Up Country Tamils: Charting a New Future in Sri Lanka Woman displaced to Batticaloa from Welimada during 1983 riots. Women expressed the perception that host community Tamils ridicule Up-country Tamil speech. The former group appear to believe that the way they speak is the correct way, and that it is superior to the accent and style of the latter group. Upcountry women therefore fear speaking their own language. They have adopted Sri Lankan Tamil speech where possible. This again leads to the lack of participation in different forums and decisionmaking processes. Ethnic Identity The interviewed women in the North and the East have issues concerning their ethnic identification as well. They expressed that it is difficult to completely assimilate into one identity. While their parents are Up-country Tamils, these women are born in the North of Sri Lanka and have adopted the culture, language and rituals of northern Tamils. They disregard their parents’ ethnic identity and consider themselves Sri Lankan Tamils. One woman whose family was displaced to Vavuniya in 1958 said: “I know my ethnic identity is Up-country Tamil as it is my parents’ ethnicity. Since I am married to a Sri Lankan Tamil person, I feel uncomfortable to call myself an Up-country Tamil. My husband also, does not like me identifying myself as an Up-country Tamil and we do not mention Up-country Tamil in any document” – Woman who changed her ethnic identity to Sri Lankan Tamil. 72