IN THE MAGAZINE

GO TIGERS! - PART 1

Tamil Girls Are the Toughest Girls in the World

WORDS AND PHOTOS BY THOMAS HAUGERSVEEN, ASSISTED BY HENRIK PRYSER LIBELL

Two years ago, Norwegian photographer Thomas Haugersveen went to Sri Lanka to cover the civil war that’s been ravaging the country for the past 20 years. After making initial diplomatic contacts in Norway he managed to enter the area known as Tamil Eelam. It’s a guerrilla-controlled state-within-a-state, not officially recognized by the government. Just hours after Thomas wrapped up his time there and headed for home, the village he’d been staying in was attacked. Since then the fighting has intensified rapidly. Rumor has it that all the borders have now been closed. Aid workers are talking about how this could be the final leg of the war.

A Tamil Tiger.

The Tamil Tigers (aka Liberation of the Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or LTTE for short) is a military separatist group that is currently fighting a civil war against the state of Sri Lanka. Their main goal is an independent state, far removed from the oppressive powers of the Sinhalese government. They are incredibly serious. All Tamil soldiers carry a poison ampoule around their necks—they don’t believe in being taken prisoner. They single-handedly beat the Indian army in the 80s, and they’re sometimes credited for having “invented” modern-day suicide bombing (it is believed that they’ve carried out more suicide attacks than any other group in the world, including the killing of two heads of state). They’re not a huge army (unofficial numbers vary between 8,000 and 20,000 people, but we’d put it at 15,000) but they’ve made considerable progress, and they now control the northern parts of Sri Lanka—the area known as Tamil Eelam. So far the conflict has claimed 65,000 lives and spawned 1 million fugitives. (And yeah, yeah, yeah, MIA’s dad is famously affiliated with the movement.) But the Tamil Tigers are still not terribly well known in the West, and even lesser known are their female fighters—of which there are a hell of a lot, and of whom we are particularly enamored.



TO BE CONTINUED
GO TIGERS! | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |

See all articles by this contributor

Comments

Anonymous, on Aug 29, 2008 wrote: i wish MIA would get blown up by a mine. she’s so annoying
Anonymous, on Aug 29, 2008 wrote: Vice have obviously got some balls when they chose to make this report. I have visited sri lanka many times in my life time but with the current climate of the country I can never return. I for certain being of tamil decent will have no respect or honour bestowed upon me if I set foot there. Reporters without borders (www.rsf.org) have placed Sri Lanka as one of the most dangerous places to work as a journalist and to be critical of the government will almost certainly cost you your life. I am impressed that vice have shown an interest in a topic that isnt discussed much in the western world. I find it dissapointing however that some people on here can onyl respond to these kind of articles through profanity and attempted slander and it is a shame that people cant have a civilised debate about the issues at heart.
Anonymous, on Aug 28, 2008 wrote: Interesting article...while doing a part time job here in england whilst i was a student...i ran into some sri lankan women who supported the LTTE...all the way uptil they lost everyone they knew...they had travelled in barrels, and swum for days...so yes...tamil women have commendable determination and an art of survival!
Anonymous, on Aug 28, 2008 wrote: Good point about the person doing the reporting, but my diatribe wasn’t aimed at sounding cool and blase. If anything, it was anti-cool (its cool to be a revolutionary!) and slightly passionate.
Anonymous, on Aug 28, 2008 wrote: Everyone stop moaning, these are fantastic photographs and the article though slightly tiger-glorified (understandably, the man was there, he bothered to go and check out for himself which is possibly more than I can say for most people reading here now) I think its glorifying bravery more even though this bravery may be pointless, and is an insight in to one of the few guerilla wars fought today. Bad things have been done on both sides of this war though, its true, but lets pay some respects to the passion of the people who go and witness this world first hand with our comments and stop trying to look cool and blase.
Anonymous, on Aug 27, 2008 wrote: Oh, I like MIA. I write stories about how tough terrorist sluts are. Oh la la! I wear perfume and go to the dog park. Grow up you tit doctor. The world of your ass/penis will slowly fart on your dad.
Anonymous, on Aug 27, 2008 wrote: someone please put a Don’t over the picture with that one-eye girl and be like Damn bitch do you really want to go outside anymore?
Anonymous, on Aug 27, 2008 wrote: turdsnift
Anonymous, on Aug 27, 2008 wrote: "How about you guys stick to stuff you know something about...like commenting on other people’s clothes?" Hilarious and well-put. +1
Anonymous, on Aug 27, 2008 wrote: these photos are great. maybe the story is a bit biased, but you know what? fuck objectivity. it’s a half-baked idea of the past. besides it’s written in first person.
Anonymous, on Aug 27, 2008 wrote: sometimes i like to think of my farts as revolutionaries and my coworkers noses as the brutal dictators holding us all down. just sometimes though.
Anonymous, on Aug 27, 2008 wrote: MIA made them do it!
Anonymous, on Aug 27, 2008 wrote: How about you guys stick to stuff you know something about...like commenting on other people’s clothes?
Anonymous, on Aug 27, 2008 wrote: Way to go hipsters. "Rage against the machine!"
Anonymous, on Aug 27, 2008 wrote: right, freedom fighters and revolutionaries, it’s that cut and dry. The world is black and white, didn’t you know? I bet you’re wearing a che guevara t-shirt right now with a keffiyeh wrapped around it, aren’t you? Wake me up when you’re finally old/wise enough to see through the haze of romantic notions of revolutionaries that clouds so many peoples minds (when they’re 19) and see things for what they truly are. As far as the democratically elected government comment, please. Democratically elected governments have been responsible for most of the atrocities of the past century, and simply being democratically elected doesn’t make you legitimate (mind you, this doesn’t even factor in the atmosphere of fear and violence said elections are held in). Also, before you launch into shpiels about the IDF or the Sri Lankan government, I’m aware of their track record. That doesn’t count as an excuse for the actions of said "freedom fighters and revolutionaries."
	Zigmund Fraud, on Aug 27, 2008 wrote: also the tigers are cool because theyre the only terrorist organization with an air force (that launched several raids against the capitol)
	Zigmund Fraud, on Aug 27, 2008 wrote: yeah how dare they glorify a democratically elected government, revolutionaries, and freedom fighters
Anonymous, on Aug 27, 2008 wrote: Jeez, it’s not enough that vice gets its rocks off glorifying hamas and hezbollah, now they’ve focused their attention to the tigers. serious journalism rofltlmao lolz woot!
Anonymous, on Aug 27, 2008 wrote: "They’re not a huge army (unofficial numbers vary between 8,000 and 20,000 people, but we’d put it at 15,000" haha!
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