Tamil war dead monument erected in Germany

A sculpture to commemorate Tamil war deaths is to be erected in the German town of Essen later this week, reported the German paper Der Westen. German sculptor Georg Schaab created the 12-ton granite monument at the request of German Tamils, who funded it using donations from the community.

A large flame lily, the national flower of Tamil Eelam,  is to be placed on top of a plinth, which has the names of 27 Thuyilam Ilam (Tamil war cemeteries) and their locations engraved in them. The front of the plinth has the words “Damit wir nie es vergessen” (Lest we forget) engraved, both in German and in Tamil.

The monument is to serve as memorial site for Tamils across Germany, and Europe, he predicted, adding that he had to cross several hurdles during the process, including contact from the federal government. “Initially a map of the Tamil region, the non-existent state of Tamil Eelam was included in the design for the plinth, however that was not allowed (by the state),” Schaab explained.

The monument will be erected this Saturday in a cemetery in the Essen suburb of Fulerum, two days after Maaveerar Naal will be commemorated by German Tamils a few miles away in Dortmund on the 27th of November.