War without Witness - Benjamin James Dixie

Dixie's photography centres on his work as Communications Specialist,. UN operations, Sri Lanka and the circumstances leading to the 'war without witness'.  Dixie took part in the recent Channel Four documentary Sri Lanka's Killing Fields, an investigation into the civil war between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tigers. The documentary's shocking video evidence of alleged war crimes against the civilian population caught in the conflict by the Sri Lankan government forces.

Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields presents a forensic investigation into the final weeks of the quarter-century-long civil war between the government of Sri Lanka and the secessionist rebels, the Tamil Tigers. With disturbing and distressing descriptions and film of executions, atrocities and the shelling of civilians the programme features devastating new video evidence of war crimes - some of the most horrific footage Channel 4 has ever broadcast. Captured on mobile phones, both by Tamils under attack and government soldiers as war trophies, the disturbing footage shows: the extra-judicial executions of prisoners; the aftermath of targeted shelling of civilian camps; and dead female Tamil fighters who appear to have been raped or sexually assaulted, abused and murdered.

‘On the 12th September 2008 the GoSL told the UN that they could not guarantee our safety and we needed to leave Kilinochchi. The UN gave the remaining 8 internationals, myself included, 48 hours to pack our offices, secure items, and try and gain passes from the Tigers to evacuate our staff and their families.  The Tigers did not give passes to our staffs families and I therefore had the impossible job of trying to advise and counsel my staff on what to do – to stay and try to protect their families – or to come with us to the ‘safety’ of the government areas.  This decision for my staff and myself was too much to bear and those final 48 hours were charged with the deepest emotions I’ve ever witnessed.  24 of my staff remained behind and many of them were forcibly recruited by the Tigers and had to fight, 8 of them died.

Immediately after our evacuation our UN offices were bombed so that the Tigers could not loot from them.  The sense of abandonment and guilt of leaving ones staff and over 300,000 civilians, without protection and humanitarian assistance is probably the worst emotion that an aid worker has to deal with – it’s a complete failure.  The Tamils that we left behind then lived and died through the following 8 months on an ever decreasing stretch of beach in the north east of Sri Lanka. The Tigers held the civilians as a human shield as the Government forces continually bombarded them from the air, the sea and by artillery shells. The Government of Sri Lanka practiced a new form of counterinsurgency on the Tamil population. By removing us, the international community, and refusing entry of any journalist to the war theatre they created a ‘War Without Witness’ and legitimised it under the banner of the ‘War on Terror’. They not only eradicated the Tigers but also, as you will see in the film, systematically targeted civilians. Over 40,000 Tamils died in that 8-month period and over 5,000 have disappeared since the end of the war, with relatives continuing to struggle to find answers of their loved ones.’

The exhibition raises serious questions about the consequences if the UN fails to act, not only with respect to Sri Lanka but also to future violations of international law.

Dixie speaks about his experiences in Sri Lanka during Crunch 2011 at The Globe at Hay, Saturday 19th November at 3:30pm.