Exiled Eelam Tamil’s story speaks about “oppressive regime” in Sri Lanka

Siva Parameswaran 

The story of a father and daughter duo finds a place in an anthology of ‘Stories written by Writers in Exile’ released under the title “The Uncaged Voice”.

Ilamaran Nagarasa aka Maran is a freelance journalist, human rights activist, and refugee advocate from Eelam and his daughter Dishaly Ilamaran is a student at Carleton University in Canada pursuing a dual degree in Journalism and Law.

Both the father and daughter have a passion for storytelling and legal advocacy and their story is titled “Maran’s Unknown Journey” 

Now based in Canada, Maran was imprisoned in Sri Lanka for over a year for his alleged association with Tamil Tigers. 

Dishaly is committed to weaving together her cultural roots and academic pursuits in her journey of learning and growth according to the publishers.

The fifteen writers in exile, whose stories appear in “The Uncaged Voices” continue to write, sharing both the suppressed truths of the past and the hopes they have for the future in Canada, their chosen place of asylum says Keith Leckie the Editor of the book.

“Through first-person essays and short stories, the contributors to The Uncaged Voice share their brutal yet heart-rending tales of fleeing the oppressive regimes of their homelands, where freedom of expression and the press is an ideal, not a reality, and where totalitarian forces attempt to subjugate, if not annihilate, all forms of dissension”.

The writers include war correspondents reporting across dangerous “no-go zones”, female journalists, and independent newspaper editors among others.

With introductions by editor Keith Ross Leckie and Mary Jo Leddy, The Uncaged Voice tells often-silenced stories, not only of censorship and persecution but also of the strength and resilience of those unwavering in their fight for the freedom of expression.

The book was released in Canada in October end this year. 

A story by Savitri, a freelance journalist and author from the south Indian state of Kerala too finds a place in the collection. She left India in 2010 unable to adapt to the patriarchal tendencies and conservatism of Indian society. 

All the essays and short stories in the book are first-person experiences the writers allegedly suffered in their home countries by oppressive regimes.

The anthology of the 15 stories are written by Aaron Berhane (Eritrea), Gezahegn Mekonnen Demissie (Ethiopia), Alexander Duarte (Venezuela), Ava Homa(Kurdistan), Abdulrahman Matar(Syria), Ilamaran Nagarasa (Sri Lanka), Luis Horacio Nájera (México), Kiran Nazish(Pakistan), Pedro A. Restrepo(Colombia), Maria Saba (Iran), Kaziwa Salih(Kurdistan), Mahdi Saremifar (Iran), Bilal Sarwary (Afghanistan), Savithri(India), and Arzu Yildiz (Turkey).