Jordan Trahan skiing the previously closed-off city of Jaffna in Sri Lanka, which was subject to a 25 year civil war
© Sam McGuire
Skateboarding

Skating the wartorn streets of Jaffna

A 25-year civil war ends as a city begins to rebuild with plenty of skateboarding on the horizon.
Written by Sam McGuire
3 min readPublished on

6 min

Island Hopping: Chapter 02

Skating the war-torn streets of Jaffna in the northern part of Sri Lanka.

Leaving the paradise of the Maldives was tough, but, due to a water shortage, the crew had been five days without showering and the hotel in Colombo, the second stop on the Island Hopping tour, was like a five-star resort with its plush bathroom and rooftop bar.
Considering Nick Boserio, Nick Garcia, Jordan Trahan, Korahn Gayle, Patrik Wallner and I were about to visit a city ravaged by war for almost half a century, we didn't have too much to complain about.
The plan was to spend a few days skating Colombo and than take a newly-opened train to the previously closed-off northern province. Years spent in civil war has kept the rest of Sri Lanka, and the world, disconnected from Jaffna until just recently, and a train called the Queen of Jaffna had only just started service again.
It turned out that we weren't able to book the tickets online because in order for us to travel north to film and skateboard, we needed to ask permission from the government. They said that a few months before us someone had gone north to Jaffna and posted photographs online saying it was a horrible place where the people were being treated inhumanely.
Understandably the government was a bit wary of westerners with a bunch of cameras going up north again. After a few hours sitting in an office and pleading my case, a man with a giant gun escorted me to a room with a printer, and on that printer was our permission slip. With the trains sold out and the bus journey taking up an entire day, we hired a driver for the bumpy and wild trip up north.
Right away Jaffna was starkly different from Colombo. Having been segregated from the rest of the country after years in turmoil, it was noticeably less modern. It was definitely a city in constant change, being rebuilt after nearly a century of war. The people of Jaffna, however, seemed to remain happy and positive among the bombed-out, bullethole-riddled houses. Many, probably never having seen skateboarding, were thoroughly impressed and happy to give it a go – some even pretty good at it first go!
Jaffna isn't a terribly large city and we had no idea what there was to skate, if anything. We lucked out, though, with the help of some cool tuk tuk drivers, and we were able to scour the city for what spots it had, and eat some amazing food. Jaffna is a city rebuilding, but very much worth the journey.
Missed what happened in the crowded streets of the Maldives? Catch up right here.
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