Tamil parents heave a sigh of relief as their children can receive education and become successful professionals in the field of their choice. But who will compensate for the loss of opportunities for children, deliberately caused by the Tigers’ forcible recruitment? Will the Diaspora make good the lost opportunities?

The Diaspora should realize that their children were educated and gainfully employed because they enjoy academic freedom which the Tigers denied the Tamil children in Sri Lanka.

Forcibly recruited Tamil child soldiers may have had the potential of a musician or a dancer but their physical energies were frittered away in combat. The Tamil community lost the future political and social leadership when the flower of the future generation wilted away due to forcible recruitment. The only way the Tamil people can regain the losses is through an effective rehabilitation programme.

This is food for thought for the enlightened sections of diaspora who should now contribute to the development effort to be launched by the Sri Lanka government to alleviate the hardships of the their war-affected brethren and enable them to enjoy the fruits of liberation. They are awaiting the material support from diaspora through proper channels.

The affluent sections of Sri Lankan diaspora of all ethnicities can contribute to the empowerment of Tamil civilians.

The gigantic leap forward in the massive development drive in the former conflict area, Eastern Province should be an eye-opener for the diaspora.