Sri Lanka's Christians afraid of churches as Buddhist monks try to spread peace

"We have to remain strong and keep going to church and keep praying. We can't stop." Ranjan Christopher Fernard, a 55-year-old taxi driver from Negombo, said he was nervous about attending church after multiple blasts on Easter Day, which killed his friend's 11-year-old son.

Sri Lanka's Christian community, which comes out to be a minority in Buddhist-dominated nation, is being afraid to go to the churches after deadly attacks that hit Easter services, killing nearly 300. For some in the shaken Christian community, the attacks also raise the spectre of more widespread communal violence.

"I feel this carnage on Easter Sunday is an attempt to drive a wedge between communities," said Lakshmi Shanmugam, a 77-year-old Christian married to a Buddhist. "We haven't learnt anything from the nearly three-decade-long conflict... our leaders didn't focus on reconciliation," she added.

Hardships of minorities

According to census data, 70.2 per cent of Sri Lankans identifies as Buddhist, 12 per cent Hindu, 9.7 per cent Muslim, and 7.4 per cent Christian. It is estimated that 82 per cent of Sri Lankan Christians are Roman Catholic.

The suicide bomb attacks were the worst atrocity in Sri Lanka since the country's 37-year conflict with Tamil rebels ended a decade ago. Sri Lanka's Christians, who make up just seven per cent of the 21-million population, had been largely spared the worst of the country's violence, including recent tensions between right-wing Buddhists and Muslims.

In March 2018, a state of emergency was declared after hardline members of the majority Buddhist Sinhala community attacked mosques and Muslim-owned properties

Buddhist monks try to spread peace

However, a small group of Buddhist monks are tried to spread the message of peace today by visiting the historic Catholic church located at Kochchikade, a day after a suicide bomber triggered a huge blast, killing many worshippers.

Venerable Prof Pitigala Vijitha Thero was outside St Anthony's Shrine said he was "extremely saddened and grieved" by the incident. "Since the (civil) war, people belonging to all religions and faiths had been co-existing and living together in unity and harmony. This is not something that anyone could have anticipated," he told the BBC.

He said he condemned the attacks, but "we don't have any anger or ill will towards anyone of any other religion". "I pray that peace prevails - not only in this country but in the whole world," he said.