{"id":3421,"date":"2012-01-07T23:41:36","date_gmt":"2012-01-07T23:41:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/colombotelegraph.com\/?p=3421"},"modified":"2012-01-07T23:41:36","modified_gmt":"2012-01-07T23:41:36","slug":"remembering-lasantha-a-daughters-sorrow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/remembering-lasantha-a-daughters-sorrow\/","title":{"rendered":"REMEMBERING LASANTHA: A Daughter\u2019s Sorrow"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Ahimsa Wickrematunge –<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI had the most amazing relationship with my dad; he was one of my best friends and he was one of the few people I trusted completely. Not a day goes by that I do not think of him. It breaks my heart that my little brother will grow up without a father. But I believe he is watching over us.They say it gets better with time but it has not got any easier.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

I had the most amazing relationship with my dad; he was one of my best friends and he was one of the few people I trusted completely.<\/p><\/div>\n

These past few years I have had time to think about my father\u2019s passing and try my best to deal with it<\/a>. I find it so hard to move on and accept what happened. As an adult, I have realised now that nothing in life is permanent nor is it how you want it to be. Instead, I try to look for meaning and lessons behind all these experiences.
\nI believe that death is not the end of life; it is merely the end of the body we inhabit in this life, but our spirit will remain.
\nI had the most amazing relationship with my dad; he was one of my best friends and he was one of the few people I trusted completely. Losing him, in such a violent manner, has been the most painful and traumatic experience in my life; what also hurts is that I can no longer confide in my dad who supported me in all my decisions, dreams, ambitions and desires even if they were not always what he agreed with or wanted for me. That alone shows how unconditional his love was.
\nI have friends who unfortunately are not close to their fathers and that saddens me because I would give an arm to have a few moments more with my dad. Usually children grow up with the notion that their dad is their hero. I feel so proud to know that my dad is literally a hero and that he is not only a hero and role model to me but also to so many others who have been inspired by him.
\nGrowing up I did not have the same liberal political, philosophical and ideological views and beliefs I\u00a0 now have, but I have learnt through, mostly my father\u2019s wisdom, that all beings on earth deserve the same rights and respect and no one should have the authority to condemn or frown upon another, based on class, creed, gender or sexual orientation.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

It breaks my heart that my little brother will grow up without a father. But I believe he is watching over us.<\/p><\/div>\n

Despite my father\u2019s personal faith, what impressed me most was that he never blindly agreed with everything and impartially stood up for what was right and took a stand against discrimination in all forms. He was always a voice for those who were oppressed.
\nIt pains me every time I think my father will not be there to walk me down the aisle or be there when I need advice or rejoice with me when I succeed in something. That is something I find hardest to accept. I believe my father could have achieved and done so much more if only his life had not been so cruelly taken. I have so many unanswered questions. Not a day goes by that I do not think of him. It breaks my heart that my little brother will grow up without a father. But I believe he is watching over us.
\nThey say it gets better with time but it has not got any easier. I miss him everyday, and today especially, I share the pain of loss with my mother and my two brothers who loved him so much.<\/p>\n

Sunday Leader<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[…]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":3436,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,65],"tags":[1540,1758,1659,1759],"class_list":["post-3421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorial","category-press-freedom","tag-extra-judicial-killings-in-sri-lanka","tag-killing-lasantha-wickrematunga","tag-press-freedom-in-sri-lanka","tag-remembering-lasantha-wickrematunga"],"yoast_head":"\nREMEMBERING LASANTHA: A Daughter\u2019s Sorrow - Colombo Telegraph<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/remembering-lasantha-a-daughters-sorrow\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"REMEMBERING LASANTHA: A Daughter\u2019s Sorrow - Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[…]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/remembering-lasantha-a-daughters-sorrow\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-01-07T23:41:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/lasantha_to_uvindu_j1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/remembering-lasantha-a-daughters-sorrow\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/remembering-lasantha-a-daughters-sorrow\/\",\"name\":\"REMEMBERING LASANTHA: A Daughter\u2019s Sorrow - Colombo Telegraph\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/remembering-lasantha-a-daughters-sorrow\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/remembering-lasantha-a-daughters-sorrow\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/lasantha_to_uvindu_j1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-01-07T23:41:36+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/de9e3c959e41894c80608bdddd0387b7\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/remembering-lasantha-a-daughters-sorrow\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/remembering-lasantha-a-daughters-sorrow\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/remembering-lasantha-a-daughters-sorrow\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/lasantha_to_uvindu_j1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/lasantha_to_uvindu_j1.jpg\",\"width\":\"900\",\"height\":\"1200\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/remembering-lasantha-a-daughters-sorrow\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"REMEMBERING LASANTHA: A Daughter\u2019s Sorrow\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/\",\"name\":\"Colombo Telegraph\",\"description\":\"In journalism truth is a process\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/de9e3c959e41894c80608bdddd0387b7\",\"name\":\"Colombo Telegraph\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5f1e558c9e5cbf36781344637e8cd79f7a43c5eef749495c25079d8d64753ff3?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5f1e558c9e5cbf36781344637e8cd79f7a43c5eef749495c25079d8d64753ff3?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Colombo Telegraph\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/author\/colombo-telegraph\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"REMEMBERING LASANTHA: A Daughter\u2019s Sorrow - Colombo Telegraph","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/remembering-lasantha-a-daughters-sorrow\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"REMEMBERING LASANTHA: A Daughter\u2019s Sorrow - Colombo Telegraph","og_description":"[…]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/remembering-lasantha-a-daughters-sorrow\/","og_site_name":"Colombo Telegraph","article_published_time":"2012-01-07T23:41:36+00:00","og_image":[{"width":900,"height":1200,"url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/lasantha_to_uvindu_j1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Colombo Telegraph","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Colombo Telegraph","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/remembering-lasantha-a-daughters-sorrow\/","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/remembering-lasantha-a-daughters-sorrow\/","name":"REMEMBERING LASANTHA: A Daughter\u2019s Sorrow - Colombo Telegraph","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/remembering-lasantha-a-daughters-sorrow\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/remembering-lasantha-a-daughters-sorrow\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/lasantha_to_uvindu_j1.jpg","datePublished":"2012-01-07T23:41:36+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/de9e3c959e41894c80608bdddd0387b7"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/remembering-lasantha-a-daughters-sorrow\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/remembering-lasantha-a-daughters-sorrow\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/remembering-lasantha-a-daughters-sorrow\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/lasantha_to_uvindu_j1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/lasantha_to_uvindu_j1.jpg","width":"900","height":"1200"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/remembering-lasantha-a-daughters-sorrow\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"REMEMBERING LASANTHA: A Daughter\u2019s Sorrow"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/","name":"Colombo Telegraph","description":"In journalism truth is a process","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/de9e3c959e41894c80608bdddd0387b7","name":"Colombo Telegraph","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5f1e558c9e5cbf36781344637e8cd79f7a43c5eef749495c25079d8d64753ff3?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5f1e558c9e5cbf36781344637e8cd79f7a43c5eef749495c25079d8d64753ff3?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Colombo Telegraph"},"url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/author\/colombo-telegraph\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/lasantha_to_uvindu_j1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3421","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3421"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3421\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}