reach august -sept 2011

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Vol - 37TYO - Canada AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2011

To work towards the enhancement of the

Tamil Nation and to provide an avenue

for the betterment of Tamil youth in canada

TYOContents

Tamil History 4

World History 6

August - Youth Canada 7

September - Youth Canada 12

Did You Know? 15

Youth Reflection 16

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Kilithattu 2011, “The National Game of Tamileelam.” Kilithattu has been an ancient and traditional game of the Tamil people. The origins of the game date back centuries to the agricultural roots of the Tamils. The Tamil Youth Organization (TYO) – Canada, realizes the importance of nurturing and protecting our identity and culture.

TYO - Canada is proud to host this sporting tournament to emphasize the importance of maintaining our identity

through sports. Also youth participating in this tournament become active and learn important values such as: teamwork, fair-play, and cooperation. These will undoubtedly make them strong contributors to this wonderful multicultural country and make them great future leaders of Canada.

We look for your support as we work to bring out one of Tamileelam’s national game to the Canadian mainstream.

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Vol - 37TYO - Canada AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2011 Ta

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Lieutenant Colonel Thileepan

Martyr Lt. Col. Thileepan was a prominent member of LTTE’s political wing and was in charge of Jaffna district. He sacrificed his life for our nation fasting to martyrdom demanding India to fulfill Tamil aspirations. He is one of Tamil people’s most popular national heroes.

Rasaiah Parthipan was born in Jaffna, Tamileelam. His father Rasaiah was a school teacher. His mother died during his childhood and he was brought up by his single father. He was a popular student in Jaffna Hindu College, a prominent high school in Jaffna, before joining the LTTE, prior to the 1983 Black July pogrom.

When the Indian and Sri Lankan governments signed the Indo-Lanka accord in mid 1987, the Tamil people were undecided as to whether the treaty was to their benefit or not. When large numbers of Indian troops arrived on the island, the Tamil people initially viewed them as ‘liberators’ from the excesses of the Sri Lankan army, even though the Indo-Lanka accord was primarily aimed at securing Indian strategic and geopolitical objectives and interests in the region.

In an effort to persuade the Indian government to honour its obligations, Thileepan, the former political wing leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam, began a fast-unto-death on 15 August 1987 in front of the Nallur Kandaswamy temple. Notably, as well as refusing to eat, Thileepan wouldn’t drink water either. Thileepan hoped to end the misery of the Tamil people by putting forward the aspirations of the Tamil people through a peaceful mode of protest.

Thileepan’s demands on behalf of the Tamil people were:

1. The colonisation by Sinhalese in Tamil areas under the guise of rehabilitation should be stopped.

2. All Tamil prisoners detained in police stations, military camps, and prisons under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) should be released.

3. State of Emergency should be completely eliminated.

4. Sri Lanka’s home guards should be disarmed under the supervision of the Indian Army.

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Lieutenant Colonel Thileepan

5. Sri Lankan government should halt the setting up of Sinhala-manned police stations in Tamil areas.

The Sri Lankan and Indian governments ignored his protest. Eleven days had passed and Tamils were waiting for last minute gesture from the Indian government. To the shock of Tamils, no words emerged from Indian government. The birth place of Gandhi and Buddha never understood a non-violent struggle based on Ahimsa. As hundreds of thousand people prayed and watched with progressive despair, he fasted unto death. On 26 September 1987, Thileepan became a martyr. Nallur Road was filled with sorrowful people, weeping and murmuring prayers. At the same time, his death sparked widespread anger across the Tamil homelands. The Tamil public overwhelmingly united behind the LTTE to spearhead

a national liberation resistance movement for emancipation from the clutches of oppression. His death not only united Tamils but also revealed the true intentions of Indian government.

The message from that selfless hero is loud and clear. His voice has been reminding us, the Tamils, that the path for freedom is ours to determine and that no one else will deliver it for us. Twenty-three years have passed since his death. Nevertheless, the situation hasn’t changed much. His demands are still not met. At this juncture, as we remember Thileepan, let us not forget the message from his supreme sacrifice and his last words: “Let the Tamil peoples’ revolution erupt, Let Tamileelam blossom”.

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On August 6th 1945, at 8:16 a.m. Japanese time, an American B-29 bomber, the Enola Gay, drops the world’s first atom bomb, over the city of Hiroshima. Approximately 80,000 people are killed as a direct result of the blast, and another 35,000 are injured. At least another 60,000 would be dead by the end of the year from the effects of the fallout.

U.S. President Harry S. Truman, discouraged by the Japanese response to the Potsdam Conference’s demand for unconditional surrender, made the decision to use the atom bomb to end the war in order to prevent what he predicted would be a much greater loss of life were the United States to invade the Japanese mainland. And so on August 5, while a “conventional” bombing of Japan was underway, “Little Boy,” (the nickname for one of two atom bombs available for use against Japan), was loaded onto Lt. Col. Paul W. Tibbets’ plane on Tinian Island in the Marianas. Tibbets’ B-29, named the Enola Gay after his mother, left the island at 2:45 a.m. on August 6. Five and a half hours later, “Little Boy” was dropped, exploding 1,900 feet over a hospital and unleashing the equivalent of 12,500 tons of TNT. The bomb had several inscriptions scribbled on its shell, one

of which read “Greetings to the Emperor from the men of the Indianapolis” (the ship that transported the bomb to the Marianas).

There were 90,000 buildings in Hiroshima before the bomb was dropped; only 28,000 remained after the bombing. Of the city’s 200 doctors before the explosion; only 20 were left alive or capable of working. There were 1,780 nurses before-only 150 remained who were able to tend to the sick and dying.

According to John Hersey’s classic work Hiroshima, the Hiroshima city government had put hundreds of schoolgirls to work clearing fire lanes in the event of incendiary bomb attacks. They were out in the open when the Enola Gay dropped its load.

There were so many spontaneous fires set as a result of the bomb that a crewman of the Enola Gay stopped trying to count them. Another crewman remarked, “It’s pretty terrific. What a relief it worked.”

America Bombs HiroshimaW

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Vol - 37TYO - Canada AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2011 August - Youth Canada

Tamileelam Cup 2011

On August 20th 2011, the Athletics Council of Canadian Tamil Youth Alliance in partnership with Canadian Tamil Sports Association (CTSA) hosted the 3rd Annual Tamileelam Challenge Cup. The final was then played between Scarborough Rangers and Seawaves F.C. Seawaves F.C. was crowned the champions of the Tamileelam Cup 2011.

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Kilithattu

Tamil youth teams from across Canada assembled in Toronto on Sunday, August 28th, 2011 to play Kilithattu, recognized as one of the national games of Tamileelam. The tournament where teams vied to win Tamileelam Heritage Trophy was a TYO-Canada’s initiative, and was organized to promote and preserve Tamil identity. The game originated from the agricultural roots of Eelam Tamils is played by people of all ages in Tamileelam.

1. Charles Antony Challengers2. Chellakili Squad3. Eelam 89ers4. Ellalan Kings

5. Flying Leopards6. Kittu Gunners7. Malathi Liberties8. Miller Inferno

9. Pandara Vanniyan Warriors10. Sea Tigers11. Shankars Scholars12. Ankayathkani - A

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13. Ankayathakani - B14. Sangiliyan15. Jeyanthan Tiger Sharks16. Thadai Thaandum Vegaikal

17. Eelam Friends18. Payum Killikal19. Tharan20. Vengai

21. Thayakam22. Nadesan

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Nivarana Alaikal 2011Se

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The University of Toronto Scarborough Campus - Tamil Students Association (UTSC TSA) organized a charitable talent show, Nivarana Alaikal 2011, to fundraise for International Medical and Health Organization (IMHO). The event was a huge success and involved the participation of many Tamil youth.

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Top Talents 2011

On Sunday September 18th 2011 CTYA held their second annual Top Talents Award Gala at Claireport Banquet and Convention Centre. The event was hosted to recognize talented individual youth in the community who have excellent achievement in the fields; Academics, Arts, Athletics and Achievements. Within these four categories, each one was further subdivided into specialized Awards. Awards were handed out accordingly to deserving applicants.

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Remembering Thileepan Anna

The Tamil Youth Organisation (TYO-Canada) and the Canadian Tamils Arts and Culture Association commemorated the 24th anniversary of Lt. Col. Thileepan’s death on Saturday September 24th 2011. The event was marked by cultural performances, dramas, speeches, and poems performed by Canadian university and high school students.

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Vol - 37TYO - Canada AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2011 D

id You Know?

On this day in 1969, America’s first automatic teller machine (ATM) makes its public debut, dispensing cash to customers at Chemical Bank in Rockville Center, New York. ATMs went on to revolutionize the banking industry, eliminating the need to visit a bank to conduct basic financial transactions. By the 1980s, these money machines had become widely popular and handled many of the functions previously performed by human tellers, such as check deposits and money transfers between accounts. Today, ATMs are as indispensable to most people as cell phones and e-mail.

Several inventors worked on early versions of a cash-dispensing machine, but Don Wetzel, an executive at Docutel, a Dallas company that developed automated baggage-handling equipment, is generally credited as coming up with the idea for the modern ATM. Wetzel reportedly conceived of the concept while waiting on line at a bank. The ATM that debuted in New York in 1969 was only able to give out cash, but in 1971, an ATM that could handle multiple functions, including providing customers’ account balances, was introduced.

ATMs eventually expanded beyond the confines of banks and today can be found everywhere from gas stations to

convenience stores to cruise ships. There is even an ATM at McMurdo Station in Antarctica. Non-banks lease the machines (so-called “off premise” ATMs) or own them outright.

Today there are well over 1 million ATMs around the world, with a new one added approximately every five minutes. It’s estimated that more than 170 Americans over the age of 18 had an ATM card in 2005 and used it six to eight times a month. Not surprisingly, ATMs get their busiest workouts on Fridays.

In the 1990s, banks began charging fees to use ATMs, a profitable move for them and an annoying one for consumers. Consumers were also faced with an increase in ATM crimes and scams. Robbers preyed on people using money machines in poorly lit or otherwise unsafe locations, and criminals also devised ways to steal customers’ PINs (personal identification numbers), even setting up fake money machines to capture the information. In response, city and state governments passed legislation such as New York’s ATM Safety Act in 1996, which required banks to install such things as surveillance cameras, reflective mirrors and locked entryways for their ATMs.

First ATM opens for business

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Vol - 37TYO - Canada AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2011 Yo

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Together We’re One, Alone We’re None

hand to hand, shoulder to shoulder

we stand tall, stand strong..sweat drips, tear drops

broken bones, bruises, and blood loss

whether we crawl on our knees, or race on our feet, we’ll make it to the top

the smile for freedom, is like no other

the scent of peace, breath of fresh air

what happened to the place that history remembers

send me home, im sick of reminiscin

is flesh just some meat

are these eyes just a tool to see

lungs just to breathe

tongue just to speak

all these pieces together create a human body

the body it reaks

as the bones they break

and the blood it leaks

lying dead is a body

just some meat

just some tools

just some air left

some words to regret

left over pieces, deprived of health and humanity

brothers die, sisters cry,

mothers look into the sky, askin why

screamin why my child?

fathers cursin why my wife?

those alive ask “why’d ya leave me behind?”

the rest who survive, pledge their life to the fight

to undo mistakes of the past, to make the world right

hold ya fist to the air, this battle doesn’t end here

neva bow down your head, cuz our skins tha kind that only gets thicker

from here on in, with our hearts tied to the struggle..

together we’re stronger

nobody rests till the dyin get better,

“when are you given up” they ask? answer em with “never!”

Pledge to the cause every second that remains of “forever”

this aint a sympathetic favor

its a human duty to save our sisters and brothers in danger

so don’t think yourself a stranger, you can be their savior

all you needa do is care, need some time that you could spare

to save a life from the strife and struggle

it aint as hard as you think,when united we gather

chantin in unison, reachin for the same aim

standing under one name, for one gain

FREEDOM

together we’re one, alone we’re none

we unite upon history, upon peace, upon lives

to save an identity to comfort their cries

Lighting fire to lies

it burns to ash and it dies

watching truth on the rise

that very day is when we all come to life

- Ennada

Together We’re One

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REACH US @

Join TYOOur doors are always open to new members that are looking to make a difference for Tamils around the world.

As an organization with the interests of Tamil youth at heart, TYO provides opportunities for Canadian Tamil youth to network, contribute, and develop their skills in various areas as well.

Interested in getting involved?

Please contact us at [email protected] visit us at www.canadatyo.org

Speak OutAs Tamil youth in Canada, we have the ultimate duty of educating others, as well as ourselves of the suffering of the Tamil people. Understanding is crucial. And with understanding comes awareness, the most essential step in the path to progress.

Ignorance is not a bliss.

• Stay updated with recent news

• Write to your local politicians

• Attend rallies

• Enlighten non-Tamil peers

• Write a poem, articles, essay

• Research, understand and recite

Reach Designer - Shiyamdev.SReach Editor - Laxana.P

reach august -sept 2011

Documents

tamil aspirations

tamil nation

tamil areas

tamil peoples

tamil prisoners

betterment of tamil

youth canada

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