RAPALLO, ITALY, September 10, 2017 (Il Secolo XIX, translated from Italian): The rainy weather warning doesn’t stop the Genoese Tamil Hindus who for the sixth of the seven days of annual celebrations moved to Rapallo on Saturday. The reason? “Because there is a large community here that can’t reach Genoa because of work problems and so we came here,” says Kuru Suppiah Kurupharanthas, 55, who lives in Genoa; he is the spokesperson of the Sri Sithi Vinayagar Temple in Genoa. Today’s ceremony involves a procession to the sea where a murti of Ganesha will be immersed in the sea. It’s also being performed “in memory of all the victims of the sea, especially those among the immigrants that are now trying to reach Italy to escape war zones like we did 30 years ago,” Kuru concludes.
The president of the Sri Lankan Hindu community of Rapallo is Chadis Kanagaratnam Satheeskumar. For 11 years he has lived in Tigullio and tells us his story: “Thirty years ago, because of the civil war, we had to leave our homes. In Rapallo we are doing well: most of the Sri Lankan community who came here are Hindus but there are also Buddhists and Catholics. We are all united. We are happy to be able to attend the ceremony today in Rapallo because it is not easy for all of us to go to the temple of Genoa. “