“I dream about to one day build a new house in Sri Lanka. Due to the civil war, I fled the country and with that the violence and the hunger almost twenty years ago with my husband and four young children. It was a very traumatizing time. Thankfully, I have four fantastic children and I got used to the culture here, which is so different. I also distract myself through my work at Schiphol Airport. But even so, whenever I think about home and my family, tears come into my eyes. On those days, my mouth smiles but my heart aches.

Before the war, people of four different religions lived together in Sri Lanka. Afterwards it changed completely, even though it’s a little better now. In The Netherlands, origin and religion play a much smaller role. Many of my neighbors here in Zaandam have Turkish, Moroccan or African roots. Thankfully, that doesn’t matter, because it’s more important that we’re all human. I like that we sometimes help each other out, doesn’t matter if you’re Muslim, Hindu or Christian.”

Vajeetha taught economics in Sri Lanka and lived in a small village on the east coast, which was badly hit by the tsunami in 2004.