Day One Guelph

Day one; something new, something creative, something to change the way Tamil People unite. What to expect going into the trip I really did not know. I had an idea, but there is only so much planning a person can do. An event that has never been attempted by the Tamil youth before is going to take place in the next couple of days, and my mind was all over the place. The morning started off a little unorganized, although we planned, there was still minor details we never expected. Morning started off with the placement of our banners on the car, thought it would be an effective tool to create that buzz, but soon did we realize that the banners weren’t such a great idea. The banners we roped to the car pretty much ripped off, and it set us back, and in many cases left us feeling a little de-motivated. But the trip was still on full force. On arrival to the Guelph I felt that the town seemed to be that of a ghost town, again in my mind I was expecting the worst and thought that this location wouldn’t be as successful as we initially planned. We got out of the car only to meet up with the local Tamil Students Association. They welcomed us with open arms, and open hearts. They provided us with any relevant information we needed. As soon as we entered the school, we went directly to the Student Union on Campus, and again we were welcomed with open arms, and open hearts. As everything we asked for they granted to us. They seemed to care more about the issue, and seemed to show their support in full force. During this we had contacted the local MP, although in Ottawa, he still wanted to meet us at a later date. Knowing this we had contacted the T.S.A and had asked them to go in the M.P’s office to voice their concerns. We successfully engaged the youth into the political aspect of our fight and got them committed to meeting with the MP of the riding. The day ended off pretty well as the teach-in brought together about 50 people, and most were very impressed by the teach-in. Our goal to create awareness and our goal to create an activist network were all attained at the highest possible level. I was very impressed and in fact it has given me more motivation to see the interest in the people here in Guelph, and more impressive that the Non-Tamil Community was very receptive and impressed, we have gotten them to take the next step in helping out our cause. The day ended off with me more energized, and only expecting the best for tomorrow. So until tomorrow........................