Note: This event is being hosted in conjunction with the AHRC-supported project, 'Grassroots Struggles, Global Visions: British Black Power, 1964-1985', led by Dr Kerry Pimblott (Manchester) and Dr Kennetta Hammond Perry (Northwestern).
Please join us at the Ascension Church Hulme on March 1, 2025 for an event to remember the life and legacy of Viraj Mendis who passed away in Bremen earlier this year.
Viraj, a Sinhalese Sri Lankan, came to Britain in October 1973 to study at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Tehcnology (UMIST). During his time in Manchester, Viraj became a member of the Revolutionary Communist. Group (RCG) and was active in struggles against imperialism and state racism, including helping to fight and win many anti-deportation campaigns for people affected by Britain's tightening immigration restrictions.
In 1984, Viraj was issued with a deportation order, and his supporters mounted a defence campaign. When his final appeal failed, Viraj approached Fr. John Methuen and requested sanctuary. Father John and members of the Parochial Church Council agreed, and on December 20, 1986, Viraj entered the Church of the Ascension in Hulme where he lived in sanctuary for the next 760 days.
The campaign was nationally significant raising awareness about Britain's immigration policies and inspiring successful sanctuary campaigns in churches, mosques, temples, and gurdwaras across the nation.
At dawn on January 18, 1989, Greater Manchester Police raided the Church of the Ascension and Viraj was forcibly removed. 52 hours later he was deported to Sri Lanka where he would live for the next year. In Sri Lanka, Viraj dedicated his efforts to building support for the Tamil cause among the Sinhalese, an issue he had supported since his youth.
In 1990, Viraj secured third country asylum in the German city of Bremen where he lived for the next thirty years with his wife Karen. He dedicated the rest of his life to building international solidarity for the Tamil cause as chairperson of the International Human Rights Association - Bremen (IMRV).
On March 1, 2025, we will be hosting an event to remember Viraj's life and legacy featuring speakers, creative arts, food and a new archive developed in partnership with the Radical Reading Room Collective. You can learn more about the archive and collaboration with the Radical Reading Collective in our recent blog post here.
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