E Mail : nandmana@sltnet.

lk
www.hrokandy.blogspot.com

Our second Ceremonial delivery of testimonies for the year 2010 took place on
th
the 27 November at Carmel Hill Montessori Hall at 3.00 p.m. The place was
Testimony
Therapy for the
befitting for the occasion surrounded by a safe conducive and peaceful
environment with healing vibrations. Around 60 participants took part in the
celebration. We were happy to have the Vicar General of the Diocese of Kandy
Very Rev. Fr Milroy Fonseka with us for the occasion. There were around 06
priests, religious formators and religious sisters as well. Paul McAdams and Bing
of Equitas Canada were the guests of honor. Some of the survivors who already
Holistic Wellness
have gone through the process of testimony therapy were also with us. Their
presence was an encouragement and added more healing presence for the Of Our
Ex-Prison
therapeutic intervention. The members of the support group, the family
counselors and many other well wishers were with us for the occasion.

Survivors and
This particular testimony therapy is quite significant for the fact that it is the first
time we had a ceremonial delivery of testimonies for the ex-prisoner survivors
and their family members. It is also a unique experience for them, being Tamil

their Families
survivor families living around the vicinity of Kandy town.

The ceremony was highlighted with Tamil cultural rituals and elements. The
survivors were welcomed with Pottu, highlighting its meaning “We are with you”
and with a Bharatha Natiyam. Like many others, in these two cases too, it was very obvious that they were
innocent and living very ordinary lives with their families. Benedict

It was the day of the survivor families. The lighting of oil lamp was done by the survivors and their family
members. The lamps were created in the form of a prison cell to honor their freedom and liberation.

For these two cases, as an innovation, we presented visuals of their pre-trauma stories. Benedict, a
survivor who comes from a very poor family was a three wheeler driver and Chithrakumar a marathon
runner who went for daily practice, had taken part in local and international events and won medals as
well. With the traumatic event, his whole life completely collapsed taking a backward turn and ending up in
a prison cell. To have a better understanding of the mind of a prisoner, before the reading of the
testimonies, the real life story of a famous prisoner accused of a murder, who was in the same prison ,
waiting in the death row, was presented in a form of a song with visuals. The lyrics of this song were based
Chithrakumar on the poems he had written with his own hand on the walls of his cell. He was the last prisoner to be
executed in Sri Lanka, before capital punishment was discontinued.

The main features of the occasion were the reading of the testimonies of the survivor, the presentation of the testimonies and giving
encouragement to the survivors. All of these functions were done by the 05 couples who were trained as Family counselors during the
course of the year 2010 – and are now meeting the survivors, in their family environments, listening to them and encouraging them. We were happy to present the
testimonies of the survivors in Tamil - in their own language. The survivors were very much taken up with our efforts in safeguarding their rights.

The testimonies were stressful and traumatizing. With the reading of the testimonies, to bring back the participants to a relaxed mood, songs, music and dances were added
to the ceremony.

Fr. Nandana shared his vision and his experiences of the prison ministry. He encouraged the survivors and their families and pledged his
support. The climax was when all the participants greeted the survivors and their family members. It was a touching moment, when the
former survivors met and greeted the new survivors. It was also a joyful moment. An atmosphere of celebration prevailed, while joyful
songs were played. The participants commended the survivors for their steadfastness and courage, and assured them of their
continued support. Visuals were then presented on the prison activities of the Human Rights office. The whole group shared
refreshments and together with the survivors.