Sri Lanka has stabilized, to the extent that the country is now charging for tourist visas, instead of for years practically begging people to come. Here at WoWasis, we’re going there next month to investigate. So what were the Civil War years, from 1983-2009 really all about. As journalist William McGowan so cogently describes in Only Man is Vile: The Tragedy of Sri Lanka (1992, ISBN-13: 978-0374226527),  it wasn’t merely a flight between Sri Lanka government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Tamil Tigers, either. Numerous armies, guerillas, and political factors added to the mix, Including the Indian Peace Keeping Forces (IPKF), the United National Party (UNP), the Janata Vimukti Peramuna (JVP, People’s Liberation Front), and various permutations of Buddhism and Hinduism. 

Although the book is two decades old, it’s an important read, as McGowan travels the country in war time, interviews leaders, soldiers, and everyday people. He’s included a very good history of all involved groups, as well as a short history of the island once known as Serendip (yes the word came from that) and Ceylon. Some of his best writing – and there’s lots of it here — is on the subject of the hegemony of Buddhist conservatives over intellectual secularism, Buddhist monks as death merchants, reporters having to “keyster” their film and notes so they wouldn’t be found during military searches, the Sri Lankan “mind,” and the frustrations of Sri Lankan bureaucracy. 

Our favorite chapter was Prawn Farm, chronicling expat Dale Sarver’s attempt to provide jobs and profits to Sri Lankans, an ultimately failed enterprise, the causes of which today still ring true and are applicable to any western venture in an Asia land. Some of the best books on history are the older ones, especially those in which the writer has actively traveled through war zones. We consider this book an essential one for understanding the myriad of interplays and interplayers that contributed to this tragic but important era in Sri Lankan history. Buy this book now at the WoWasis eStore.