Legend has it that around 486 BC, Prince Vijaya landed at Tammana with 700 companions from his father’s kingdom in North India. Awestruck by the beauty of the copper-colored land, he knelt down, kissed the sand, and planted their flag—a flag emblazoned with a lion. And so began the history of Sri Lanka.

For four hundred years, the Portuguese, the Dutch, and the British tried—and failed—to crush the unshakable spirit of the Sri Lankans. And though Sri Lanka has seen many rulers, its most violent destruction has come from within.

1996

JANUARY 31st. 10:50AM
| 18 Days Before the Start of the Willis World Cup |

In the midst of Colombo’s daily bustle, a lorry with a covered truck bed pulls away from traffic and into the main security gates of Colombo’s Central Bank. Two explosives decimate the first wave of officers. Smoke billows from the gate. Central Bank employees peer below from the 9th floor window. The lorry emerges from the smoke, pregnant with 440 pounds of explosives, and rams its way through the main gate. Colombo’s clear blue sky clouds with smoke and ash as the explosion ricochets through the building. Employees flee as the top two floors begin to collapse. 91 people are killed. 1400 others are hospitalized. It is the deadliest attack in the country’s decades long civil war, and it comes weeks before the country is supposed to host its first World Cup Cricket match.

This is the story of resilience.

2002

2004

2007

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Describe a relationship event here.Phasellus nisi lectus, commodo non maximus eget, porta at massa. Cras a risus consectetur, facilisis arcu sed, luctus ex. Vivamus sed dolor tempor, sodales lorem vel, malesuada tortor. Curabitur luctus nisi vitae diam aliquam feugiat. Aliquam maximus eu quam ut convallis. Etiam semper elit in mauris pharetra, vitae eleifend nisi lacinia. Sed vel elit eget nulla pulvinar venenatis. Integer leo velit, auctor eget congue ut, sollicitudin.

2011

2012

2014

2017

2018

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Describe your event here. Integer vitae massa auctor, convallis massa porta, ornare est. Sed ac maximus ex. In turpis felis, suscipit sit amet dui non, ultrices ultrices nulla. Maecenas efficitur purus quis velit faucibus, sit amet convallis augue ullamcorper. Aenean ut ante mattis, tempor lacus at. Sed eu sapien non erat scelerisque tincidunt vel vel nisl. Duis et mauris velit. Cras eget dictum purus. Vestibulum nunc mi, elementum ac sodales nec, scelerisque sed nulla. Vivamus eleifend maximus nibh quis placerat. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus. Suspendisse sed dolor consectetur, tincidunt neque at, imperdiet ante.