10/21/2019 Sri Lanka (International Christian Concern) – Yesterday, members of Sri Lanka’s Christian community held memorial services for those killed in the Easter terrorist attacks six months ago. During these services, family and friends remembered the holiday morning that changed their lives forever.
“I dropped eight members of my family off at the church that day one by one on my motorbike, then I came back to change,” Arasartnam Verl, a member of Zion Church in Batticaloa, told Kyodo News. “When I was five minutes away from the church, I heard the blast.”
On April 21, Easter Sunday, suicide bombers reportedly supported by ISIS attacked three churches and three luxury hotels in Sri Lanka. As a result, 263 people were kill and another 600 were wounded. Among the dead and wounded were many Sri Lankan Christians who were attacked while celebrating Easter in their churches.
For many, the passage of six months has done little to heal the wounds torn open by the bombings. Vathany Moses, whose sister was killed in the bombing of Zion Church, told Kyodo News, “My sister was a role model to me. I always treated her like a mother. She was a good person who had worked with the church for a long time. I couldn’t even find her after her dead body was taken to the hospital.”
Hundreds of Christian families across Sri Lanka have stories similar to Verl and Moses. They continue to mourn the loss of loved ones as they continue to piece back the communities devastated by the Easter bombings.
For interviews, please contact Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator: [email protected].
