A coordinated terrorist attack ripped through hotels, a housing development, and three crowded churches in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday. The series of eight bombs killed nearly 300 people and wounded 500 others. While nearly all the victims were Sri Lankan, people from eight countries were killed, including three of the four children of a Danish billionaire. It was the first major attack since the end of a civil war 10 years ago. Nobody has claimed responsibility for the bombings so far.
As world leaders condemn the attacks, Sri Lanka’s government is investigating the bombings. According to The Guardian, 24 suspects have been arrested so far for their role in what is suspected to be a religiously motivated attack reportedly perpetuated by suicide bombers from a single group.
According to Al Jazeera, the fire at France’s Notre-Dame cathedral has received a lot more attention from the world than the bombings, with seven times more searches on Google, and currently there are few resources for those outside of Sri Lanka who want to help the victims and the country as it rebuilds. Here are a few options. We will update the list if more ways to help become available:
- Donate to the Red Cross. According to a tweet on Sunday, volunteers and staff from the Sri Lanka Red Cross and Asia Pacific Red Cross are helping in the aftermath. [Donate here or here]
If any of your family/friends have lost connection due to the tragedy contact our RFL Officer on +94 703362244 or email info@redcross.lk – https://t.co/4KcSatW5Yr#SriLanka #SLRedCross #EasterSundayAttacksLK #SriLankaAttacks pic.twitter.com/ZBMlMFm9Ul
— Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (@SLRedCross) April 22, 2019
- You can also donate to GoFundMe campaigns, including this one, this one, and this one, which is currently trending on the fundraising site, although they have not been verified by the GoFundMe yet.
- KindHeartedSrilankans, an Instagram group, has set up a medical camp in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka, according to Twitter. The group is seeking supplies and donations via a GoFundMe page to help the bombing victims, although the campaign has not been verified.
https://twitter.com/itsRochelleWick/status/1000294893070180353
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