All these years we have been eating fish and suddenly, we find that fish (some varieties) have got a chance of eating the human flesh of those who died in the tsunami tragedy. Some may call this retribution. The people now dislike eating fish not only due to apparent health reasons, but also because they have no appetite for it. The correct word in Sinhala is appiriyawa.

This not a new phenomenon. In the year 1989 during the second insurgency a large number of youths was killed by the security forces and dumped into rivers and the bodies of these youths were ultimately washed into the sea. During this period too the people refrained from eating fish for several months. In the area I reside a large number of youths was shot by the security forces at the new Walana bridge at Panadura and dumped into the river. Their bodies were washed into the sea nearby.

There is another strange phenomenon taking place. Some religions do not oppose the killing of animals and eating their flesh. But this time round, the hunter has become the hunted. Most of the victims were fishermen.