What lies ahead for little Dinusha?

It is the responsibility of society to ensure a future for the only survivor of the Delgoda massacre

No words are needed. Her beautiful melting eyes say it all. She smiles but the gentle smile has a haunted quality. It is a smile tinged with sadness, reinforcing the sorrow behind her eyes.

She speaks too, softly…….a few words, mostly monosyllables, through trembling lips. The words are difficult to understand. This, her shaven head and limp body are the indications of the terrible events that shattered her young life on that fateful night of May 18.

This girl, who has not only seen but herself gone through agony, is M. Dinusha, the 12-year-old who was left for dead in her own home in Delgoda, Meegahawatte.

Killers armed with manna knives and swords had rampaged through Dinusha’s home, leaving a trail of bodies, in a horrific night of terror which not only shocked Delgoda but the whole of Sri Lanka. Amidst the carnage, Dinusha’s father K.W.M. Tillekeratne, mother S.A. Ramyalatha, younger brothers K.W.M. Dilshan , K.W.M. Lakshan and grand-aunt S.A.D. Pamavathi lay dead.

And the reason for this brutality, where the skulls of most of the victims had been split open, is believed to be a land dispute.“What will happen to Dinusha,” asks 75-year-old E.A. Somawathi, the paternal grandmother soon after a visit to her bedside at the hospital where the girl is under a special police guard.

Explaining the family connection, this mother of seven hardly able to contain her sobs and tears says Dinusha is her baalaya’s (youngest son’s) daughter. Her son was a welder and her daughter-in-law did a little sewing from home.

Somawathi and one of her daughters had come to hospital with a change of clothing for Dinusha. They were taking back with them, some of her soiled clothes for washing. “We were requested by the nurses to bring some pampers because Dinusha cannot leave her bed and we brought them as well,” says her aunt.

Adds Somawathi, “The little one is asking for her Loku Nenda (older aunt) to come and see her because she is the one who used to accompany her for school functions on the request of Dinusha’s father.”

Still unable to come to grips with the unspeakable horror that has befallen her family, Somawathi says she lived close to her son’s home and visited them almost daily morning and evening. Her son was liked by all in the village. Her son’s family was also a close-knit one.

“Dinusha, a Grade 7 student of the school in Udupila, took part in many drills. She was very fond of her little brothers and they played together a lot. Whenever I was at their place when she left for school she would worship me, as she did her parents,” weeps Somawathi.

Anything Dinusha wanted to eat was brought by her father, while her mother used to feed her the rice and curry. Dinusha’s parents and brothers are no more. The harsh reality of a cruel world is that Dinusha is now an orphan.

“Apita Dinushawa balaganna puluvan, eth hitha bayai,” says Somawathi with a tremor in her voice. (We can look after her but we are fearful for her)

What lies ahead for a 12-year-old whose world has collapsed around her? Injured both in body and mind, the questions which arise about Dinusha are: Will she be sent to a close relative’s home to be looked after? Due to her special circumstances, will she be sent to a state home, where she may not get the love and care she sorely needs?

While her family’s killers and her assailants are tracked down by the police and brought to justice, serious thought needs to be given to Dinusha’s plight and urgent decisions taken.

Not only the authorities but also people like you and I should explore in what way we can alleviate this child’s agony, so that even if she will never forget, she will soon be on the road to recovery. With the hope that time will be a healer, in any decision on her future, the guiding factor should be one and only one criterion – that the best interests of Dinusha are fulfilled.