JAFFNA, SRI LANKA, June 27, 2003: Saraswati, the Hindu Goddess of learning is standing guard, a retired school principal is all fired up, the computers are in place and war-weary Jaffna is ready for the reopening of its famous library, more than two decades after it was set it ablaze in 1981. The library, a center of learning and culture, is hugely symbolic for the country’s minority Tamil community. The fire destroyed nearly 100,000 Tamil-language books, including rare palm leaf writings. Locals hope its reopening will help heal some of the torment from a civil war that has killed 64,000 people and displaced more than one million. They also hope it will bolster a peace process backed by a 16-month-old ceasefire between Tamil rebels and the Government.
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