- Mother of 3 who was permanently injured in Katuwapitiya bombing follows her son who died in the bombing
Thilina Harshani, mother of three children, who was left permanently disabled due to injuries caused to the spinal cord in the bombing that took place at the St. Sebastian's Church in Katuwapitiya on 21 April 2019, died yesterday (28).
Harshani had attended the Easter Sunday service at the Church on 21 April, 2019, and one of her sons, who was seven-years-old at the time, had died in the bombing. She was left permanently disabled due to the bombing with major damage to the spinal cord, and was receiving treatment with the assistance of the Catholic Church and certain other international parties. One of her family members confirmed to The Daily Morning that she had passed away yesterday.
Speaking to The Daily Morning in April of this year, Harshani said: “Our rulers who failed to protect our lives at least don’t make an adequate effort to bring about relief to us by revealing the truth behind what happened to us. When those in positions of power neglect their duty to ensure the safety and wellbeing of their citizens, it undermines trust in governance and also leaves entire communities vulnerable and exposed. When we think of it, we are saddened about our fellow citizens. When such irresponsible rulers are there, what happened to us may happen to anyone else in a moment.”
Commenting on the support that she received from various parties, Harshani said at the time that the Catholic Church has been a great strength for her and her two schooling children since the day she faced the unfortunate incident.
“A number of local and international institutions including the Catholic Church are giving me and my two school-going children the necessary support. I received compensation for my son who was killed in the bombing from the Office for Reparations, but how can I spend it on something? It is something that I received for my dead child. I deposited the money in a bank account so that my other two children can use it one day. All the aid money I received from time to time has been deposited in the bank accounts.”
On 21 April 2019, Easter Sunday, three Churches (the St. Sebastian’s Church in Katuwapitiya, the St. Anthony’s Church in Kochchikade, and the Zion Church in Batticaloa) and three luxury Hotels in Colombo (the Cinnamon Grand, The Kingsbury, and the Shangri-La) were targeted in a series of coordinated suicide bombings. Later that day, another two bomb explosions took place at a house in Dematagoda and the Tropical Inn Lodge in Dehiwala. More than 270 people excluding the bombers were killed in and due to the bombings so far.