Vanni A Family's Struggle through the S

In the tradition of Maus Persepolis Palestine and The Breadwinner Vanni is a graphic novel documenting the human side of the conflict between the Sri Lankan government and the 'Tamil Tigers'. Told from the perspective of a single family it takes readers through the otherwise unimaginable struggles horrors and life-changing decisions families and individuals are forced to make when caught up in someone else's war.Set in Vanni the northern region of Sri Lanka that was devastated by the civil war this graphic novel follows the Ramachandran family as they flee their home after the 2004 tsunami and move from one displacement camp to the next seeking an ever-elusive safe haven and struggling to keep each other alive. Inspired by Benjamin Dix's experience in working in Sri Lanka for the United Nations during the war Vanni draws on more than four years of meticulous research official reports and first-hand interviews with refugees. It depicts heroic acts of kindness and horrific acts of violence memorializing the experiences of the Tamil civilians against the forces that seek to erase their memory.Elegantly drawn by Lindsay Pollock this exceptionally moving graphic novel portrays the personal experiences of modern warfare the process of forced migration and the struggles of seeking asylum in Europe. Review 'The story of the 2009 war in Sri Lanka in which tens of thousands of Tamil civilians were brazenly and brutally killed is rapidly being buried by powerful countries with strategic and business interests in the region. This book seeks to unbury those terrible sordid secrets and place them in clear view for the world to see.' -- Arundhati Roy'This is by any standards an important project. A significant voice in the call for truth and justice over the appalling war crimes which marked the awful end of the war in Sri Lanka.' -- Jon Snow Channel 4 News'This graphic novel is telling the story to a new audience and simultaneously telling it in new ways to the few that already knew it [...] This Vanni story needs to be heard in order to avoid it happening again.' -- Liv Torres General Secretary Nobel Peace Centre About the Author Benjamin Dix is senior fellow at School of Oriental and African Studies University of London as well as the founder and director of the nonprofit PositiveNegatives which produces literary comics that explore complex social and humanitarian issues.Lindsay Pollock is senior artist at PositiveNegatives. His work has appeared on the BBC Channel 4 and in multiple languages across Europe Asia and Africa.