Paper short abstract:

This paper focuses on the cultural impact of the Tamil Tigers' defeat through the narratives of its fighters. It highlights that defeat is more than just a military and political matter, as it has cultural implications: it spelled the end of their world, of their narrative, and of their imaginary.

Paper long abstract:

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was founded in 1972 in order to obtain the independence of the north-east territories of Sri Lanka inhabited by the Tamil minority. They expanded year after year, creating a quasi-state and gaining military, political and cultural hegemony among the Tamil communities in Sri Lanka and in diaspora. However, in 2009 the Sri Lankan Army succeeded in destroying the LTTE and killing its leaders, along with tens of thousands of fighters and civilians.

In this paper, I will analyze the cultural impact of the LTTE's defeat through the narratives of the fighters exiled in Paris. While this event was a traumatizing and a humanitarian tragedy for the civilians, for the fighters it was something more: it spelled the end of their narrative and of the world they had built in a 30-year struggle. In other words, this defeat is more than just a military and political matter, as it has profound cultural implications. The fighters' narratives highlight the fact that during the last months of war the dismantling of their social organization concerned all aspects of social life: their nation-building project but also more common cultural practices such as burying the dead, treating the injured, eating, and finding shelter. The paper will end with a reflection on what the fighters feel about having survived without having achieved their aim, i.e. to establish the Tamil nation-state, or to die for it.