Story: Sri Lankans

Sri Lankans in New Zealand

In the 1990s a television documentary looked at the plight of two families forced to seek refuge in New Zealand because of the civil war in Sri Lanka. Both the Jayatillekes, who are Sinhalese, and the Mehendrans, who are Tamil, were horrified and saddened by the violence in their home country. In these extracts, first Chandra Jayatilleke and then Tony Mahendran talk about the situation they left behind.

Using this item

Top Shelf Productions
Reference: New Zealand: an immigrant nation. From Sri Lanka … with sorrow [videorecording]. Producer, Vincent Burke; director, Anna Cottrell. Wellington: Top Shelf Productions, 1994.

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How to cite this page:

Nancy Swarbrick, 'Sri Lankans - Immigration', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/video/1137/sri-lankans-in-new-zealand (accessed 25 April 2024)

Story by Nancy Swarbrick, published 8 Feb 2005, updated 1 Aug 2023