• The Chemmani Mass Grave: My Witness to War Crimes in Jaffna

    I have lived many lives inside one body. I was a child soldier, a spy, a prisoner, an informant, and at times a ghost moving between two worlds—Tamil and Sinhalese, enemy and ally, victim and accomplice. But of all the shadows that haunt me, none is as heavy as the one buried beneath the soil…

  • The Difference between Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing

    The Difference between Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing

    Introduction The distinction between genocide and ethnic cleansing is a “grey area” that befuddles scholars, policy makers, and students alike. The concepts of “genocide” and “ethnic cleansing” can be illustrated through examples. An instance of genocide would be the Holocaust, the systematic obliteration of the Jewish population during the Second World War in Nazi Germany…

  • Understanding the Causes of Civil War in Iraq and Syria

    Understanding the Causes of Civil War in Iraq and Syria

    Introduction The civil wars in Iraq and Syria are the most catastrophic and worst humanitarian crisis since World War II. The two main causes of civil wars in Iraq and Syria are authoritarianism and sectarianism. This essay will examine the causes and comparative analysis of two contemporary civil wars: The Iraqi civil war from 2006…