Tamil Genocide Memorial unveiled in Brampton after years-long wait

After a three-year delay, the Tamil Genocide Memorial, meant to honor lives lost in the Sri Lankan civil war, was unveiled in Brampton Saturday night to the sound of applause, cheers and cannons of confetti.

Hundreds flooded Brampton's Chinguacousy Park for the unveiling ceremony, looking forward to the moment the large red veil would be torn away from the monument they've waited years to see in fruition. 

Mayor Patrick Brown promised to build the monument back in 2021 after a memorial in Sri Lanka was torn down, sparking outrage among the Tamil diaspora around the world. 

That includes Brampton, home to roughly 12,000 Tamil people.

"Many of the civilians that escaped came to Canada as part of our national story," said Brown after the unveiling. 

"If you're not Indigenous, everyone has come from somewhere else, and we celebrate the difficult Tamil journey and we remember the atrocities that the community went through." 

Tens of thousands of civilians were killed in the decades-long civil war that began in 1983, according to a 2011 report produced by a panel of experts appointed by the United Nations secretary general. Hundreds of thousands of Tamils fled Sri Lanka, with many immigrating to Ontario. The province has a Tamil Genocide Education Week each year ending on May 18, which is recognized by the federal government as Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day.

"Almost everyone here has some loved one lost in the war," said Sri Ranjan, chairperson of the National Council of Canadian Tamils. 

"This place serves as a place to gather and to remember the victims."

Project faced several delays 

Local Tamil groups helped raise funds for the memorial, with Brampton city council approving its final design in February last year. 

The aim was to finish the memorial by May 2022, a goalpost that kept getting pushed back because of a delay in the project's leadership, a funding shortfall and a design change.

The initial design was supposed to be a plant-like structure, which beat 100,000 alternatives in a competition. 

But that design faced opposition and was scrapped in favour of the 4.8-metre tall stainless steel structure featuring an outline of the historic homeland of Tamil people in Sri Lanka. 

The monument faced objections in the past from the Sri Lankan High Commission and a delegation from Sri Lankan Canadian Association, who denied that a genocide took place and instead wanted the monument to commemorate "all lives lost" in the war. 

The National Council of Canadian Tamils will have ownership of the monument and will be responsible for maintaining it.