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Navaly massacre ten years ago froze the hearts of people

When there was a break in the shelling people started moving from Nelliyan, Moolai, Chulipuram, Paralai, and Pannaham areas and moved towards Vaddukoddai, Mavadi and Sangarathai areas and settled in the homes of friends and relatives, in schools and temples and even under trees and felt a little safer.

That afternoon bombers circled these areas and frightened the already exhausted people. They dropped four bombs at the Vaddokoddai junction. People who have just been displaced to this area and the people who were already residing in this area started moving through Navaly towards Jaffna town. There were more than 100,000 people on the move. People moved through paddy fields and side lanes with their meagre possessions and carrying the elderly and the invalids. They settled around the Navaly church and in the preschool next to it for a respite.

Some individuals through their own efforts fed the people bread and tea. Others were making arrangements to provide food items for the huge number of displaced people. People were tired by the long walk, afraid of the day long bombing, and worried about the family members who were not with them. Children sitting next to the parents were screaming and crying in hunger and exhaustion. In this noise people did not hear the sounds of bombing that were exploding nearby.

It was in this situation that at 4.30 p.m. the bombers flew over the church and dropped six bombs one after the other. One hundred and fifty seven people including 38 children died on the spot. More than 300 people sustained permanent injury. A church, a temple, 13 homes and 4 shops were destroyed.

LTTE and young men gathered the remains of the bodies and took it to Jaffna hospital in tractors and motorcycles.

09 July 2005

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