Mariampillai Sarathjeevan

Rev. Fr. Mariampillai Sarathjeevan

Mariampillai Sarathjeevan (May 13, 1968 - May 18, 2009) was a catholic priest from Jaffna, Sri Lanka.^[1]. He was one of the few priests who remained with the refugees until the end of war in northern parts of Sri Lanka. He died while he was leading the last batch of refugees to safety from war zone. ^{[2] [3] [4] [5]} He was 41 years old and in good health. Unconfirmed reports indicate that he was assaulted by soldiers.

Rev. Fr. Sarathjeevan, known as “Father Sara”, was the coordinator of Jesuit Refugee Service for Kilinochchi district in Sri Lanka. ^[6] He refused to abandon the refugees, including orphan children, when other volunteers and international organizations left the war zone because of severity of the war. He and his people did not have food or water for three days, until he was able to bring them to safety. They all had to stay underground in a bunker. In recognition of his service and heroic death, the Jesuit Refugee Service established Sara Project on his name. ^{[7] [8] [9]}

A statue was unveiled in his memory on June 2010, during his first year memorial service.

Statue in his Parish

See also

Other notable clergy killed during the Sri Lankan civil war

• Mary Bastian
• Chandra Fernando
• George Jeyarajasingham
• Eugene John Hebert
• Nihal Jim Brown

References

1. ^ Ref. Fr. Sarathjeevan
2. ^ AsiaNews Italy
3. ^ Oblates of Mary Immaculate
4. ^ THE INSTITUTE on Religion & Public Policy
5. ^ Jesuits and Partners Together for Justice
6. ^ Jesuit Refugee Service USA
7. ^ Refugee Voice
8. ^ Jesuit Refugee Service Singapore
9. ^ The Catholic News

Persondata
Name	Sarathjeevan, Mariampillai
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	May 13, 1968
Place of birth
Date of death	May 18, 2009
Place of death