Every country has it's defining moments, Pearl Harbor, 9/11, Charlie Hebdo, new year's eve sexual assault in Germany. Black Friday in the mid-1980's for Colombo was a devastating blow. Tamils had been targeted for years by Sinhalese; mosques burned, an independent country was demanded and ignored. Black Friday was one of the initial incidents to a 20 year civil war.
The Tamils set off a series of bombs in Colombo's downtown bank. Faezer, our driver, was nearby, heard the explosions, and ran into the bank searching and for victims. He tied sarongs together for women to escape as glass came reigning down. His right arm and face was slashed by flying glass. His scars did not heal gracefully and the puncture marks can still be seen.
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