In 2008 I was asked to document the tsunami aftermath and ceasefire between the Tamil Tigers and Sinhalese government in Kalumanai Sri Lanka. The day before i boarded the plane, a suicide bomber attempted to kill the Sinhalese general, ending the ceasefire and restarting a violent civil war most had hoped was over.

After passing through countless military checkpoints and being granted access into the refugee camps, I immediately realized that my purpose was to tell the story of the families who lived through this war.

Because of military restrictions, this area has been seen by few. With most rebuilding destroyed by the tsunami and civil war, the villagers lived in constant fear and hunger, enduring a lack of natural resources and regulated access to clean drinking water.

I lived with and photographed these people for a month, a first-hand witness to a community of people with little support except from each other and a steadfast sense of the true value of life.