your video series is so underrated. As a Sri Lankan student, school had never even tried to educate us on the civil war despite all it put people through. I think you deserve more attention. Your video series is an entire experience.
@nisandiabeywickrema36298 ай бұрын
It's not a civil war. War against Terrorist
@EscapeWithAmelia7 ай бұрын
Yes you should learn about the great history about Sinhalese civilization first and our kings who created some of the most advance irrigation systems in the world 2500 years ago and also the sacrifices our fore fathers and ancestors to bring our country with great agriculture to be called "the great warehouse of southasia" our ancestors were paddy farmers and use to export rice, spices and more. There's more to Sri Lankan history than the bloody 30 year Civil War. Sinhalese people are tolerant where ever they go, and got along with each other. Even the Malay and moor Muslims were our friends. We used to play together. During Ramadan at 6 a clock when we hear the CALL TO PRAYER, it was feast time for us Sinhalese as they bring us dates and sweets before they break fast. And huge basins of food were distributed Sinhalese houses. Only after the Arab Muslims started migrating recently things changed. Those days non of the Muslim women and girls wore head coverings. Only during prayers they wore a veil. Don't let the foreigners propaganda divide us again. It's high time they minded whats happening in their backyards. Learn your history. Be proud then we can continue to get along, as every ethnic group is contributing to our society.
@vision20966 ай бұрын
I agree with everything you say and as someone who didn't fortunately live through a civil war, I would like to learn about it because it is still a part of our history. We should learn it so that it doesn't repeat itself.@@vision2096 Learning and studying history is important to not let "foreigners propaganda divide us again". Being proud of our "great history " isn't enough. We must also learn from it. While I don't disagree with the fact that "There's more to Sri Lankan history than the bloody 30 year Civil War", history isn't just the good, it is also the bad. Bad history, in my personal opinion, leaves a greater mark on any society and civilization because it'll always serve as a reminder to not let it happen again; seeing the shortcomings, acknowledging them and correcting them to move forward as a society. That's why we learn history.
@nisandiabeywickrema36296 ай бұрын
@@nisandiabeywickrema3629 Reading your reply, I can see that you are a very intelligent young lady. The country will be in good hands if every young person have the same view as you. There are some facts that Alex omitted to mention. Maybe he wasn't aware of these facts. Plans to create a separate state for Tamils didn't start with the LTTE. Beginning of Tamil Nationalism goes back to end of British rule in Ceylon. The truth won't come out when Sinhalese and Govt. were already put at a disadvantage for being the majority. In every country it's the same, the majority is blamed. And the truth is far from it. Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and other ethnic groups co existed until our corrupted politicians from all ethnic backgrounds took advantage of this issue to further their political agendas or to stay in power. Yes every ethnic community have to learn from history so this kind of injustices and autrocities wouldn't happen again. My parents grew up as children during the colonial Era. So many historical documents, Buddhist scriptures written on Ola leaves, gems jewelry and so much more were taken by the British to GB while they were occupying and also when they left in 1947 and will never be returned. That's why I don't like people like Alex telling us what our history was. Because they are just narrating information received from sources valid or invalid. Its just journalism to him, which he is very good at. Sometimes getting your facts wrong can give the other side to prove their point or agenda. And also for the people who lived through the horror, and for the Sri Lankan troops who sacrificed their young lives for our freedom its very unfair and an injustice. So young educated and well versed in English people like you should try and get all the facts and the truth, the good and the bad as you said, and educate the young people the real history. Sinhalese people have a rich history of great kings like, Devanam Piystissa, Dutugemunu, Pandukabaya, Parakramabahu to name a few that I can remember from the top of my head. Those kings did so much for the countrie's irrigation and farming 2300 years ago, that those hydraulic systems still work todate. Glad to see that young people don't see race, color or creed but just humanity. Sri Lanka is a paradise and everybody should coexist without dividing the country. North Jaffna Port entry is an important part of the island and should be protected at any cost, so foreign intruders can't invade. So you are right we should learn from past mistakes. Sinhalese people have only Sri Lanka while the Tamils have Tamil Nadu. I am not at all saying Tamil people should leave, but stating a fact that Sri Lanka is the only country that Sinhalese people can call home.
@vision20966 ай бұрын
One of the best geopolitical documentaries ever made! I'll never stop personally recommending this series to people who mention something about the Sri Lankan civil war. Above all, I appreciate your impartiality and the depth of research. 10/10, hats off!
@PasanMahindapala8 ай бұрын
Thank you very much for watching and recommending! It has been a massive effort that has taken me 18 months of work and comments like this really make it worthwhile
@AlexRothman8 ай бұрын
@@AlexRothmanAnything coming out of BBC chanel 4 which is funded by Tamil diaspora, you have to take it with a grain of salt. They will say anything for the funds. And all these videos are filmed by their propagandists. What you really see is all the betrayel and autrocities by the ruthless LTTE who used his own as shield till the end, also what they did for innocent civilians in other parts of the country. Sri Lankan army finished the war. There were so many young men in the army lost their lives. And we have to honor their sacrifice for the freedom of the people of Sri Lanka. Propagandists like the BBC chanel 4 and diaspora continues with their propaganda. Here we have to condemn the terrorists. Nobody is talking about the US going into other countries and getting rid of bin laden and his family. Hope Alex and chanel 4 would like to talk about that too and leave a small country like Sri Lanka alone.
@vision20966 ай бұрын
You didn’t make this documentary just for the sake of doing it, you did it from the heart. As a tamil born in Sri Lanka I thank you. I pray for all the innocent souls lost in this war. What else can we expect from this injustice world we live in. Brush the dust and move on… life moves on.
@stockpickforbeginners52178 ай бұрын
❤
@crackthefoundation_5 ай бұрын
As a Sri Lankan Tamil American. My mom was there when the war happened and my aunts house was bombed leaving her family homeless and with the clothes on their backs. My three cousins were young when this happened. My moms cousin was a teenager when he was taken to fight and we don’t still know what happened to him. My friend and her family were going to a wedding and her little sister was kidnapped. We still have no clue what happened to her.
@Kittycat12345826 ай бұрын
I don't really comment on many videos but I felt like I really needed to comment on this one in order to show my appreciation for what you have created. This was a masterclass on journalistic story telling and cinematography. The whole Sri Lanka series you have created is absolutely amazing. The ability to research such a complex nation with a deep history and the execution behind presenting said research in 7 masterful parts is nothing short of inspiring. I am very grateful that the youtube algorithm has brought me to your channel. hats off to your work and I am sure your channel will grow into something amazing. After all, you deserve all the likes and views for your hard work.
@ashwin13327 ай бұрын
You have risked your life to make this video. If the Sri Lankan authorities know that you are making a documentary video of the Sri Lanka civil war! Complete respect for your dedication. You have brought back the painful memories that the Sri Lanka government trying to hide. May Tamils get justice one day!
@munishwaran72734 ай бұрын
Even though I'm not Sri Lankan, my heart goes out for the people that suffered. How I wish there would be a world without war or conflict. Thank you for this documentary, this gives voice to the voiceless and somewhat a respite to those that suffered.
@SuperFeeltheburn8 ай бұрын
i remember the day the war ended. i was 5. my grandad who was a stern old man wept like a child when they announced that the war had finally come to an end; he wept tears of joy. That was the only time i had ever seen him cry. you're doing a really good job retelling our history btw, as a Sinhalese i have to say sometimes the truth is tainted by cultural beliefs but this i think cleared it all up. masterpiece
@nilupulimedagama38398 ай бұрын
Thanks for watching and sharing your experience!
@AlexRothman8 ай бұрын
Mine too. That was the only time I've seen him shed a tear, and I remember the relief on my family's faces. They just sat there and enjoyed the relief.
@lululalalulu697 ай бұрын
I think u are the first KZheadr to talk about the Muslims of the North who were chased away by Tamil tigers. Thank You so much for bringing it up
@zuhamanal65703 ай бұрын
as a Srilankan who grew up in colombo during the last dacade of the war i really thank you for this series. I had 13 years of our state curriculum and we didn't cover any of the countries history post 1972 and the civil war was something that was the backdrop to our childhood in colombo so thanks for the balanced well reasearch and superbly produced series.
@anjaliefernando49157 ай бұрын
Theres more to Sri Lankas rich history and heritage than the 30 year old war or the 1970s insurgency. That's why the Sinhalese youth just like the Tamil and Muslim youth, research into our ancestral history. How our ancestors forefathers were able to bring this country's agriculture to be the richest in South East Asia. Read about how our Sinhalese kings hydraulic systems made irrigation easy for farmers how marvelous those systems are even to this date. Hope you know the names of those kings. Parakramabahu, Dhatusena, Panduwasdeva, Devanampiyatissa to name a few from the top of my head. And heros like Keppettipola, Weerapuranappu who sacrificed their lives to this country. We have a rich proud history. Be patriotic. Then you feel you belong here. Most study in international schools and leave the country looking for greener pastures, and find out its not exactly how you envisioned it to be. If you haven't felt rooted in your own mother land you are going to even feel more lost in a land that is not familiar. Don't pay too much attention to these foreigners depiction of the sad history of ours, which by the way is over. These kinds of videos are going to rekindle sparks and old wounds. We should honor our troops for their sacrifices and dedication to end this war and be thankful for the freedom we enjoy because of their sacrifices. It's not a case of a competition to emphasize which side lost the most lives or casualties. The Sri Lankan army gave up their lives to eradicate terrorism. That's the bottom line. Young people should move forward this paradise of a county to better place.
@vision20966 ай бұрын
I don't remember much of the war but one thing never left my heart, my parents never traveled in one bus although it was for the same destination . They used to take two different buses because suicide bomd may happen any bus or anywhere, they wanted to make sure that atleast one of them remains with us as much as they could.
@jeewanthasathapaththu68737 ай бұрын
😢 sad truth during war time There cloud be bomb anywhere because of LTTE
@KosmosAct7 ай бұрын
@@KosmosActSo called Srilankan army too had killled innocent people. Many have destroyed Hindu temples and forcefully converting into Buddhist one. I can't understand why simhalese have immense hatred to Hinduism. But claim Buddhism as peaceful religion.!!!. If this is the case, them even Taliban of Afghanistan are peaceful people.
@rk-is3cw7 ай бұрын
@@rk-is3cw I bet my left nut you are not a lankan tamil who has lived in SL during the war. some of the things you say don't make sense.
@sahandharmasiriOfficial7 ай бұрын
this isnt the only sad truth, the srilankan military regularly bombed hospitals and schools in the north, they also raped young girls, displaced and killed civilians, dumped the bodies onto trucks and burned them, ppl in the south are rlly illiterate on what happened in their own country, proud and ignorant with no clue on what their own country has done, but go on the streets to protest and storm the government building bc theyre moneys missing, is a bit of petrol more valuable than some 10s of 1000s lives to just protest for, you dont have to be pro ltte, pro tamil eelam to care about farmers, fathers, fishermen, mothers and goddamn children
@hoehoe7346 ай бұрын
@@rk-is3cwThis was not a war between Hindus and Buddhists. You have to get that straight. It's between a Terror group and the Sri Lankan army trying to counter attack. There's nothing good happens when there's war as civilians from both sides become casualties. I am sad about the little Tamil kids P used as suicide bombers😢 as they didn't have a say on all this. I don't think at all most Tamils living in Jaffna wanted this but had to take part in fear. You have to understand there were Sinhalese people living in Jaffna at the time. The war is over, and we have to stop this blame game and let foreigners tell our history. We lived it and know what really happened. We can all coexist like we did before this? Blame this on the UK colonizers who gave Tamils executive positions in govt as Civil Servants, obviously creating animosity among the Sinhalese, exactly what the British wanted. And also Tamil and Sinhalese politicians who had their own political agenda using this issue to divide and conquer. The theory of divide and conquer, which in the west and Europe is now adapting with BLM, Transgender ideology, Critical race theory, Islamophobia a word created by the UN, all use to divide people and create animosity among people. They were very successful in this theory, but people are waking up. We are strength in numbers and we need each other. Muslims and Sinhalese coexisted harmoniously until the Arab Muslims migrated to Sri Lanka, thus the Easter attack😢
@vision20966 ай бұрын
Thank you for this series, I am a 37yo Canadian of Sri Lankan origin that was raised pretty sheltered from the reasons why our family left the island. This has actually educated me in a non bias, fact based way more than anything I’ve ever watched before and made a real impact on me. Alex Rothman your a name that will be known I think in the future. Keep crushing your documentaries.
@1800Rama7 ай бұрын
Everything in this video is so well produced yet so underrated. Take love brother ❤
@anamulhaquejasim15238 ай бұрын
Thanks for watching!
@AlexRothman8 ай бұрын
This is one of the most informative, most poignant series that i have seen, and not just on KZhead. Thank you very much. Keep up the good work.
@darbas577 ай бұрын
Thank you for making this series and educating me more than our country and people ever did. There truly was a collective amnesia at the end of the war and it means alot to see someone put this level of dedication to telling the story in such a manner.
@Harrington_357 ай бұрын
I couldn't make it through any of your videos; you're incredibly captivating in them, and they leave me completely spellbound.
@madinaishmuradova95167 ай бұрын
This whole series was absolutely fantastic. I've never seen anything like it. I'm so grateful for all the time and effort it must have taken you. Thank you so so much!!
@benjaminvuchetich19902 ай бұрын
Alex - an absolutely brilliant series. This final episode was so painful to even watch … I cannot even begin to comprehend the suffering and trauma endured by the civilians. Without truth, facilitated reconciliation, and justice, it’s difficult to know if the country will ever find peace. Thank you for investing the time in making (what might be) the only educational series about this country’s past and present. Mx
@mythilimusic8 ай бұрын
Wow! What an education I received. Very impressive loved your style. Hope to see more. Not an easy topic to cover, but you did it with great tact and skill. Thank you, and keep up the excellent work.
@gueman992 ай бұрын
Great job on an amazing set of detailed videos but this last one was particularly well done on a such contentious subject. I didn't expect to binge the whole thing but learnt a lot!
@justme-hh4vp2 ай бұрын
Great work Alex. A solid documentary with a balanced point of view on one of the dark episodes of Sri Lanka.
@LilanMihiranga7 ай бұрын
I watched all series, your effort 👏Great work Alex ❤
@arcee6c8 ай бұрын
What an incredible series. Masterful storytelling, presented with balance, and empathy for those involved. The musical accompaniment is perfect, the videography is superb. One of the best documentary series I have even seen, on or off KZhead. What really sets it apart is how informative it is, it must have required so much effort to research!
@therealdotcode2 ай бұрын
Incredibly balanced, very informative and incredibly accurate depiction of the atrocities on both sides. I lived through this war and I can tell you this was incredibly well produced. Well done.
@rwickra7 ай бұрын
This is an absolute masterpiece of a video, amazing animations and great videography. Bravo 👏🏻
@AkbarPul108 ай бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it!
@AlexRothman8 ай бұрын
Brilliant and an unbiased analysis! Excellently narrated!
@ams08762 ай бұрын
It is tremendous series Alex. Keep it up ❤
@charithrds7 ай бұрын
Thank you for this important and well researched documentary.
@MichaelArabia19693 ай бұрын
Your entire series on Sri Lanka was brilliant. Every one should see it for a very good understanding of this beautiful nation, albeit with a tragic past.
@havingalook22 ай бұрын
This is a more in depth history of the war than us Lankans get in schools and books. Thank you for this unbiased peice of sri lankan history.
@blackgrizly95227 ай бұрын
Thanks Alex for documenting!!!
@rajeshantony742 ай бұрын
Love your videos Alex- they are well researched and presented. Please keep up the good work.
@largestirling2 ай бұрын
thank you, beautifully well done video 🙏
@TTranDC8 ай бұрын
This is an exceptional video - thank you!
@timwillis64332 ай бұрын
Wonderful Series. Learned alot,
@shehansaverimuttu20497 ай бұрын
Amazing series. thank you from the bottom of my heart for doing this superb unbiased docuseries. was a real eye-opener even 13 years later on a conflict so many of us have been reluctant to revist for the immense amount fo trauma it has caused us on both sides. I remember finishing my last A/L paper and walking out of school the day the war ended. remember the celebrations in Colombo. distinctly remember being in fear of a bomb going off even during the celebrations. Never occured to me how much blood-shed was going on at the time. or perhaps it didnt matter cause it was the enemy. and like you likely said it was either them or us(or atleast that was what we thought at the time). teared up watching their plight in this video. a crazy world we live in. hope we learn to be better humans.
@shehaan237 ай бұрын
This is an absolute masterpiece. Such a well put and thought out documentary! As a tamilian, this breaks my heart.
@thayaalinisubramaniam65004 ай бұрын
Crazy how we are witnessing this same thing occur in Gaza as we speak. We are all nothing but pawns.
@shadiy63742 ай бұрын
This made me cry..such good documenting style..you are so underrated
@30harsashivani483 ай бұрын
Excellent documentary! Keep up the good work!
@lluisboschpascual48692 ай бұрын
Thank you for telling this story. I never learned the whole history of Sri Lanka and the civil war this way before. Your style of narration and storytelling deserve 1M + views. I'm glad I stumbled onto your channel.
@rivmack59022 ай бұрын
So glad I found this channel. You’re making some of the best content on KZhead right now. First watched your Guianas video and looking forward to more in depth exploration of Latin America. In particular I’m curious about the war between Ecuador and Peru. I’ve explored that wild region of the border around Tiwintza where there are still heavily mined jungles along the border. Exploring forgotten wars and conflicts is fascinating.
@FallofftheMap2 ай бұрын
@AlexRothman As a Sri Lankan, I want to thank you. You did something that's pretty hard to capture in a video series like this. I implore all Sri Lankans to watch this series because it'll be years, if not decades, until there will be a real reckoning inside the country. But the only thing we can do is to learn our brutal and complex history and accept all of our people as one people asking to live in peace and dignity; and dignity is given by listening to the grief of our fellow brothers and sisters and making amends and building both literal and emotional bridges.
@wandering-riz6 ай бұрын
I appreciate your effort in creating this series. The majority of Sri Lankans have not seen this side of the story. I hope this series will help us look at things differently in the future so that this type of bloodbath will never happen again.
@punsara116 ай бұрын
A great series! 👏
@hasindupiyumantha35957 ай бұрын
Thank you!
@aadityarajbhandari27098 ай бұрын
Amazing series. Everybody should watch this.
@handkantenronny17164 ай бұрын
Hi Alex, I found your channel a few months ago whilst looking for a documentary on Tajikistan and after watching it I immediately subscribed. Keep up the great work! I know this video is about Sri Lanka, but I just wanted to finally make a comment. Again really enjoying your channel and looking forward to seeing what you do next. 🙌🏼💥
@tommyparrott41727 ай бұрын
What a well rounded series Alex. Could never get this quality even from our local news stations. Hope you will get to become a big channel one day. good luck
@ashshanV8 ай бұрын
Excellent non biased work!
@jumanji52397 ай бұрын
Incredible documentary effort
@climbeverest7 ай бұрын
The angle missing here is the Indian angle. How the tigers were trained in India (in an army base up in the hills called chakraata near dehradun), how that backfired and how ultimately the indian PM was assasinated. But the work youve done is absolutely amazing.
@savyasachimukherjee61597 ай бұрын
This angle is a zero angle without proof. India never aided terrorism. If india aided them why would rajiv have been killed for helping them?
@climbeverest7 ай бұрын
@@climbeverest My dear go watch some Disney movies. These stuff are too much for you. 😏 Come back after you little bit grown up.
@ROSTAMFARROKHZADZA7 ай бұрын
He has covered this in his previous videos. It is a series.
@TNAOD7 ай бұрын
@@climbeverest You will be amazed with what India has done to their loving neighbours. Training terrorists, violating sovereignty of airspaces and a lot more.
@heransdАй бұрын
The effort you've put on to make this documentary is quite extra ordinary. I don't think even us, the Sri Lankas have made a better video than this. Thank you so much! It breaks my heart to think that how many innocent children like the two boys in the video, had to gave up their life due to this conflict. They will not be forgotten! One thing I see missing here is the part where Sinhalese kids, mothers, men and women got slaughtered by the Tigers, where they were not only shot, but decapitated and dismembered. Both side lost innocent lives, but I only saw a suffering of a one party here…!
@rajitharajasooriya25743 ай бұрын
Don't judge the success of your work on this video by the number of views . Fantastic work on this and award worthy. We just need to know that sometimes people dont want to see or hear tthings unless its in their own narrative. But this video will be here on youtube when its time for those very people to understand. It's one of the best and unbiased takes of what happened.
@crackeddominic7 ай бұрын
But all in all, fantastic series mate. As I commented in one of the earlier ones, I hope you will cover other countries and their dark pasts.
@AshantiwswrathАй бұрын
One of the best youtube channels
@SanjanaRanasingha7 ай бұрын
This made me cry. We love you Alex ❤
@vimukthimahakumbura12845 ай бұрын
A masterpiece.
@rishiamudala18677 ай бұрын
Just needed to input somethings regarding the final months of the conflict. But first, must say again, Bravo!, this is the best video series about the history of modern Sri Lankan history that I've seen. Even though there are documentaries about Sri Lanka none of them concentrate on the conflicts and wars Sri Lanka has been through and what it has cost Sri Lanka to get through them. The reason these are the best is they are researched very well and explained in a 3rd party view without taking any side. And I thank you for that. So Let's get to what I wanted to input As you said before, during the final war the government did a very great job of controlling the media. At the time Sri Lankans didn't know if there were any war crimes being committed and if there were any information like that, people simply refused to believe it because they didn't think the government is capable of that and government was very good at explaining there were no such thing happening. But now in the 2020's when we see the the government for who they really are we know those atrocities probably happened at the time and we had no idea. And most probably guys who were doing the shelling were given false information that those areas were clear of civilians. I have had the honor of talking to some of the military officers who served in the operation areas at the time and one thing I understood by talking to them is that those guys had no intentions of harming any civilians. (And thank you for giving the credit to those soldiers who deserved it. most foreign media explain it as "All the military members were savages who wanted to kill people" for some reason). I remember During the last months of the war army units garrisoned in the south collecting food, water and medicine for those civilians. many civilian comities and schools helped the military to get these supplies. But looking back it those final months and hearing government officials say "There were ZERO Civilian casualties" we know that's just not possible. But I must say even though people know what went down we still treat the military with respect because we all know what it was to live during the war and how glad we were when it was over. Also there was a time that international community accused the military of executing surrendered LTTE leadership. And many people I know thinks this did happen because It was just unavoidable. Because those guys basically fought them for nearly 30 years and they knew exactly what was gonna happen if they were captured alive because one of them did that before and now he is a member of the parliament and those boys on the ground who payed every thing in blood did not want to see that happen again. And many Sri Lankans didn't give a damn about that because most of those dead guys were famous among Sri Lankans for their crimes. I'm really glad you went through all this trouble and put your effort to create this series because many foreign nations see this war in a completely different angle and has a very different way of viewing the conflict. Thank You for doing this.
@dreamcatcher55727 ай бұрын
Excellent work
@brandondeutsch52922 ай бұрын
Definitely has a lot of parallels to Israel and Gaza at the moment... I wonder if the ending will be the same. Great video as always Alex!
@Behemoth295 ай бұрын
Really awesome deep dive into this conflict. War is a horrible thing. Feel really bad for people on both sides. I always wonder what it would be like to face almost certain death for somethign you believe in, or even worse something you don't believe in, but have no choice. RIP.
@alexfriedman21522 ай бұрын
Great video which should have much more views about a forgotten massacre
@baptistefoulquier12373 ай бұрын
Kind of brought a tear to my eye seeing them playing volleyball, posing for that picture. Your guide is so cute.After the horrors you described its nice to see that they have restored a sense of normalcy.
@aidan84732 ай бұрын
Thank you
@sleepenjoyer63696 ай бұрын
Well done Alex. Thank you for helping me understand. Ceylon/Sri Lanka was part of my life. If not for this conflict I might have moved there. I think about it often. A part of my heart is still there.
@garysullivan84648 ай бұрын
That's unfortunate. Well the good thing is you can visit here now, at meast as a tourist.
@malithaw8 ай бұрын
❤❤❤
@KosmosAct7 ай бұрын
I'm only half way through watching this video, but have decided I'll recommend it to my Sri Lankan neighbours and friends.
@amateurmetalsculptor2 ай бұрын
Similar to Gaza situation
@BeachBoi10006 ай бұрын
Alex, good. One more fact: Heavy weapons were not only with army, but also with LTTE. There are many drone footage which shows how they fired artillery from inside the no fire zone surrounded by the shelters of civilians. Another fact: Also, the accounts of number of deaths published by UN are based on the election lists and other official accounts, however as you yourself found-out, many individuals in those lists were not in the region at the peak of the war. Many of them fled to Europe via India from a boat, without any record of migration. Of course they went missing, but not because they have been killed, but due to unofficial migration. Army executions in cold blood: There might have been such incidents, may be 100's of top LTTE POIs .. but its not possible to execute tens or hundreds of thousands as you are saying, and let such amount of bodies vanish. Of course UN was there Aljazeera was there, many other media outlets as well. If you can, find out how many asylum visa have been offered for Tamils in Europe, Canada and elsewhere. Also find-out how many undocumented immigrants have been received in India as a transit point or a long term shelter for Tamils over the years of war. Also, findout the legal Tamil emmigrants (via airport) left the country. Then only you can do the proper mathematics of it.
@boo95238 ай бұрын
35mm is usually in the range of anti air rounds... Using that as artillery is equivalent to throwing pebbles
@w0lf6678 ай бұрын
sorry my bad. i am not expert in gauge. might have forgotten it. I removed it. Sorry. 🙏@@w0lf667
@boo95238 ай бұрын
It's true that there are many estimates by neutral observers that give a much higher death count. I'm not an expert so I don't have a position on that but you are certainly correct that the numbers might be substantially higher
@AlexRothman8 ай бұрын
@@AlexRothman I don't think you've read the comment. There are no thing as a "neutral observers" everybody has a bias, or everybody build a bias along the way. Give me example of some of your 'neutral observers'.. Anyway, cool reporting. Keep going.
@boo95238 ай бұрын
This is just typical Sinhalese denial of the tens of thousands massacred. If you really believe in what you say, let an international investigation take place, we all know you wont. The Sri Lankan authorities carried out mopping up operations after the war and dissolved bones with chemicals, burned corpses and buried people in mass graves. You can read about it in Trevor Grant's book: Sri Lanka's Secrets: How the Rajapaksa Regime Gets Away With Murder There was a systematic attempt to destroy all the evidence. Of course during this time they did not give any free access to international observers.
@sltruth3178 ай бұрын
Thank you for doing this despite getting minimal traction. You are an absolute GOAT.
@Man-of-Steel6748 ай бұрын
I appreciate that! Unfortunately because this video is age restricted fewer people will get to see it, but do share to anyone who would be interested
@AlexRothman8 ай бұрын
@@AlexRothman I always share your stuff. even your tajikistan videos.
@Man-of-Steel6748 ай бұрын
The world's biggest rescue mission done by srilankan forces ❤
@mountlankatours30908 ай бұрын
Thank you Sri Lankan Army for eradicating terrorism ❤️🇱🇰
@AslaBasla8 ай бұрын
Says the person who supports state terrorism!
@thipansada8 ай бұрын
Lol Sri Lankan Army were the terrorists...
@grimoirehe4rt7 ай бұрын
Excellent
@gowtham51687 ай бұрын
Not only north there was bombs in Colombo I was schooling just lucky to survive There is no any hates Tamils and Sinhalese society Our life ruined just because of Sri Lanka located in a geographical important location
@chamarapradeepa698 ай бұрын
Please do a similar series on New Zealand - I would love, make that LOVE to know a great deal more about the land of your birth. Many thanks.
@havingalook22 ай бұрын
Dude , it's mind boggling to me that you don't have a million subscribers and a girl who shakes her butt have millions of followers😩 AMAZING DOCUMENTARY!!!!
@akshaysharma38098 ай бұрын
Excellent video. I am European but I was in Srilanka at this time and the years prior to 2009.there are always 2 sides to every conflict at any time.assigning blame is often based on geopolitics unfortunately.
@angelawhitehead61872 ай бұрын
such a detailed, neutral, and touching documentary with personal touch, great job, alex
@nihao45878 ай бұрын
Thanks for watching
@AlexRothman8 ай бұрын
The fact that you went to some of the locations where this happened just give its so much more impact that just a talking head clip, it really shows how all this numbers all the dead are just humans, some who were just trying to live a normal life. I hope one day there is a documentary like the ones you make on the conflict in my home of Colombia, seeing all the sri lankan comments on how your video helped them understand the war more I can imagine something similar would happened with people form my country
@alejandrotoro96768 ай бұрын
I would very, very much love to do a series on Colombia! It is on the list, I promise you and I sincerely hope that one day I will have the time and opportunity to make it
@AlexRothman8 ай бұрын
@@AlexRothman Don't worry about it, just keep doing what you do and I keep watching
@alejandrotoro96768 ай бұрын
"seeing all the sri lankan comments on how your video helped them understand the war" A Sri Lankan here, you really think so? You really think that we will believe this?
@autoworld8718 ай бұрын
Can someone please tell me what is the hymn/song in the church?
@sahassandaradura59477 ай бұрын
great video, man. you deserve far more views then this.hope u blow up soon.
@3BlueHaze8 ай бұрын
I appreciate that!
@AlexRothman8 ай бұрын
I have been reading articles and ear hung numerious videos on the civil war .Everytime it tears me up on how innocent civilians lost their life and of closest kin. You do gice a good imsight , but if i may make a suggestion.The aftermath also imvolved numerious white van kidnappings which were infamously described , there was this figure who was very much highlighted during the civil war , Father francis .He convinced many kf the llte cadres to give up and surrender , when they did , thry were taken to be not seen again which includes him as well.There have been strange missing cases of tamil people .Its very overwhelming and heart wrenching i had read those.I really wish to contribute in some way or the other since i feel yhe truyh has not seen the light yet.
@varunpradeep37607 ай бұрын
Our world is in a mess, sad !
@arulraj30767 ай бұрын
You must do a documentary on Sunday easter attacks as well ❤
@KosmosAct7 ай бұрын
The moment you decided to become the absolute face of "the ruthlessness" is the same moment you will lost every kind of sympathy that you will get from your enemy. At the end of the day, nobody will be there to save you.
@ROSTAMFARROKHZADZA8 ай бұрын
🐅
@cameronpillay80508 ай бұрын
Their inhumane enemy was their main reason to become ruthless
@mysteryuntold95318 ай бұрын
@@mysteryuntold9531 Yeah...yeah...! and see what kind of end they had to face as a result of it. Good for them!
@ROSTAMFARROKHZADZA8 ай бұрын
@@ROSTAMFARROKHZADZA just because one won , doesn't automatically mean they were right. Innocents just because getting backed by china for everything, just because they wanted to have power in the Indian Ocean.
@mysteryuntold95318 ай бұрын
@ROSTAMFARROKHZADZA there is no end. Time Is cyclical . As long as Sri Lankas sinhalese scum keep discriminating against their largest minority ( Elam Tamils ), another armed resistance will take roots.
@cameronpillay80508 ай бұрын
how powerful!
@MrHmjg8 ай бұрын
The same thing is happening in the Middle East right now
@James-cq2bj7 ай бұрын
Thanks man for the video. I was wating for a new video of ur's. Eventhough i'm a sri lankan, i didn't even knew half of the facts u said in ur videos.
@kesithajayasinghe91418 ай бұрын
Thanks for watching!
@AlexRothman8 ай бұрын
I cannot describe how glad and thankful I am to come across your series of videos documenting a crucial part of our country's history which I would've never known otherwise or only fed a really biased perspective of it. Honestly the country should've never gotten full inpendance to begin with. Not at least the country developed to a point where a majority is well educated and not persisting the religious elitist bigoted mindset that plagued it's history throughout (still has not even to this day). Just keep in mind the very people that you met during your journey that was protesting against Gotabaya were probably bowing and hailing him a few years ago during the time of the elections as most people were back then and he capitalized on the easter bombings which you've probably heard by now that he has involvment in. With the current state of our country I highly doubt there lies any bright future for it. A country that could've very much been a paradise... Anyways thank you again for the time and effort you've dedicated to making these!
@w0lf6678 ай бұрын
Thanks for watching! The story of the Easter bombings is fascinating and I was considering making a final video about it, but in the end I had to end the series here and start the next. I do hope that the truth about the Easter bombings eventually comes out though, as far as I understand it, at the moment we just don't know enough to be certain of anything
@AlexRothman8 ай бұрын
u say that srilanka shud not have gotten full independence. Yes that couldve made our country extremley developed but we would be like prisoners caged inside a palace. Freedom is what makes us live. really live.
@grey_wizard7 ай бұрын
@@grey_wizard Idk what you're smoking to think that being an eternally third world country with only a darkening future for it to be "Freedom" or be worth the " "Freedom" "
@w0lf6677 ай бұрын
This is ridiculous. I am sure it's the perpetrators themselves taking this very moment to put the blame on the Rajapakses for the Easter attack. So the bombers just went and did that to help Rajapakse? What are they going to gain by it? They are already dead with so many innocent people. Don't try to cover up one real problem with another one just because Rajapakse was corrupted. So was JR jayawardene and the rest of the elites. And most recently Sirisena. They all got away Scott free. They left a trail behind. Ask all the jewellery store owners where every tourist was asked to change their foreign currency, where did all the dollars go? Nobody changed their currency from bank of Ceylon? Every tourist on youtube were asked by their Sri lankan friends to change their currency through particular jewellery stores. Who owns most of those stores may I ask? The Rajapakses are in the country now, why no arrests. There's more to this story than the eyes meet. Lot of vultures hanging on to this story. Wonder why?
@vision20966 ай бұрын
@@AlexRothmanBecause of the present situation with the Rajapakses certain people are trying to pin the Easter attack on him. Hope you will get your story on this with the right source. I myself don't believe it. As what is he trying to gain by it? What the suicide bombers getting out of it they are already dead. May be people should be questioning Sirisena the previous leader of Sri Lanka who was corrupted himself and left the country and economy in shambles. Also as you might also have done like so many foreign youtubers including Sri Lankans who come to visit change their currency from certain jewellery stores never from Bank of Ceylon. The store owners give you more money. Some US youtubers openly tell everybody to change their currency at certain jewellery stores advised by their friends overseas. Most jewellery stores are owned by Tamils. So where did all the dollars go. Nobody change their dollars from the banks, so there is so much to this story than what you see. And Tamil Civil Servants continued to work in English even after the Sinhala only act. It's the low income sinhala youth affected by it as they couldn't secure jobs in their field after graduating from university because they couldn't speak in English. English medium in public schools were eligible to only Tamil, Muslim and burger students. So sinhales were more affected. I know this for a fact as a peon in my office makes tea for the office workers and deliver mail, because he is not fluent in English,and he is a science graduate. Corruption in education department failed sinhala students and passed Tamil students to medical college. I can go on but what's the point. Hope you get your stories from reliable sources Alex other than that your contents are worth watching. But I don't like when only one side of the story is exposed. Most of the new generation of Sinhalese don't know these stories.
@vision20966 ай бұрын
Why wasn't the reason for the turmoil in 2022 mentioned?
@CountCraigula2 ай бұрын
The part where you showed glimpses into the ordinary lives of the people whose homes were sites of the worst this war had to offer just going about their life felt like the most touching part of this entire series to me. I was aware of the complicity of my own country (India) to the events that happened towards the end of the conflict but never knew the extent of civilian death and human rights violations. The international community shares a lot of blame here, the lack of any international trials against the top leadership of the country or even any sort of punishment just proved Gotabaya's strategy correct. Plus a country like India was definitelty in a position to unilaterally send relief supplies to civilians in the cage. On a sidenote the reason why India refused to sell those weapons to Sri Lanka probably had to do with the fact that the Congress was in power in a coalition, which just so happened to include DMK as one of its major constituents, one of the two big parties of Tamil Nadu between whom the state government flips to every couple of elections for the past six decades. So them allowing something like that happening probably wouldn't go down well with their own party members and their electorate.
@thelakeman25388 ай бұрын
Thanks for the extra details, the story of India is definitely a project that I'm going to try and tackle, and it's going to be a massive, massive project
@AlexRothman8 ай бұрын
@@AlexRothman well in that case I'd suggest you to narrow down what places/region and topics you'll talk about and visit before hand, otherwise it'd be too vast to neatly fit into a single series. Most modern states/larger UTs in India can have stories as complex as mid sized countries. Good luck with your other projects.
@thelakeman25388 ай бұрын
the lack of any international trials against the top leadership? Are you in Wonderland? Everyone in this world is glad LTTE is done and gone. So you agree to bring all the LTTE leaders who migrate to other countries like Canada.. etc., back here and put them on the train with top leaders?
@QubitTechnologies8 ай бұрын
Talk about how india engineered the war too. Talk about how your country turned a small criminal gang into a full blown terrorist organization.
@autoworld8718 ай бұрын
@@thelakeman2538 Sri Lanka war was completely created by India and Killed millions of Sri Lankan People
@john_____2 ай бұрын
Just how ignored has the srilankan tragedy been is evident from the view count of this otherwise fantastic documentary .
@yasho.Ай бұрын
This is the cost of war. So, we shall not go into another one ever again!! May Sri Lanka see the end of the suffering and and beginning of prosperity @Alex Rothan. good job on your documentary. it's truly a masterpiece done by the best ❤❤❤ You're a GEM. you handled this sensitive topic unbiasedly!
@oshadhakandawela76587 ай бұрын
Outstanding series, Alex. That said, going to Sri Lanka now as a tourist on a food vlogger holiday will take some work.
@commonnowpleasestop8 ай бұрын
Thanks for watching and enjoy your trip!
@AlexRothman8 ай бұрын
As someone who researched on this extensively, whats your view on following questions. 1. Is the ending of war a good thing or a bad thing now given all the chaos it created. 2. Anything you see that could ve done differently.
@59013917 ай бұрын
unbiased view. very well done.
@QubitTechnologies8 ай бұрын
not its not free of bias, many of his sources are extremely biased and he inherits many of their distortions. read my comments elsewhere
@sltruth3178 ай бұрын
Unbiased lol 😂
@Aselishan3 ай бұрын
Thank you Alex...
@boog3y8 ай бұрын
Loved the series totally..❤️ thank you so much for making this series, u really nailed the ending very much.. I am a mainland tamilian.. I agree that there are really not so much people who have a rational mindset on this whole issue and most of them are biased (both gov and people) either on the side of ltte or sla. Unless we give up our pride and digest the truth of what have happened wrong from both our sides, the war is not yet over.. Thanks for the wonderfull series mate, people here in the subcontinent don't make such detailed documentaries of this stories because this whole issue is still a hot soup in the political space and leads to lot of controversies. I found that u also missed one main thing: children of the prabhakaran are also shot dead, there are photos of that.
@kumaragurusubramanian5818 ай бұрын
As a Sinhalese+tamil mixed person, I am really glad Prabhakaran and his children died, and one way or another this LTTE is finished. Now only we have to fix the political issues that were created by selfish Tamil politicians and Sinhalese politicians.
@QubitTechnologies8 ай бұрын
@@QubitTechnologiesyou support the execution of 12 year old Balachandran too?
@samsonz08 ай бұрын
@@samsonz0 After so many child soldiers died from the poor Tamil family you cry for Prbhakaran's son? So in the future, Sri Lanka wants LTTE group called Balachandran brigade? like Charles Anthony brigade? Maybe Balachandran is part of the child brigade. I dont support killing children and women but if those children and women have a gun or make a threat to another person then should be gunned down. its s an evil act of Prabhakaran that didn't suicide and kill his family by himself like he destroyed so many poor Tamil families for his power and wealth.
@QubitTechnologies8 ай бұрын
@@samsonz0 You should ask that from the parents who lost their children from the Massacres and bombings that committed by LTTE. They will give you a proper answer.
@ROSTAMFARROKHZADZA8 ай бұрын
@@QubitTechnologiesso that’s a yes because of a hypothetical scenario, by which logic LTTE could have argued sinhala children could also grew up to rape and murder Tamils..
@samsonz08 ай бұрын
Impressive part of history & amazing storytelling. Go Ali 🤘
@YessicaYaelAg8 ай бұрын
Glad to hear I have fans all over the world :) Even Mexicans in Australia. More videos to come soon
@AlexRothman8 ай бұрын
@@AlexRothmannot a fan - just a Mexican already cheeky featured ;) Saludos mate
your video series is so underrated. As a Sri Lankan student, school had never even tried to educate us on the civil war despite all it put people through. I think you deserve more attention. Your video series is an entire experience.
It's not a civil war. War against Terrorist
Yes you should learn about the great history about Sinhalese civilization first and our kings who created some of the most advance irrigation systems in the world 2500 years ago and also the sacrifices our fore fathers and ancestors to bring our country with great agriculture to be called "the great warehouse of southasia" our ancestors were paddy farmers and use to export rice, spices and more. There's more to Sri Lankan history than the bloody 30 year Civil War. Sinhalese people are tolerant where ever they go, and got along with each other. Even the Malay and moor Muslims were our friends. We used to play together. During Ramadan at 6 a clock when we hear the CALL TO PRAYER, it was feast time for us Sinhalese as they bring us dates and sweets before they break fast. And huge basins of food were distributed Sinhalese houses. Only after the Arab Muslims started migrating recently things changed. Those days non of the Muslim women and girls wore head coverings. Only during prayers they wore a veil. Don't let the foreigners propaganda divide us again. It's high time they minded whats happening in their backyards. Learn your history. Be proud then we can continue to get along, as every ethnic group is contributing to our society.
I agree with everything you say and as someone who didn't fortunately live through a civil war, I would like to learn about it because it is still a part of our history. We should learn it so that it doesn't repeat itself.@@vision2096 Learning and studying history is important to not let "foreigners propaganda divide us again". Being proud of our "great history " isn't enough. We must also learn from it. While I don't disagree with the fact that "There's more to Sri Lankan history than the bloody 30 year Civil War", history isn't just the good, it is also the bad. Bad history, in my personal opinion, leaves a greater mark on any society and civilization because it'll always serve as a reminder to not let it happen again; seeing the shortcomings, acknowledging them and correcting them to move forward as a society. That's why we learn history.
@@nisandiabeywickrema3629 Reading your reply, I can see that you are a very intelligent young lady. The country will be in good hands if every young person have the same view as you. There are some facts that Alex omitted to mention. Maybe he wasn't aware of these facts. Plans to create a separate state for Tamils didn't start with the LTTE. Beginning of Tamil Nationalism goes back to end of British rule in Ceylon. The truth won't come out when Sinhalese and Govt. were already put at a disadvantage for being the majority. In every country it's the same, the majority is blamed. And the truth is far from it. Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and other ethnic groups co existed until our corrupted politicians from all ethnic backgrounds took advantage of this issue to further their political agendas or to stay in power. Yes every ethnic community have to learn from history so this kind of injustices and autrocities wouldn't happen again. My parents grew up as children during the colonial Era. So many historical documents, Buddhist scriptures written on Ola leaves, gems jewelry and so much more were taken by the British to GB while they were occupying and also when they left in 1947 and will never be returned. That's why I don't like people like Alex telling us what our history was. Because they are just narrating information received from sources valid or invalid. Its just journalism to him, which he is very good at. Sometimes getting your facts wrong can give the other side to prove their point or agenda. And also for the people who lived through the horror, and for the Sri Lankan troops who sacrificed their young lives for our freedom its very unfair and an injustice. So young educated and well versed in English people like you should try and get all the facts and the truth, the good and the bad as you said, and educate the young people the real history. Sinhalese people have a rich history of great kings like, Devanam Piystissa, Dutugemunu, Pandukabaya, Parakramabahu to name a few that I can remember from the top of my head. Those kings did so much for the countrie's irrigation and farming 2300 years ago, that those hydraulic systems still work todate. Glad to see that young people don't see race, color or creed but just humanity. Sri Lanka is a paradise and everybody should coexist without dividing the country. North Jaffna Port entry is an important part of the island and should be protected at any cost, so foreign intruders can't invade. So you are right we should learn from past mistakes. Sinhalese people have only Sri Lanka while the Tamils have Tamil Nadu. I am not at all saying Tamil people should leave, but stating a fact that Sri Lanka is the only country that Sinhalese people can call home.
One of the best geopolitical documentaries ever made! I'll never stop personally recommending this series to people who mention something about the Sri Lankan civil war. Above all, I appreciate your impartiality and the depth of research. 10/10, hats off!
Thank you very much for watching and recommending! It has been a massive effort that has taken me 18 months of work and comments like this really make it worthwhile
@@AlexRothmanAnything coming out of BBC chanel 4 which is funded by Tamil diaspora, you have to take it with a grain of salt. They will say anything for the funds. And all these videos are filmed by their propagandists. What you really see is all the betrayel and autrocities by the ruthless LTTE who used his own as shield till the end, also what they did for innocent civilians in other parts of the country. Sri Lankan army finished the war. There were so many young men in the army lost their lives. And we have to honor their sacrifice for the freedom of the people of Sri Lanka. Propagandists like the BBC chanel 4 and diaspora continues with their propaganda. Here we have to condemn the terrorists. Nobody is talking about the US going into other countries and getting rid of bin laden and his family. Hope Alex and chanel 4 would like to talk about that too and leave a small country like Sri Lanka alone.
You didn’t make this documentary just for the sake of doing it, you did it from the heart. As a tamil born in Sri Lanka I thank you. I pray for all the innocent souls lost in this war. What else can we expect from this injustice world we live in. Brush the dust and move on… life moves on.
❤
As a Sri Lankan Tamil American. My mom was there when the war happened and my aunts house was bombed leaving her family homeless and with the clothes on their backs. My three cousins were young when this happened. My moms cousin was a teenager when he was taken to fight and we don’t still know what happened to him. My friend and her family were going to a wedding and her little sister was kidnapped. We still have no clue what happened to her.
I don't really comment on many videos but I felt like I really needed to comment on this one in order to show my appreciation for what you have created. This was a masterclass on journalistic story telling and cinematography. The whole Sri Lanka series you have created is absolutely amazing. The ability to research such a complex nation with a deep history and the execution behind presenting said research in 7 masterful parts is nothing short of inspiring. I am very grateful that the youtube algorithm has brought me to your channel. hats off to your work and I am sure your channel will grow into something amazing. After all, you deserve all the likes and views for your hard work.
You have risked your life to make this video. If the Sri Lankan authorities know that you are making a documentary video of the Sri Lanka civil war! Complete respect for your dedication. You have brought back the painful memories that the Sri Lanka government trying to hide. May Tamils get justice one day!
Even though I'm not Sri Lankan, my heart goes out for the people that suffered. How I wish there would be a world without war or conflict. Thank you for this documentary, this gives voice to the voiceless and somewhat a respite to those that suffered.
i remember the day the war ended. i was 5. my grandad who was a stern old man wept like a child when they announced that the war had finally come to an end; he wept tears of joy. That was the only time i had ever seen him cry. you're doing a really good job retelling our history btw, as a Sinhalese i have to say sometimes the truth is tainted by cultural beliefs but this i think cleared it all up. masterpiece
Thanks for watching and sharing your experience!
Mine too. That was the only time I've seen him shed a tear, and I remember the relief on my family's faces. They just sat there and enjoyed the relief.
I think u are the first KZheadr to talk about the Muslims of the North who were chased away by Tamil tigers. Thank You so much for bringing it up
as a Srilankan who grew up in colombo during the last dacade of the war i really thank you for this series. I had 13 years of our state curriculum and we didn't cover any of the countries history post 1972 and the civil war was something that was the backdrop to our childhood in colombo so thanks for the balanced well reasearch and superbly produced series.
Theres more to Sri Lankas rich history and heritage than the 30 year old war or the 1970s insurgency. That's why the Sinhalese youth just like the Tamil and Muslim youth, research into our ancestral history. How our ancestors forefathers were able to bring this country's agriculture to be the richest in South East Asia. Read about how our Sinhalese kings hydraulic systems made irrigation easy for farmers how marvelous those systems are even to this date. Hope you know the names of those kings. Parakramabahu, Dhatusena, Panduwasdeva, Devanampiyatissa to name a few from the top of my head. And heros like Keppettipola, Weerapuranappu who sacrificed their lives to this country. We have a rich proud history. Be patriotic. Then you feel you belong here. Most study in international schools and leave the country looking for greener pastures, and find out its not exactly how you envisioned it to be. If you haven't felt rooted in your own mother land you are going to even feel more lost in a land that is not familiar. Don't pay too much attention to these foreigners depiction of the sad history of ours, which by the way is over. These kinds of videos are going to rekindle sparks and old wounds. We should honor our troops for their sacrifices and dedication to end this war and be thankful for the freedom we enjoy because of their sacrifices. It's not a case of a competition to emphasize which side lost the most lives or casualties. The Sri Lankan army gave up their lives to eradicate terrorism. That's the bottom line. Young people should move forward this paradise of a county to better place.
I don't remember much of the war but one thing never left my heart, my parents never traveled in one bus although it was for the same destination . They used to take two different buses because suicide bomd may happen any bus or anywhere, they wanted to make sure that atleast one of them remains with us as much as they could.
😢 sad truth during war time There cloud be bomb anywhere because of LTTE
@@KosmosActSo called Srilankan army too had killled innocent people. Many have destroyed Hindu temples and forcefully converting into Buddhist one. I can't understand why simhalese have immense hatred to Hinduism. But claim Buddhism as peaceful religion.!!!. If this is the case, them even Taliban of Afghanistan are peaceful people.
@@rk-is3cw I bet my left nut you are not a lankan tamil who has lived in SL during the war. some of the things you say don't make sense.
this isnt the only sad truth, the srilankan military regularly bombed hospitals and schools in the north, they also raped young girls, displaced and killed civilians, dumped the bodies onto trucks and burned them, ppl in the south are rlly illiterate on what happened in their own country, proud and ignorant with no clue on what their own country has done, but go on the streets to protest and storm the government building bc theyre moneys missing, is a bit of petrol more valuable than some 10s of 1000s lives to just protest for, you dont have to be pro ltte, pro tamil eelam to care about farmers, fathers, fishermen, mothers and goddamn children
@@rk-is3cwThis was not a war between Hindus and Buddhists. You have to get that straight. It's between a Terror group and the Sri Lankan army trying to counter attack. There's nothing good happens when there's war as civilians from both sides become casualties. I am sad about the little Tamil kids P used as suicide bombers😢 as they didn't have a say on all this. I don't think at all most Tamils living in Jaffna wanted this but had to take part in fear. You have to understand there were Sinhalese people living in Jaffna at the time. The war is over, and we have to stop this blame game and let foreigners tell our history. We lived it and know what really happened. We can all coexist like we did before this? Blame this on the UK colonizers who gave Tamils executive positions in govt as Civil Servants, obviously creating animosity among the Sinhalese, exactly what the British wanted. And also Tamil and Sinhalese politicians who had their own political agenda using this issue to divide and conquer. The theory of divide and conquer, which in the west and Europe is now adapting with BLM, Transgender ideology, Critical race theory, Islamophobia a word created by the UN, all use to divide people and create animosity among people. They were very successful in this theory, but people are waking up. We are strength in numbers and we need each other. Muslims and Sinhalese coexisted harmoniously until the Arab Muslims migrated to Sri Lanka, thus the Easter attack😢
Thank you for this series, I am a 37yo Canadian of Sri Lankan origin that was raised pretty sheltered from the reasons why our family left the island. This has actually educated me in a non bias, fact based way more than anything I’ve ever watched before and made a real impact on me. Alex Rothman your a name that will be known I think in the future. Keep crushing your documentaries.
Everything in this video is so well produced yet so underrated. Take love brother ❤
Thanks for watching!
This is one of the most informative, most poignant series that i have seen, and not just on KZhead. Thank you very much. Keep up the good work.
Thank you for making this series and educating me more than our country and people ever did. There truly was a collective amnesia at the end of the war and it means alot to see someone put this level of dedication to telling the story in such a manner.
I couldn't make it through any of your videos; you're incredibly captivating in them, and they leave me completely spellbound.
This whole series was absolutely fantastic. I've never seen anything like it. I'm so grateful for all the time and effort it must have taken you. Thank you so so much!!
Alex - an absolutely brilliant series. This final episode was so painful to even watch … I cannot even begin to comprehend the suffering and trauma endured by the civilians. Without truth, facilitated reconciliation, and justice, it’s difficult to know if the country will ever find peace. Thank you for investing the time in making (what might be) the only educational series about this country’s past and present. Mx
Wow! What an education I received. Very impressive loved your style. Hope to see more. Not an easy topic to cover, but you did it with great tact and skill. Thank you, and keep up the excellent work.
Great job on an amazing set of detailed videos but this last one was particularly well done on a such contentious subject. I didn't expect to binge the whole thing but learnt a lot!
Great work Alex. A solid documentary with a balanced point of view on one of the dark episodes of Sri Lanka.
I watched all series, your effort 👏Great work Alex ❤
What an incredible series. Masterful storytelling, presented with balance, and empathy for those involved. The musical accompaniment is perfect, the videography is superb. One of the best documentary series I have even seen, on or off KZhead. What really sets it apart is how informative it is, it must have required so much effort to research!
Incredibly balanced, very informative and incredibly accurate depiction of the atrocities on both sides. I lived through this war and I can tell you this was incredibly well produced. Well done.
This is an absolute masterpiece of a video, amazing animations and great videography. Bravo 👏🏻
Glad you enjoyed it!
Brilliant and an unbiased analysis! Excellently narrated!
It is tremendous series Alex. Keep it up ❤
Thank you for this important and well researched documentary.
Your entire series on Sri Lanka was brilliant. Every one should see it for a very good understanding of this beautiful nation, albeit with a tragic past.
This is a more in depth history of the war than us Lankans get in schools and books. Thank you for this unbiased peice of sri lankan history.
Thanks Alex for documenting!!!
Love your videos Alex- they are well researched and presented. Please keep up the good work.
thank you, beautifully well done video 🙏
This is an exceptional video - thank you!
Wonderful Series. Learned alot,
Amazing series. thank you from the bottom of my heart for doing this superb unbiased docuseries. was a real eye-opener even 13 years later on a conflict so many of us have been reluctant to revist for the immense amount fo trauma it has caused us on both sides. I remember finishing my last A/L paper and walking out of school the day the war ended. remember the celebrations in Colombo. distinctly remember being in fear of a bomb going off even during the celebrations. Never occured to me how much blood-shed was going on at the time. or perhaps it didnt matter cause it was the enemy. and like you likely said it was either them or us(or atleast that was what we thought at the time). teared up watching their plight in this video. a crazy world we live in. hope we learn to be better humans.
This is an absolute masterpiece. Such a well put and thought out documentary! As a tamilian, this breaks my heart.
Crazy how we are witnessing this same thing occur in Gaza as we speak. We are all nothing but pawns.
This made me cry..such good documenting style..you are so underrated
Excellent documentary! Keep up the good work!
Thank you for telling this story. I never learned the whole history of Sri Lanka and the civil war this way before. Your style of narration and storytelling deserve 1M + views. I'm glad I stumbled onto your channel.
So glad I found this channel. You’re making some of the best content on KZhead right now. First watched your Guianas video and looking forward to more in depth exploration of Latin America. In particular I’m curious about the war between Ecuador and Peru. I’ve explored that wild region of the border around Tiwintza where there are still heavily mined jungles along the border. Exploring forgotten wars and conflicts is fascinating.
@AlexRothman As a Sri Lankan, I want to thank you. You did something that's pretty hard to capture in a video series like this. I implore all Sri Lankans to watch this series because it'll be years, if not decades, until there will be a real reckoning inside the country. But the only thing we can do is to learn our brutal and complex history and accept all of our people as one people asking to live in peace and dignity; and dignity is given by listening to the grief of our fellow brothers and sisters and making amends and building both literal and emotional bridges.
I appreciate your effort in creating this series. The majority of Sri Lankans have not seen this side of the story. I hope this series will help us look at things differently in the future so that this type of bloodbath will never happen again.
A great series! 👏
Thank you!
Amazing series. Everybody should watch this.
Hi Alex, I found your channel a few months ago whilst looking for a documentary on Tajikistan and after watching it I immediately subscribed. Keep up the great work! I know this video is about Sri Lanka, but I just wanted to finally make a comment. Again really enjoying your channel and looking forward to seeing what you do next. 🙌🏼💥
What a well rounded series Alex. Could never get this quality even from our local news stations. Hope you will get to become a big channel one day. good luck
Excellent non biased work!
Incredible documentary effort
The angle missing here is the Indian angle. How the tigers were trained in India (in an army base up in the hills called chakraata near dehradun), how that backfired and how ultimately the indian PM was assasinated. But the work youve done is absolutely amazing.
This angle is a zero angle without proof. India never aided terrorism. If india aided them why would rajiv have been killed for helping them?
@@climbeverest My dear go watch some Disney movies. These stuff are too much for you. 😏 Come back after you little bit grown up.
He has covered this in his previous videos. It is a series.
@@climbeverest You will be amazed with what India has done to their loving neighbours. Training terrorists, violating sovereignty of airspaces and a lot more.
The effort you've put on to make this documentary is quite extra ordinary. I don't think even us, the Sri Lankas have made a better video than this. Thank you so much! It breaks my heart to think that how many innocent children like the two boys in the video, had to gave up their life due to this conflict. They will not be forgotten! One thing I see missing here is the part where Sinhalese kids, mothers, men and women got slaughtered by the Tigers, where they were not only shot, but decapitated and dismembered. Both side lost innocent lives, but I only saw a suffering of a one party here…!
Don't judge the success of your work on this video by the number of views . Fantastic work on this and award worthy. We just need to know that sometimes people dont want to see or hear tthings unless its in their own narrative. But this video will be here on youtube when its time for those very people to understand. It's one of the best and unbiased takes of what happened.
But all in all, fantastic series mate. As I commented in one of the earlier ones, I hope you will cover other countries and their dark pasts.
One of the best youtube channels
This made me cry. We love you Alex ❤
A masterpiece.
Just needed to input somethings regarding the final months of the conflict. But first, must say again, Bravo!, this is the best video series about the history of modern Sri Lankan history that I've seen. Even though there are documentaries about Sri Lanka none of them concentrate on the conflicts and wars Sri Lanka has been through and what it has cost Sri Lanka to get through them. The reason these are the best is they are researched very well and explained in a 3rd party view without taking any side. And I thank you for that. So Let's get to what I wanted to input As you said before, during the final war the government did a very great job of controlling the media. At the time Sri Lankans didn't know if there were any war crimes being committed and if there were any information like that, people simply refused to believe it because they didn't think the government is capable of that and government was very good at explaining there were no such thing happening. But now in the 2020's when we see the the government for who they really are we know those atrocities probably happened at the time and we had no idea. And most probably guys who were doing the shelling were given false information that those areas were clear of civilians. I have had the honor of talking to some of the military officers who served in the operation areas at the time and one thing I understood by talking to them is that those guys had no intentions of harming any civilians. (And thank you for giving the credit to those soldiers who deserved it. most foreign media explain it as "All the military members were savages who wanted to kill people" for some reason). I remember During the last months of the war army units garrisoned in the south collecting food, water and medicine for those civilians. many civilian comities and schools helped the military to get these supplies. But looking back it those final months and hearing government officials say "There were ZERO Civilian casualties" we know that's just not possible. But I must say even though people know what went down we still treat the military with respect because we all know what it was to live during the war and how glad we were when it was over. Also there was a time that international community accused the military of executing surrendered LTTE leadership. And many people I know thinks this did happen because It was just unavoidable. Because those guys basically fought them for nearly 30 years and they knew exactly what was gonna happen if they were captured alive because one of them did that before and now he is a member of the parliament and those boys on the ground who payed every thing in blood did not want to see that happen again. And many Sri Lankans didn't give a damn about that because most of those dead guys were famous among Sri Lankans for their crimes. I'm really glad you went through all this trouble and put your effort to create this series because many foreign nations see this war in a completely different angle and has a very different way of viewing the conflict. Thank You for doing this.
Excellent work
Definitely has a lot of parallels to Israel and Gaza at the moment... I wonder if the ending will be the same. Great video as always Alex!
Really awesome deep dive into this conflict. War is a horrible thing. Feel really bad for people on both sides. I always wonder what it would be like to face almost certain death for somethign you believe in, or even worse something you don't believe in, but have no choice. RIP.
Great video which should have much more views about a forgotten massacre
Kind of brought a tear to my eye seeing them playing volleyball, posing for that picture. Your guide is so cute.After the horrors you described its nice to see that they have restored a sense of normalcy.
Thank you
Well done Alex. Thank you for helping me understand. Ceylon/Sri Lanka was part of my life. If not for this conflict I might have moved there. I think about it often. A part of my heart is still there.
That's unfortunate. Well the good thing is you can visit here now, at meast as a tourist.
❤❤❤
I'm only half way through watching this video, but have decided I'll recommend it to my Sri Lankan neighbours and friends.
Similar to Gaza situation
Alex, good. One more fact: Heavy weapons were not only with army, but also with LTTE. There are many drone footage which shows how they fired artillery from inside the no fire zone surrounded by the shelters of civilians. Another fact: Also, the accounts of number of deaths published by UN are based on the election lists and other official accounts, however as you yourself found-out, many individuals in those lists were not in the region at the peak of the war. Many of them fled to Europe via India from a boat, without any record of migration. Of course they went missing, but not because they have been killed, but due to unofficial migration. Army executions in cold blood: There might have been such incidents, may be 100's of top LTTE POIs .. but its not possible to execute tens or hundreds of thousands as you are saying, and let such amount of bodies vanish. Of course UN was there Aljazeera was there, many other media outlets as well. If you can, find out how many asylum visa have been offered for Tamils in Europe, Canada and elsewhere. Also find-out how many undocumented immigrants have been received in India as a transit point or a long term shelter for Tamils over the years of war. Also, findout the legal Tamil emmigrants (via airport) left the country. Then only you can do the proper mathematics of it.
35mm is usually in the range of anti air rounds... Using that as artillery is equivalent to throwing pebbles
sorry my bad. i am not expert in gauge. might have forgotten it. I removed it. Sorry. 🙏@@w0lf667
It's true that there are many estimates by neutral observers that give a much higher death count. I'm not an expert so I don't have a position on that but you are certainly correct that the numbers might be substantially higher
@@AlexRothman I don't think you've read the comment. There are no thing as a "neutral observers" everybody has a bias, or everybody build a bias along the way. Give me example of some of your 'neutral observers'.. Anyway, cool reporting. Keep going.
This is just typical Sinhalese denial of the tens of thousands massacred. If you really believe in what you say, let an international investigation take place, we all know you wont. The Sri Lankan authorities carried out mopping up operations after the war and dissolved bones with chemicals, burned corpses and buried people in mass graves. You can read about it in Trevor Grant's book: Sri Lanka's Secrets: How the Rajapaksa Regime Gets Away With Murder There was a systematic attempt to destroy all the evidence. Of course during this time they did not give any free access to international observers.
Thank you for doing this despite getting minimal traction. You are an absolute GOAT.
I appreciate that! Unfortunately because this video is age restricted fewer people will get to see it, but do share to anyone who would be interested
@@AlexRothman I always share your stuff. even your tajikistan videos.
The world's biggest rescue mission done by srilankan forces ❤
Thank you Sri Lankan Army for eradicating terrorism ❤️🇱🇰
Says the person who supports state terrorism!
Lol Sri Lankan Army were the terrorists...
Excellent
Not only north there was bombs in Colombo I was schooling just lucky to survive There is no any hates Tamils and Sinhalese society Our life ruined just because of Sri Lanka located in a geographical important location
Please do a similar series on New Zealand - I would love, make that LOVE to know a great deal more about the land of your birth. Many thanks.
Dude , it's mind boggling to me that you don't have a million subscribers and a girl who shakes her butt have millions of followers😩 AMAZING DOCUMENTARY!!!!
Excellent video. I am European but I was in Srilanka at this time and the years prior to 2009.there are always 2 sides to every conflict at any time.assigning blame is often based on geopolitics unfortunately.
such a detailed, neutral, and touching documentary with personal touch, great job, alex
Thanks for watching
The fact that you went to some of the locations where this happened just give its so much more impact that just a talking head clip, it really shows how all this numbers all the dead are just humans, some who were just trying to live a normal life. I hope one day there is a documentary like the ones you make on the conflict in my home of Colombia, seeing all the sri lankan comments on how your video helped them understand the war more I can imagine something similar would happened with people form my country
I would very, very much love to do a series on Colombia! It is on the list, I promise you and I sincerely hope that one day I will have the time and opportunity to make it
@@AlexRothman Don't worry about it, just keep doing what you do and I keep watching
"seeing all the sri lankan comments on how your video helped them understand the war" A Sri Lankan here, you really think so? You really think that we will believe this?
Can someone please tell me what is the hymn/song in the church?
great video, man. you deserve far more views then this.hope u blow up soon.
I appreciate that!
I have been reading articles and ear hung numerious videos on the civil war .Everytime it tears me up on how innocent civilians lost their life and of closest kin. You do gice a good imsight , but if i may make a suggestion.The aftermath also imvolved numerious white van kidnappings which were infamously described , there was this figure who was very much highlighted during the civil war , Father francis .He convinced many kf the llte cadres to give up and surrender , when they did , thry were taken to be not seen again which includes him as well.There have been strange missing cases of tamil people .Its very overwhelming and heart wrenching i had read those.I really wish to contribute in some way or the other since i feel yhe truyh has not seen the light yet.
Our world is in a mess, sad !
You must do a documentary on Sunday easter attacks as well ❤
The moment you decided to become the absolute face of "the ruthlessness" is the same moment you will lost every kind of sympathy that you will get from your enemy. At the end of the day, nobody will be there to save you.
🐅
Their inhumane enemy was their main reason to become ruthless
@@mysteryuntold9531 Yeah...yeah...! and see what kind of end they had to face as a result of it. Good for them!
@@ROSTAMFARROKHZADZA just because one won , doesn't automatically mean they were right. Innocents just because getting backed by china for everything, just because they wanted to have power in the Indian Ocean.
@ROSTAMFARROKHZADZA there is no end. Time Is cyclical . As long as Sri Lankas sinhalese scum keep discriminating against their largest minority ( Elam Tamils ), another armed resistance will take roots.
how powerful!
The same thing is happening in the Middle East right now
Thanks man for the video. I was wating for a new video of ur's. Eventhough i'm a sri lankan, i didn't even knew half of the facts u said in ur videos.
Thanks for watching!
I cannot describe how glad and thankful I am to come across your series of videos documenting a crucial part of our country's history which I would've never known otherwise or only fed a really biased perspective of it. Honestly the country should've never gotten full inpendance to begin with. Not at least the country developed to a point where a majority is well educated and not persisting the religious elitist bigoted mindset that plagued it's history throughout (still has not even to this day). Just keep in mind the very people that you met during your journey that was protesting against Gotabaya were probably bowing and hailing him a few years ago during the time of the elections as most people were back then and he capitalized on the easter bombings which you've probably heard by now that he has involvment in. With the current state of our country I highly doubt there lies any bright future for it. A country that could've very much been a paradise... Anyways thank you again for the time and effort you've dedicated to making these!
Thanks for watching! The story of the Easter bombings is fascinating and I was considering making a final video about it, but in the end I had to end the series here and start the next. I do hope that the truth about the Easter bombings eventually comes out though, as far as I understand it, at the moment we just don't know enough to be certain of anything
u say that srilanka shud not have gotten full independence. Yes that couldve made our country extremley developed but we would be like prisoners caged inside a palace. Freedom is what makes us live. really live.
@@grey_wizard Idk what you're smoking to think that being an eternally third world country with only a darkening future for it to be "Freedom" or be worth the " "Freedom" "
This is ridiculous. I am sure it's the perpetrators themselves taking this very moment to put the blame on the Rajapakses for the Easter attack. So the bombers just went and did that to help Rajapakse? What are they going to gain by it? They are already dead with so many innocent people. Don't try to cover up one real problem with another one just because Rajapakse was corrupted. So was JR jayawardene and the rest of the elites. And most recently Sirisena. They all got away Scott free. They left a trail behind. Ask all the jewellery store owners where every tourist was asked to change their foreign currency, where did all the dollars go? Nobody changed their currency from bank of Ceylon? Every tourist on youtube were asked by their Sri lankan friends to change their currency through particular jewellery stores. Who owns most of those stores may I ask? The Rajapakses are in the country now, why no arrests. There's more to this story than the eyes meet. Lot of vultures hanging on to this story. Wonder why?
@@AlexRothmanBecause of the present situation with the Rajapakses certain people are trying to pin the Easter attack on him. Hope you will get your story on this with the right source. I myself don't believe it. As what is he trying to gain by it? What the suicide bombers getting out of it they are already dead. May be people should be questioning Sirisena the previous leader of Sri Lanka who was corrupted himself and left the country and economy in shambles. Also as you might also have done like so many foreign youtubers including Sri Lankans who come to visit change their currency from certain jewellery stores never from Bank of Ceylon. The store owners give you more money. Some US youtubers openly tell everybody to change their currency at certain jewellery stores advised by their friends overseas. Most jewellery stores are owned by Tamils. So where did all the dollars go. Nobody change their dollars from the banks, so there is so much to this story than what you see. And Tamil Civil Servants continued to work in English even after the Sinhala only act. It's the low income sinhala youth affected by it as they couldn't secure jobs in their field after graduating from university because they couldn't speak in English. English medium in public schools were eligible to only Tamil, Muslim and burger students. So sinhales were more affected. I know this for a fact as a peon in my office makes tea for the office workers and deliver mail, because he is not fluent in English,and he is a science graduate. Corruption in education department failed sinhala students and passed Tamil students to medical college. I can go on but what's the point. Hope you get your stories from reliable sources Alex other than that your contents are worth watching. But I don't like when only one side of the story is exposed. Most of the new generation of Sinhalese don't know these stories.
Why wasn't the reason for the turmoil in 2022 mentioned?
The part where you showed glimpses into the ordinary lives of the people whose homes were sites of the worst this war had to offer just going about their life felt like the most touching part of this entire series to me. I was aware of the complicity of my own country (India) to the events that happened towards the end of the conflict but never knew the extent of civilian death and human rights violations. The international community shares a lot of blame here, the lack of any international trials against the top leadership of the country or even any sort of punishment just proved Gotabaya's strategy correct. Plus a country like India was definitelty in a position to unilaterally send relief supplies to civilians in the cage. On a sidenote the reason why India refused to sell those weapons to Sri Lanka probably had to do with the fact that the Congress was in power in a coalition, which just so happened to include DMK as one of its major constituents, one of the two big parties of Tamil Nadu between whom the state government flips to every couple of elections for the past six decades. So them allowing something like that happening probably wouldn't go down well with their own party members and their electorate.
Thanks for the extra details, the story of India is definitely a project that I'm going to try and tackle, and it's going to be a massive, massive project
@@AlexRothman well in that case I'd suggest you to narrow down what places/region and topics you'll talk about and visit before hand, otherwise it'd be too vast to neatly fit into a single series. Most modern states/larger UTs in India can have stories as complex as mid sized countries. Good luck with your other projects.
the lack of any international trials against the top leadership? Are you in Wonderland? Everyone in this world is glad LTTE is done and gone. So you agree to bring all the LTTE leaders who migrate to other countries like Canada.. etc., back here and put them on the train with top leaders?
Talk about how india engineered the war too. Talk about how your country turned a small criminal gang into a full blown terrorist organization.
@@thelakeman2538 Sri Lanka war was completely created by India and Killed millions of Sri Lankan People
Just how ignored has the srilankan tragedy been is evident from the view count of this otherwise fantastic documentary .
This is the cost of war. So, we shall not go into another one ever again!! May Sri Lanka see the end of the suffering and and beginning of prosperity @Alex Rothan. good job on your documentary. it's truly a masterpiece done by the best ❤❤❤ You're a GEM. you handled this sensitive topic unbiasedly!
Outstanding series, Alex. That said, going to Sri Lanka now as a tourist on a food vlogger holiday will take some work.
Thanks for watching and enjoy your trip!
As someone who researched on this extensively, whats your view on following questions. 1. Is the ending of war a good thing or a bad thing now given all the chaos it created. 2. Anything you see that could ve done differently.
unbiased view. very well done.
not its not free of bias, many of his sources are extremely biased and he inherits many of their distortions. read my comments elsewhere
Unbiased lol 😂
Thank you Alex...
Loved the series totally..❤️ thank you so much for making this series, u really nailed the ending very much.. I am a mainland tamilian.. I agree that there are really not so much people who have a rational mindset on this whole issue and most of them are biased (both gov and people) either on the side of ltte or sla. Unless we give up our pride and digest the truth of what have happened wrong from both our sides, the war is not yet over.. Thanks for the wonderfull series mate, people here in the subcontinent don't make such detailed documentaries of this stories because this whole issue is still a hot soup in the political space and leads to lot of controversies. I found that u also missed one main thing: children of the prabhakaran are also shot dead, there are photos of that.
As a Sinhalese+tamil mixed person, I am really glad Prabhakaran and his children died, and one way or another this LTTE is finished. Now only we have to fix the political issues that were created by selfish Tamil politicians and Sinhalese politicians.
@@QubitTechnologiesyou support the execution of 12 year old Balachandran too?
@@samsonz0 After so many child soldiers died from the poor Tamil family you cry for Prbhakaran's son? So in the future, Sri Lanka wants LTTE group called Balachandran brigade? like Charles Anthony brigade? Maybe Balachandran is part of the child brigade. I dont support killing children and women but if those children and women have a gun or make a threat to another person then should be gunned down. its s an evil act of Prabhakaran that didn't suicide and kill his family by himself like he destroyed so many poor Tamil families for his power and wealth.
@@samsonz0 You should ask that from the parents who lost their children from the Massacres and bombings that committed by LTTE. They will give you a proper answer.
@@QubitTechnologiesso that’s a yes because of a hypothetical scenario, by which logic LTTE could have argued sinhala children could also grew up to rape and murder Tamils..
Impressive part of history & amazing storytelling. Go Ali 🤘
Glad to hear I have fans all over the world :) Even Mexicans in Australia. More videos to come soon
@@AlexRothmannot a fan - just a Mexican already cheeky featured ;) Saludos mate
Great work....