Fiction and the Sri Lankan Human Rights Committee
Anil’s Ghost
by
Michael Ondaatje
Picador, 1999, 311 pages.
The Sri Lankan Minister for Disaster Management and Human Rights Mahinda Samarasinghe has announced the formation of an independent human rights committee. The Sri Lankan conflict has quieted for the moment, but over 2,000 civilians were reported to have been killed in the final military ‘push’ in the Varni region in January 2009, according to a Human Rights Watch report.
Such a human rights commission has occurred before — in fiction. Nearly a decade old, Michael Ondaatje’s 1999 novel Anil’s Ghost remains relevant and shines for its clear depiction of human rights issues. The disjointed writing is the only impediment that prevents the novel from being required reading for any serious human rights advocate.
–Deji Olukotun
