afghanistan. They became so familiar that children began to call them "green parrots". One 'wing' contains liquid explosive.
When pressure is applied the explosive is forced into contact with the fuse. The amount of explosive is small, but it can still take a child's hand off.
___________________

WAR IS MY COUNTRY

This CD contains archive material of audio from live
recordings of video film of the conflict in Sri Lanka up to 1994.
Sometimes filmed under cover, amidst
road blocks, barricades and assassinations, it has statements from political personalities, activists,
artists, songs, poems, narration and voices
from the grass roots.
To see its content with photographs and
audio clips visit:
http://www.mediaeye.demon.co.uk/war.htm
Excellent for research - to buy the CD
contact: datamyst@aol.com
video archive material also available.