Sri Lanka suffers Easter bombings

More than 350 people were killed in the bombing of churches and hotels across the island nation

Amy Inkrott / News Editor / The USD Vista

On Sunday, April 21, a wave of explosions tore through the country of Sri Lanka killing over 350 people, and injuring at least 500 more. The country faced multiple bombings targeting luxury hotels and Christian churches. These attacks come a month after the deadly mass shootings at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. 

Christians from across the world were impacted by these attacks as they came together to celebrate Easter. The joyful observance was overshadowed by the devastation caused by the bombings. Suicide bombers targeted churches and high-end hotels throughout the country. Sri Lankan Defense Minister Ruwan Wijewardene claimed that a local extremist group carried out the attacks in response to the terror attacks in Christchurch. Just a month earlier, more than 50 individuals were killed in a mass shooting at two New Zealand mosques. However, Wijewardene did not provide any evidence to connect the two events. The terrorist group ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks, but officials are unable to show that the group coordinated the bombings.In the days following the attacks, people took to the streets to mourn the loss of these individuals.  

USD senior Alexa Perera was especially impacted by the recent terrorist attacks. Growing up in a Sri Lankan Catholic family, she previously visited some of the sites destroyed by the Easter bombings. Before he moved to the United States, Perera’s grandfather regularly attended mass at St. Anthony’s Church in Colombo, one of the locations devastated in the attacks. 

Perera was shocked by the bombings and their connection to her family. 

“My mom’s side of the family is very Catholic so my grandpa is having a hard time understanding why someone would bomb a church,” Perera said. “I feel affected because of how my granddad is affected. But I’m Sri Lankan, I’ve met them and been there and experienced that so I do have a connection. It’s just hard. I have been to those places and it could so easily happen whenever.”

Although she no longer has relatives living in Sri Lanka, Perera is still struggling to comprehend the attacks. 

“I think I’m just in shock,” Perera said. “I don’t know how to process this. No one really understands hate crimes. People use religion as a basis for hate crimes sometimes. It’s really hard to understand why someone would attack a church on Easter Sunday. I would never think that would happen. No one should ever be scared to practice their faith wherever they are. I don’t know how people of the Christian faith in Sri Lanka are gonna go forward with this.”

The impact of these attacks has led Perera to fear the possibility of more attacks in the future.

“Knowing that anything bad can happen anywhere nowadays, it’s just scary to think about,” Perera said. 

On Monday afternoon, President James T. Harris III responded to the attacks on Sri Lanka in an email to the University of San Diego campus community. Throughout the email, Harris echoed the heartbreak and overwhelming grief felt by people throughout the world. 

“Acts of terror and hate are antithetical to the values we hold most dear as a Catholic university, especially our conviction in the dignity of each and every person,” Harris said. “The targeting of believers gathered for prayer is particularly painful, whether it be a church, mosque, synagogue or any house of worship.”

Harris reflected on the continued pain caused by the Christchurch massacre. Both of these terrorist acts sparked mourning across the globe. In his email, Harris called students to be Changemakers in their own communities by living lives of love and acceptance. 

“While we may have limited ability to affect the situation in Sri Lanka or New Zealand, we have unlimited potential to impact the lives of people around us and to shape our campus and our communities into the places of love, healing, and respect for which we long,” Harris said.

The University promised to dedicate a candlelight vigil to the victims of these attacks on April 24 on Paseo de Colachis. At Mass for Peace in Founders Chapel, students prayed for an end to hatred and violence as they stood in solidarity with those impacted by the bombings.