“Citizen George” documentary includes George Lakey’s time as a PBI volunteer in Sri Lanka
The new documentary about George Lakey, now 87 years old, called “Citizen George” includes his time as a volunteer with Peace Brigades International in Sri Lanka 35 years ago.
The documentary presented by Bullfrog Films and directed by Glenn Holsten says: “CITIZEN GEORGE presents the life and work of Philadelphia-based Quaker activist George Lakey, a non-violent revolutionary who has worked his entire life for justice and peace, guided by his ideal of societal transformation.”
In the documentary, Lakey says:
“In the late 80s, a small island off the tip of India, was struggling to deal with a mass movement of peasants that wanted economic justice that was being strongly supported by students.
So, they were arresting students and torturing them to get information on which students they knew were actually part of the peasant movement. If a student was seized the parents would go to a human rights lawyer and get that student out of the hands of the police. So, the police started assassinating human rights lawyers.
So, that’s what brought the issue to me.
There was an international organization called Peace Brigades International which came to me and said we want to put a team of civilian protection into Sri Lanka to accompany the human rights lawyers to keep them alive while they are doing this necessary work of protecting students.
The idea was that if the police came to assassinate a lawyer, we would be there. I was foreign, the hit squad wasn’t instructed to kill foreigners because that might make major trouble for the government which was responsible for the hit squads.
And so, I went to Sri Lanka. I remember one lawyer I was protecting who said I am very worried about somebody knocking at the door at night and I, thinking it a distraught parent who is saying quick, quick, quick, save my son, and I open the door, and it turns out it’s the assassination squad who shoots me down. So, I need you to open the door.
I was scared the whole time I was there. It was three months of fear; people were being killed around me. Every time I passed a religious institution I would duck in and call myself to pray and experience the love that reminds us why we are here on Earth. And if I should die here, so be it, but I did want to participate in this pioneering way of saving lives.”
Peace Brigades International had teams in Sri Lanka from 1989 to 1998.
The trailer for “Citizen George” can be seen here.
The website for the documentary notes: “Grassroots supporters are going all-in to ensure that CITIZEN GEORGE can be offered to public television, streaming platforms, and active grassroots social justice groups. Please join us in making a donation now.”
Further reading: George Lakey’s time as a Peace Brigades International volunteer in Sri Lanka (PBI-Canada, September 2019).
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