What We Know About The Bombings In Sri Lanka — And How To Help

By Christianna Silva


A devastating wave of bombings killed more than 300 people and injured hundreds more in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, in one of the world’s deadliest terrorist attacks since 9/11 and the worst violence Sri Lanka has seen since its 26-year civil war came to an end a decade ago.


It’s unclear exactly how the attacks were carried out, although the Associated Press reported that they were likely the result of suicide bombers who conducted attacks at three Roman Catholic churches and three five-star hotels. Two bombings – one at a guesthouse and another at an attacker's safe residence – remain under investigation, according to the New York Times. Three police officers were reportedly killed in one of the last two blasts, which reportedly took place any time as a suspect detonated a bomb once he was being questioned, according to The Cut.


What we know about the victims


On Tuesday morning, the death toll of the attacks has risen to 310, according to the Guardian. Most of them of the deaths were Sri Lankan families, workers, honeymooners, and children.


Mary Otricia Johnson, a Sri Lankan mother at mass, was one of the victims. Her daughter told the New York Times that the ambulance attendants were also overwhelmed to take her mother to the hospital; she later died in an auto-rickshaw from internal bleeding.


A Sri Lankan restaurant attendant, Ravindran Fernando, died while attending mass. Shantha Mayadunne, a chef with a TV show who taught classes focused on “quick and easy” meals, died with her daughter at the Shangri-La Hotel Colombo.


“Even in case if you've a stable revenue, and every comfort in the residence, there really is nothing that can bring a greater feeling between family member members than a satisfying meal,” she mentioned in a 2001 interview per the New York Times.


Two Turkish engineers, an entire Sri Lankan family member, as well as a Bangladeshi politician’s young relative were also among those killed, the New York Times reported.


Almost 40 of the victims were foreigners from Australia, Britain, China, Japan, Portugal and the U.S., Sri Lankan tourism minister, John Amaratunga confirmed to the New York Times. Danish billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen of ASOS lost his three children. A fifth-grader from Washington D.C’s elite private school, Sidwell Companions, was also killed, according to NBC Washington.


What we know about the attackers


On Monday, the Sri Lankan government mentioned a little-known religious extremist sort was to blame for the attacks and mentioned the categorize acquired help from “an international network,” according to Rajitha Senaratne, Sri Lanka’s health minister, per the New York Times.


The sort is best known for being anti-Buddhist and has been linked to vandalizing Buddhist statues. (According to Pew Studies Center’s Religion & Public Life Project, 69 percent of Sri Lankans are Buddhist, 13 percent are Hindi, 9 percent are Muslim and 7 percent are Christian.)


It’s critical to note that no person or order has actually come forward to admit culpability for the attacks although. Two dozen people have been detained in connection with the attacks.


there really are currently no known ties between this attack and the Islamic State, according to the New York Times.


As Intelligencer reports, the nation also issued a social media blackout immediately following the attacks in a task to curb the spread of conspiracy theories and misinformation. There is now no known social component to the attacks, however authorities blocked civilian access to Facebook, Instagram, Viber, and WhatsApp shortly soon following the attacks; the Guardian notes that this sort of practice is becoming increasingly regular in the area following wide scale public violence.


What we know about the alleged missed warning


About two weeks before the attack, Sri Lankan authorities procured warnings that the extremist sort was planning an attack on churches, although authorities failed to act on the statistics, the New York Times reported.


“Fourteen days before these incidents occurred, we had been informed about these incidents,” Rajitha Senaratne mentioned while in a press conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka on Monday, according to the Guardian.


Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe mentioned he hadn’t been briefed about the warning, saying that it may have been the result of ongoing tensions between him and President Maithripala Sirisena, who is also the defense minister, according to the New York Times.


“We must look into why adequate precautions were not taken,” Wickremesinghe said on Sunday.


What you could do to help


there really are plenty of ways to help the victims and survivors of attack. In case if you've added funds, imagine donating to the Sri Lanka Red Cross and Asia Pacific Red Cross, which would fund those helping in the aftermath. Kind Hearted Lankan's Charity opened up a GoFundMe page to assist with their groundwork at hospitals, including helping purchase towels, mattresses, bedsheets, clothes, and toiletries. There really are at least a dozen other campaigns seeking donations on GoFundMe, although none of those are verified however, so donate with caution.


If you’re near Colombo, or have the means to go to Colombo, you could volunteer with nonprofits like Volunteer Sri Lanka or give blood to the Sri Lanka National Blood Transfusion Service, which is looking for donations, according to the India Times.