Hi, just a question. Are there some Sri Lankans falsely claiming to be Burgher? Just to share, I am Filipino from the Philippines and the equivalent of Burgher here is "Mestizo". A lot of Filipinos are falsely claiming that they are Mestizo (Spanish descent from colonial period) because Mestizos are seen in a more favorable manner. However, this is a result of colonial mentality.
@@karlos_infamous let me reply to this. I have to say you are rigjt. Alot of them claim to be burgher when only either the mother or father is burgher. Jn my case both my mom and dad are burghers and their family were burghers tracing back to Scotland.
The documentary tries to incorrectly say that these few women in the aged home are the only Burghers left in the country. They are in plenty in Sri Lanka and are very happy. Lot of Burghers have mingled/blended well mostly with the Sinhalese.
As a 22 year old Dutch Burgher myself I never knew we were a dying breed😂. There are plenty of Burghers in Sri lanka and as one I have never faced any sort of discrimination for being one😂
@Storm Woods pls. check Phone directory tel. no. and address or pls. ask Wellewatte Post office or any Post office. You could easily find the address or Wellewatte Convent or Church. hope you will find the place. I also try and get you the no if i can.
Dear friends, please consider wht the old lady said in the beginning in this video. she said there are no separations. no matter ur tamil, Sinhala, Muslim or Burger. Now days political and politicians are make separations to do the politics.. we all Srilankans
No separation during colonialism? Clearly she is unconsciously avoiding self-guilty. Colonialism (racism, caste system, apartheid) is about based on separation and classism in an effort to empower Europeans and oppress non-Europeans.
How can it be said that their was no separation in the beginning? Everywhere the Europeans went they separated people, i.e. Americas, Africa, Austria, New Zealand, India. It is just that now they are on the opposite end of the spectrum and they want sympathy. All Europeans in Zimbabwe were fine during colonialism when they took land from natives, but now when the natives have begun toreclaim their land, they scream about fairness
While Sri Lanka was a British colony there was just too much discrimination towards the Sinhalese majority. I guess it was one of the British governing tactics. They had restricted the number of Sinhalese being hired as government officials and also the number of Sinhalese students admitted to university. So when they gained power they got rid of these restrictions. Then some of the privileged Tamils didn't like this. From what I hear this was one key reasons for the war even.
Whether one is Burgher, Sinhalese, Tamil, Muslim, Malay, Singaporean, African or British this will be the end result.We all grow old and die. Why fight amongst each other during the short period of time we are here? I'd rather be happy and live a peaceful life!
You are right...but don't even realize that ... our life is very short...we are like the lily's of the valley live and die... so enjoy life as much as you can...🙏🇨🇦
My mother is a burger (Portuguese) and my mother speaks to my grand mother and other sisters and brothers in old Portuguese ( Batticaloa) They are still a strong beautiful community ..
......this is bit misleading,...they were never neglected or given a special status,..they are being treated same as all of us. They are very peaceful community.. like most conservative good Christians in Sri Lanka,..we love them a lot. Here,..it seems that their loved-ones had abandoned them,..that's sad.There is a large community of them still live in Sri Lanka very happily..
Fuck off sinhala only act made all minorities second class citizens. Discrimination and genocide against the minorities. Hence the civil war that lasted 3 decades and hundreds of thousands innocent lives were massacred by the Buddhist extremist government forces.
Mr Channa, I agree with you partly. In the beginning of the act there were problems BUT after 5 years or so people didn't care. Mr Silva seems to be very angry but sir, you have nothing to he angry about other than with political stupidity.
Whether you like it or not, the burgers are a part of Sri Lankan history. It's a part of our story. Accept it. Personally, I think Modern Sri Lanka is partly the way it is because of them. It's silly to deny such a big chapter in our story.
My Mother is a Bhurger she speaks fluently Portugese. So does my sisters except me. Its sad that from my generation the tradition and even the language is fading. But it's appreciated some are trying to keep the tradition but we see that its only for marketing purpose and they are not following the real tradition its heart breaking. Its sweet to listen when mum speaks Portuguese I see how she makes sure to pronounce it fluently and ensure no other language is mixed. I miss the traditional Christmas the home made wine, the Egg coffee breudher cake and the traditional Home mad sweets. I miss weekend's family gatherin. They det together sing Kafaringna each family member played a instrument skillfully, sing songs dance. Those days are gone. Miss it all. My children wil never get the opportunity.
I am a Burgher and I was taken to the UK in 1958 when I was three and a half. We became poor and suffered a lot of racism in the U.K My mum missed Ceylon,as it was then,very much. On returning to SL as an adult,I felt an immediate bond and familiarity with the country of my birth. I have British Nationslity but I am Sri Lankan in my heart,always I am said that the Burghers are dying out as we scatter abroad and marry people who are not Burghers. Still,Sri Lanka is mother to people of different origins and is a beautiful island. How grateful I am,to have been born there.
During my childhood I had many burger friend as well Malay (Malaysian) friends. Most of their fathers are higher ranking officers of Sri Lanka tri forces and some of them are planters. I heard that some of them left the country and still some are living in Sri Lanka. How ever those days we never care about religion, language or whatever. we were a good friends.
I first want to thank TheVJMovement for uploading this humble and great video about this kind and beautiful ladies. I wish i was born at that era . My lovely grand mother is so much a dutch by heart and she shared with me the love and the passion and especially the FUN about our own, the dutch burghers.I hope i could visit this place someday,soon. Food for Thought - wise words from these awesome majestic ladies !
My mother and fathers are burghers and I m extremely glad that they escaped a country thathad sought to look beyond a past were it felt that the Eurasian minority were resting upon laurels that did not serve the interests of the native populace. The one language act had to be passed. The mass exodus of the burghers was inevitable. I was born in Paris and grew up in Sydney. Above all else, I am a proud Australian - nothing more, nothing less!!
I am happy that these ladies are being taken care of by these wonderful people. I have family members who are Sri Lankan Burgher (uncles and aunts). I love learning about other cultures but sometimes the information coming out of Sri Lanka is one-sided. This video does justice by acknowledging while it caused some hardship for some people, it did achieve what it meant to achieve. In terms of language laws, it is not just Sri Lanka and it is not unique to Sinhalese. South Africa, Canada, the UK, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, etc, etc, have very strong language laws. I am in Canada and all government documents are in English and French. All government celebrations are Christian and Catholic only even though we claim we are a secular society. But it doesn't mean you can't follow other traditions here either. Canada takes pride in the fact that we allow other religions and languages. However, you cannot do anything here without English and French. Sames goes to Italy. Italian language laws are so strong that you wouldn't be able to get basic government documents sometimes other than in Italian. So, I don't see what Sri Lanka did with its language policies to be extreme because it would be discriminatory to say Sri Lanka cannot enforce Sinhalese (and Tamil) laws do that when Canada can enforce strong English and French only laws on the international stage. I love the video and I hope all these Sri Lankans work together to make a better future for the next generation.
I am married to a Burgher & as a Sinhalese I have learnt alot of Sri Lankan History in connection with Colonisation, I have learnt about the injustices & also the colourful elements the Burghers brought to Sri Lankan culture & of course the Sri Lankan Cuisine. It is sad that this minority group is fading away and so will a very colourful part of Sri Lankan Culture & heritage. We need to celebrate every Culture & ethnicity of Sri Lanka as this is what makes Sri Lanka the Beautiful country it is !
Most of the foreigners, predominantly males, married Srilankan ladies. That was how the Burgher community started. Having born and raised in Srilanka they never wanted to learn the main language, which is very regrettable .
I have associated much of my life with burgher people. I am Sinhalese and was adopted by a burgher lady who I loved as a mother. However I have to say that although Burghers married Sinhalese ( probably high class Sinhalese) they in my opinion had a high opinion of themselves. I believe they looked down on the Sinhalese people. I would like to know who the colonists displaced. What they took from Sri Lanka and what Sri Lanka was like before they came. I have looked at old photos of Sri Lanka and it looks like the people lived well. So as much as we are told we need other cultures to enhance Sri Lanka do we really need them to dominate the country?
Appreciation for one's accomplishments is ok, while pride is not. They are often confused. If Sri Lanka as a society learned more from more successful countries, cultures,etc., then it would not be the perpetual basket case disaster it is.
Colonialism is a fact of history. People conquered or they were conquered in the past. It is simple history and some were better at conquering and brought good things while others brought bad things. The problem is that some have misplaced pride in failed systems that have brought damage and disunity.Take the good and reject the bad of all cultures. Countries that don't do those don't progress.
I think now you can take off the words in the brackets.. making Sinhala the National language gifted us a war for 30 years and draged the country backward.. now most of the people speak in English and parents want their kids to speak in English (mostly in public) I feel, somewhere we have made a grt mistake..
Mostly because English is a universal language and even Sinhalese language is really really tough to speak and learn. Also most words come from English anyways if you listen to a normal conversation.
Very true. In fact, that had been the case even in 1950s as well when this Sinhalese-only act was brought in for the first time. The fact of the matter is that the locals here had used (or rather misused !) and continue to use (or rather misuse !!) the language of English to show off their social status, merely as a tool for discrimination against their own, yet underprivileged, local communities. They had simply used the language of Sinhalese to get their job done by the underprivileged local communities whose majority knew nothing except Sinhalese as a language of communication. It's true that a language, properly spoken, can be the best weapon one may have. But, in doing so, your intentions would have to be in the right direction to make the outcome more meaningful, progressive and productive. In short, we, as a nation, are quite good at getting hold of the wrong end of the stick more often than not. So, this fake nationalism and double-standard may have to be expected more often than not, not just from the elites, but also from a certain section of the middle class too who prefer to pretend more than they actually are. It's nothing but misusing/exploiting the situation to their undue advantage. The lady who had been at the end of the video made her point/s well clear, very charmingly yet emphatically too. BTW, I'm a Sinhalese Buddhist.
My grandmother played a big part in the day to day running of St Nikolaas’s Home in the 60’s and seventies. She must have been older than many of the lady residents then, but did much of the daily shopping for them all the same.
It was just great to see my late Aunt Doreen singing and dancing with her wheel chair. The sad part is that we are coming to the end of an era. This phenomenon seems to be occurring in all countries. The new generations, unfortunately, do not appear to have the same values - peaceful and idyllic values. God be with these ladies as they live out their lives.
I am a person of buddhist and i feel endless love of this elder's and we dnt have any thougts of seperation or rasism with these beautiful peoples.we were living with them peacefully from so long before....even during 30years of last civil war in jaffna north of sri lanka we didn't harm to any tamils lived with us in colombo or somewhere else.that's the teaching of buddhism...!
@@lilylol8397 black July was conducted by some of the U.N.P. parliament members. Mainly Cyril Mathew, Nanda Mathew & Gamini Dissanayake. Thugs of Gamini Dissanayake burned the library of Jaffna.
In the past there was English medium in schools mostly in private schools to my knowledge until today I have lovely classmates and schoolmates they are scattered around the globe 🌐 but still in touch down to earth ladies they are it's so nice to see the burgher community doing great stay blessed
Freedom of thought, freedom of speech. Nothing anyone says can alter what a person thinks. He or she is embedded in his or her own ideas. Reading the comments once again, points to racism through and through. I think it's better to keep ones thoughts to ones self. I and some others may think it's racism, but the person posting some comments clearly think it is not. So be it.
And also they are not the last burger ladies. Please note that there are many more of us still living among the other majority some are mixed with other majority and some stay with only their own.
Yes. There is a disco duck dance every Tuesday, I should know, I dj the event. I might add, these gals are single and looking for boys. so if you have men friends, do bring.
Trivan Annakkarage I remember the words of my great grand mum who often stressed how she missed the British rule , she made it quite obvious that there was much discipline and people treated each other with due respect .
I'm from Canada but both my parents are Sri Lankan. Growing up in a Tamil household I was only taught of two groups of people in Sri Lanka which were Tamil and Sinhalese. I was aware that different types of religions as Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhism, etc lived in Sri Lanka. I never knew about these Burghers, I'm honestly fascinated because I've never knew their were a different ethnicity in group in Sri Lanka.
study some history , preveena, and dont rely on your parents for accuracy. not only burghers. malays, tamil muslims (moors) who think of themselves as a separate group from Tamils (hindu/christian). lanka was very multicultural before sinhalese nationalism ruined it. having said that, on the other hand jaffna tamils were themselves quite haughty about sinhalese, in particular Vellalas, themselves quite caste predjudiced. what a mess. tragic. but that's why you are now Canadian.
Pallathur1917 it wasn't nationalism, it was socialism. Branadnaika was a socialist, conquer and divide. thats how he got in power. No one wanted be separate. race/ethnic mixing was going on
@@PianoMeSasha just a one reason that thalaivar prapagaran he was a karaiyar but he is the a hero only tamil without vellalar that's why you are in Canada beacouse of war
....this is very misleading,...they were never neglected or given a special status,..they are being treated same as all of us. They are very peaceful community.. like most conservative good Christians in Sri Lanka,..we love them a lot. Here,..it seems that their loved-ones had abandoned them,..that's sad.There is a large community of them still live in Sri Lanka very happily..I am a Burgher proud to be one but more than that and was born in Srilanka and I am an Srilankan and that is the most important thing. The documentary tries to incorrectly say that these few women in the aged home are the only Burghers left in the country. They are in plenty in Sri Lanka and are very happy. Lot of Burghers have mingled/blended well mostly with the Sinhalese.
Im so glad to see these ladies of our comunity. What ever the british did here in Ceylon then was very wrong.. but these innocent soul's are not to be blamed for those mistakes. Im a burgher ! Yet in hunt for our ancestors. I am very much interested in knowing how we settled in this Island and who was the person responsible for that ?!! Like most of other burghers every burgher should have had the oppertunity of migrating to other countries. Ive seen our kind suffering and struggling yet, currently to survive.i wish them success and hope they would overcome all their difficulties.... Anyways thank you for publishing this video...
Although they are European mix. They don't look fair as some Indians, Pakistanis or Persians. For a Canadian or American "some" Persians, Indians or Pakistanis are more white or pale than burghers of Sri Lanka.
All Burghers Don't Have To Be White....All Of Them Come In As Different Colours...Which Makes It Unique ...Is All Portuguese Dutch British White....Of Course Not.... Every Country Has Mixed Colours....No Country In The World Has Only White.....🤨...
Burghers means city dwellers!! They are of the Portuguese and Dutch origins mixed with all races living in Sri Lanka. then called Ceylon. However they became a vanishing tribe once the successive governments adopted the policies facilitating the Sinhala and Tamil majorities who were deprived of their due rights for several centuries !!
I am a Burgher. Born in Sri Lanka and residing in Sri Lanka. I dislike you calling us a TRIBE. That's ridiculous. That's like calling you a Veddha or a Aadi Wasiya.
You are wrong in categorizing Burghurs as belonging to a *tribe*..certainly no jungle affiliation in the Burgher community ..I wonder what you meant by that 🤔
This is a misleading clip.. this is a home for old burger ladies .. run by Sri Lanka burger union. The loved ones has abandon them and living some other country or separately.... so many burgers live in Sri Lanka still. They are very nice Christian community fun loving and fashionable. They very well mix with Sinhalese and other communities.. in Sri Lanka .. we love them and care for them ... they are part of the Sri Lankan community
i think these ladies deserved respect because like anybody elsewhere ppl just try to adapt and live and rise socially the best they can in colonial times if they had european ancestors they could be respected nobody wants to be 2 class citizen but think about it no they dont belong anywhere, they are not european nor feel like most tamil
Its so sad to see them leaving..Sri Lanka belongs to all of us..btw They too have to be bit more flexible and change accordingly..Now most Sri Lankans can speak english so they shouldnt have a problem
I know some terrible burger people.They put unwise Sinhala men in deep trouble.They are noted for their 'fast' life and low morals in general.Eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we die.That is how some of them live.Not all.
Jacqueline Fernandez is also a Burgher like these ladies right? And what kind of a burgher is she- Dutch or Portugese? And why does she have an American accented english?
As you'll probably know, "burgers" is a dutch word meaning: "Civilians" or Citizens". These lady's all have Dutch bloodlines, no Portugees involved here
Really sad that some people comment negative words.this is why we are seperating as a nation. remember when our Country is in distress we need each other as Srilankans.not Sinhalese.Tamils.Muslims .Burghers.and when we help its the caring people who do it.so many disable homes.orphanages.elderly homes are helped by foreigners too.most of us lives feeling superior but doing nothing for another.no one is perfect to judge another human being.thats what we are.
By making Singhala the official language this automatically impoverished not only Burghers but also Tamils who had high government positions. This led to a devastating civil war with massacres on both sides (started by Singhalese) between Singhalese and Tamils.
First of all Dutch came down to srilanka it rule our srilanka. When srilankan asked who they were they said "we are burghers " do you know what it means in Dutch, burghers means citizen. See how tricky they were. Finally dutch was kicked out by British. Ps by the way I am married to a burgher
Most Countries, Empires, And Civilizations Tend To Fall When They Are Divided. Division Was Look Upon As A Weakness By The Colonial Powers All Around The World And They Took Advantage Of It To Conquer Everywhere. If There Was No Division They Would Create Division And Conquer. Stay Together In Unity As One Cause That’s Where The Real Power Is.
This is why politicians shouldn't force things like language on other people who are a minority, it creates a separation amongst people, which causes huge problems, no one should be forcing anything on anyone, let everyone be themselves, whether tamil, burger, ect. we are all human, the majority are always racist. Sadly, thats how it is in most countries. :(
Dear Narrator, maybe due to lack of your knowledge or what ever, it's not 'SINHALA ONLY ACT' it was Just making Sinhala Language back to National Language, it was the national language before the country was subjugated..
These ladies are so lovely and amazing. However, this video is kind of misleading. Burgers, as an ethnicity has never been discriminated in Sri Lanka, and in fact enjoy higher social status among other ethnic communities. English is also widely spoken and used in most of the technical documents and literature. Of cause no country would continue to keep it's colonial language after independence, when the majority speak another language. In any case, for a country that is multi ethnic as Sri Lanka, the only way forward is to consider all it's citizens as Sri Lankan, instead of Sinhalese, Tamil, Burgers, Muslims, etc.
majority Sinhalese so the main language must be sinhala! anyone can live in sri lanka, and when u are a citizen you are a sri lanken, if you look at other countries for an example japan. Italy,germany,Portugal etc all of then have their own language, they dont use English as the main language even its an universal language, people live in sri lanka should understand it, doesn't matter you are a tamil, muslim or burger
Do you think that they built them because they loved the natives? They built them to transport the natural resources looted using slavery to the ports.
There we go again, talking about racism while watching some old Burgher ladies. Let us wish them a happy life, instead! By the way, the information given here re. the Burghers in Ceylon/Sri Lanka is objectively correct. I salute these old people with respect!
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I am a Burgher proud to be one but more than that and was born in Srilanka and I am an Srilankan and that is the most important thing.
Well said brother.....
Where this house dear?
Hi, just a question. Are there some Sri Lankans falsely claiming to be Burgher?
Just to share, I am Filipino from the Philippines and the equivalent of Burgher here is "Mestizo". A lot of Filipinos are falsely claiming that they are Mestizo (Spanish descent from colonial period) because Mestizos are seen in a more favorable manner. However, this is a result of colonial mentality.
@@karlos_infamous let me reply to this. I have to say you are rigjt. Alot of them claim to be burgher when only either the mother or father is burgher. Jn my case both my mom and dad are burghers and their family were burghers tracing back to Scotland.
@@yhrfeyxm so does that mean when a full blood sinhalese father and a dutch burgher mother have a daughter, the daughter cannot claim to be a burgher?
The documentary tries to incorrectly say that these few women in the aged home are the only Burghers left in the country. They are in plenty in Sri Lanka and are very happy. Lot of Burghers have mingled/blended well mostly with the Sinhalese.
Very true! my grandmother is an Irish burgher and she was surrounded with love till her last breath.
Thank you very much for letting the whole world know the real truth instead of hearing from some media, which doesn't reveal the entire truth.
Madam your comment is valuable since you are a Sri Lankan burger... this is truly misleading
There is quite a number of burghers still living in Sri Lanka who have ended up living with different kinds of communities within this nation:
As a 22 year old Dutch Burgher myself I never knew we were a dying breed😂. There are plenty of Burghers in Sri lanka and as one I have never faced any sort of discrimination for being one😂
I visited this home in 2016 after seeing this beautiful video. It is such a lovely place and the ladies are so lovely to chat to.
Where is this? Like to visit and talk with them.
💗
@@harshanidilrukshiperera9752 in co.6 wellawatte.
@Storm Woods pls. check Phone directory tel. no. and address or pls. ask Wellewatte Post office or any Post office. You could easily find the address or Wellewatte Convent or Church. hope you will find the place. I also try and get you the no if i can.
I love the lady who quite forthrightly says "This is my home". She has to be admired. Inspirational.Wish I could meet her.
Me too
same here
Dear friends, please consider wht the old lady said in the beginning in this video. she said there are no separations. no matter ur tamil, Sinhala, Muslim or Burger. Now days political and politicians are make separations to do the politics.. we all Srilankans
No separation during colonialism? Clearly she is unconsciously avoiding self-guilty. Colonialism (racism, caste system, apartheid) is about based on separation and classism in an effort to empower Europeans and oppress non-Europeans.
How can it be said that their was no separation in the beginning? Everywhere the Europeans went they separated people, i.e. Americas, Africa, Austria, New Zealand, India. It is just that now they are on the opposite end of the spectrum and they want sympathy. All Europeans in Zimbabwe were fine during colonialism when they took land from natives, but now when the natives have begun toreclaim their land, they scream about fairness
+duke of york First off, machang, get rid of the European name that you're using (Duke of York), Thereafter, you can talk about "hela"(native) stuff!
There was no separation, only classism. Ur just spewing liberal jargon. My great grandfather was a brown singhalese who married a white dutch
While Sri Lanka was a British colony there was just too much discrimination towards the Sinhalese majority. I guess it was one of the British governing tactics. They had restricted the number of Sinhalese being hired as government officials and also the number of Sinhalese students admitted to university. So when they gained power they got rid of these restrictions. Then some of the privileged Tamils didn't like this. From what I hear this was one key reasons for the war even.
Whether one is Burgher, Sinhalese, Tamil, Muslim, Malay, Singaporean, African or British this will be the end result.We all grow old and die. Why fight amongst each other during the short period of time we are here? I'd rather be happy and live a peaceful life!
Very well said !
You are right...but don't even realize that ... our life is very short...we are like the lily's of the valley live and die... so enjoy life as much as you can...🙏🇨🇦
Very true Kevin and thumbs up for that👍
Very true buddy
You are Burgers ok. The Tamils can't be happy ever in Sri Lanka. It's not about ordinary people. Unfortunately it's all about Monks and politicians
My mother is a burger (Portuguese) and my mother speaks to my grand mother and other sisters and brothers in old Portuguese ( Batticaloa) They are still a strong beautiful community ..
Hope this culture will have a long life
What is the village name that this community living in Batticoloa?
@@isuruaravinda9651they have their burger union and if you go to Batticalo town you can find them
We Srilankan’s live as one!!!! I pray for all these wonderful ladies!!! God bless them
......this is bit misleading,...they were never neglected or given a special status,..they are being treated same as all of us. They are very peaceful community.. like most conservative good Christians in Sri Lanka,..we love them a lot. Here,..it seems that their loved-ones had abandoned them,..that's sad.There is a large community of them still live in Sri Lanka very happily..
Fuck off sinhala only act made all minorities second class citizens. Discrimination and genocide against the minorities. Hence the civil war that lasted 3 decades and hundreds of thousands innocent lives were massacred by the Buddhist extremist government forces.
Mr Channa, I agree with you partly. In the beginning of the act there were problems BUT after 5 years or so people didn't care. Mr Silva seems to be very angry but sir, you have nothing to he angry about other than with political stupidity.
@@KethTamilTubing G o f u c k u r s e l f
Keth Silva you need to stop using offensive words here
Nalaka Dissanayake it is siva !not silva !
2010 youtube -
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.
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2019 youtube - okay let’s recommend this
Srilankan burgher people are the most smart silent race ever.they are so friendly .and calm.they never make violence .we respect you guys
slim sheydy exactly , I wonder why the other communities can’t learn from them ,
The Burghers are an asset of Sri Lanka.
Sad that many of them left because of the of Sri Lanka’s inability to develop this country.
I’m a Srilankan burgher and that’s not the last of them..
IKR!!!! There are so many of them! 🙄
😁😁😁Finally, we found her
BLACK AND WHITE 😂
VIP_Sone_Army_Blink xox totally ♥️
Are you Portuguese???
The first lady in this video is lovely, i love the way she speaks, really smart even in her old age.
Nothing to say even Arya Stark says so.. ;-)
I' m sinhalese but I love burgher people 💝
Simple but powerful.. One moment bought a tear to my eyes to see part of our history fade away.. 🌹
Whether you like it or not, the burgers are a part of Sri Lankan history. It's a part of our story. Accept it. Personally, I think Modern Sri Lanka is partly the way it is because of them. It's silly to deny such a big chapter in our story.
Agree with you. Mixed racial is not a big deal in my opinion.
My Mother is a Bhurger she speaks fluently Portugese. So does my sisters except me. Its sad that from my generation the tradition and even the language is fading. But it's appreciated some are trying to keep the tradition but we see that its only for marketing purpose and they are not following the real tradition its heart breaking. Its sweet to listen when mum speaks Portuguese I see how she makes sure to pronounce it fluently and ensure no other language is mixed. I miss the traditional Christmas the home made wine, the Egg coffee breudher cake and the traditional Home mad sweets. I miss weekend's family gatherin. They det together sing Kafaringna each family member played a instrument skillfully, sing songs dance. Those days are gone. Miss it all. My children wil never get the opportunity.
Maybe you can revive the traditions with other family members. And Portuguese can be learned online with lessons and videos.
I love Burghers a lot. I had some relations too. They are great people!
I am a
Burgher and I was taken to the UK in 1958 when I was three and a half.
We became poor and suffered a lot of racism in the U.K
My mum missed Ceylon,as it was then,very much.
On returning to SL as an adult,I felt an immediate bond and familiarity with the country of my birth.
I have British Nationslity but I am Sri Lankan in my heart,always
I am said that the Burghers are dying out as we scatter abroad and marry people who are not Burghers.
Still,Sri Lanka is mother to people of different origins and is a beautiful island.
How grateful I am,to have been born there.
Thank you for this video! The ladies here remind me of grandmother, aunts and my own mom. I hope they lived happily until their end in their homeland.
During my childhood I had many burger friend as well Malay (Malaysian) friends. Most of their fathers are higher ranking officers of Sri Lanka tri forces and some of them are planters. I heard that some of them left the country and still some are living in Sri Lanka. How ever those days we never care about religion, language or whatever. we were a good friends.
I am Sinhalese (29 age). We should protect this community.
I first want to thank TheVJMovement for uploading this humble and great video about this kind and beautiful ladies. I wish i was born at that era . My lovely grand mother is so much a dutch by heart and she shared with me the love and the passion and especially the FUN about our own, the dutch burghers.I hope i could visit this place someday,soon. Food for Thought - wise words from these awesome majestic ladies !
These ladies do not look Dutch or Portuguese . They look mixed with local Sinalhese!
My mother and fathers are burghers and I m extremely glad that they escaped a country thathad sought to look beyond a past were it felt that the Eurasian minority were resting upon laurels that did not serve the interests of the native populace.
The one language act had to be passed. The mass exodus of the burghers was inevitable. I was born in Paris and grew up in Sydney. Above all else, I am a proud Australian - nothing more, nothing less!!
I am happy that these ladies are being taken care of by these wonderful people. I have family members who are Sri Lankan Burgher (uncles and aunts). I love learning about other cultures but sometimes the information coming out of Sri Lanka is one-sided. This video does justice by acknowledging while it caused some hardship for some people, it did achieve what it meant to achieve.
In terms of language laws, it is not just Sri Lanka and it is not unique to Sinhalese. South Africa, Canada, the UK, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, etc, etc, have very strong language laws. I am in Canada and all government documents are in English and French. All government celebrations are Christian and Catholic only even though we claim we are a secular society. But it doesn't mean you can't follow other traditions here either. Canada takes pride in the fact that we allow other religions and languages. However, you cannot do anything here without English and French. Sames goes to Italy. Italian language laws are so strong that you wouldn't be able to get basic government documents sometimes other than in Italian. So, I don't see what Sri Lanka did with its language policies to be extreme because it would be discriminatory to say Sri Lanka cannot enforce Sinhalese (and Tamil) laws do that when Canada can enforce strong English and French only laws on the international stage.
I love the video and I hope all these Sri Lankans work together to make a better future for the next generation.
My mom just passed away on November 10, 2021. The lady who is dancing she have the same nose as my mom. It reminds me of my mom. I missed her so much.
Oh My God , They come to my Mom's Pastry shop and buy lot of Short Eats ... First time I've seen their home .... Lovely people 💖❤️💓❣️😀
Very lovely bunch of people.
There are portuguese people who actually talk their language in Batticaloa
"echcharai dan iwarai" that was 2009 and now it's 2019 😔
I am married to a Burgher & as a Sinhalese I have learnt alot of Sri Lankan History in connection with Colonisation, I have learnt about the injustices & also the colourful elements the Burghers brought to Sri Lankan culture & of course the Sri Lankan Cuisine. It is sad that this minority group is fading away and so will a very colourful part of Sri Lankan Culture & heritage.
We need to celebrate every Culture & ethnicity of Sri Lanka as this is what makes Sri Lanka the Beautiful country it is !
I'm from Bombay, India. I grew up in similar culture like the Srilankan Burghers. Bandra East Indians, Anglo Indians.
I feel both happy and sorrow. I think they all are my relations. Love to see them.
Brings back memories of my Mum's aunties.
Most of the foreigners, predominantly males, married Srilankan ladies. That was how the Burgher community started. Having born and raised in Srilanka they never wanted to learn the main language, which is very regrettable .
I knew a few bugers spoke another besides English.
I have associated much of my life with burgher people. I am Sinhalese and was adopted by a burgher lady who I loved as a mother. However I have to say that although Burghers married Sinhalese ( probably high class Sinhalese) they in my opinion had a high opinion of themselves. I believe they looked down on the Sinhalese people. I would like to know who the colonists displaced. What they took from Sri Lanka and what Sri Lanka was like before they came. I have looked at old photos of Sri Lanka and it looks like the people lived well. So as much as we are told we need other cultures to enhance Sri Lanka do we really need them to dominate the country?
Appreciation for one's accomplishments is ok, while pride is not. They are often confused. If Sri Lanka as a society learned more from more successful countries, cultures,etc., then it would not be the perpetual basket case disaster it is.
Colonialism is a fact of history. People conquered or they were conquered in the past. It is simple history and some were better at conquering and brought good things while others brought bad things. The problem is that some have misplaced pride in failed systems that have brought damage and disunity.Take the good and reject the bad of all cultures. Countries that don't do those don't progress.
I always want to spend my time with old.ladies !-they have so many memories !-and when they tell theire stories they look so happy !!-??-
The irony today is that many high class Sinhalese (not all) prefer conversing in English.
I think now you can take off the words in the brackets.. making Sinhala the National language gifted us a war for 30 years and draged the country backward.. now most of the people speak in English and parents want their kids to speak in English (mostly in public) I feel, somewhere we have made a grt mistake..
Mostly because English is a universal language and even Sinhalese language is really really tough to speak and learn.
Also most words come from English anyways if you listen to a normal conversation.
Yeah. In a way it is stupid.
Very true. In fact, that had been the case even in 1950s as well when this Sinhalese-only act was brought in for the first time. The fact of the matter is that the locals here had used (or rather misused !) and continue to use (or rather misuse !!) the language of English to show off their social status, merely as a tool for discrimination against their own, yet underprivileged, local communities. They had simply used the language of Sinhalese to get their job done by the underprivileged local communities whose majority knew nothing except Sinhalese as a language of communication. It's true that a language, properly spoken, can be the best weapon one may have. But, in doing so, your intentions would have to be in the right direction to make the outcome more meaningful, progressive and productive. In short, we, as a nation, are quite good at getting hold of the wrong end of the stick more often than not. So, this fake nationalism and double-standard may have to be expected more often than not, not just from the elites, but also from a certain section of the middle class too who prefer to pretend more than they actually are. It's nothing but misusing/exploiting the situation to their undue advantage. The lady who had been at the end of the video made her point/s well clear, very charmingly yet emphatically too. BTW, I'm a Sinhalese Buddhist.
Purplekitty national pride? What pride? Pride is when you speak in your own tongue. Not when you speak another’s.
My grandmother played a big part in the day to day running of St Nikolaas’s Home in the 60’s and seventies. She must have been older than many of the lady residents then, but did much of the daily shopping for them all the same.
God bless you dear ladies.
It was just great to see my late Aunt Doreen singing and dancing with her wheel chair. The sad part is that we are coming to the end of an era. This phenomenon seems to be occurring in all countries. The new generations, unfortunately, do not appear to have the same values - peaceful and idyllic values. God be with these ladies as they live out their lives.
I am Burgher Sri Lankan X Ashkenazi Jewish mix born in the UK. We’re still around!
Much love to all of you!! Sri Lanka is the home for all of us 😍
I am a person of buddhist and i feel endless love of this elder's and we dnt have any thougts of seperation or rasism with these beautiful peoples.we were living with them peacefully from so long before....even during 30years of last civil war in jaffna north of sri lanka we didn't harm to any tamils lived with us in colombo or somewhere else.that's the teaching of buddhism...!
What about the black July?
@@lilylol8397 Those were a bunch of thugs sponsored by the government just like the thugs who attacked the Galleface Gota Go Gama.
@@lilylol8397 black July was conducted by some of the U.N.P. parliament members. Mainly Cyril Mathew, Nanda Mathew & Gamini Dissanayake. Thugs of Gamini Dissanayake burned the library of Jaffna.
First of all these arent the last of the burghers plenty of them out there
A fun bunch of people
In the past there was English medium in schools mostly in private schools to my knowledge until today I have lovely classmates and schoolmates they are scattered around the globe 🌐 but still in touch down to earth ladies they are it's so nice to see the burgher community doing great stay blessed
My deepest respect.
Freedom of thought, freedom of speech. Nothing anyone says can alter what a person thinks. He or she is embedded in his or her own ideas. Reading the comments once again, points to racism through and through. I think it's better to keep ones thoughts to ones self. I and some others may think it's racism, but the person posting some comments clearly think it is not. So be it.
And also they are not the last burger ladies. Please note that there are many more of us still living among the other majority some are mixed with other majority and some stay with only their own.
Madly fallen love with that first lady in this video...damn she's gorgeous ❤❤❤
The last generation of the White Sri Lankans
nice people in the world .so proud of you all.
Why is this video
On my suggestion list after 10 year
I hope tose wonderful woman live and lived a wonderful life !
Bless them
One of the worst misleading documentary and a video title. Such a poor journalism.
I would like to visit them one-day. Will it be possible ?
Yes. There is a disco duck dance every Tuesday, I should know, I dj the event. I might add, these gals are single and looking for boys. so if you have men friends, do bring.
Thank you for this video. If I were to visit Sri Lanka, I would love to visit this Home.
I am a burgher myself too bad burghers are extinct in Sri Lanka and really hard to find burghers
A very touching documentary
Trivan Annakkarage I remember the words of my great grand mum who often stressed how she missed the British rule , she made it quite obvious that there was much discipline and people treated each other with due respect .
Please upload more videos I love this channel
I think 50yrs before these ladies were very cute ones now their old need some support for them to live
God bless them ❤❤❤❤
Sri Lanka is a peace loving beautiful country with good souls
I'm from Canada but both my parents are Sri Lankan. Growing up in a Tamil household I was only taught of two groups of people in Sri Lanka which were Tamil and Sinhalese. I was aware that different types of religions as Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhism, etc lived in Sri Lanka. I never knew about these Burghers, I'm honestly fascinated because I've never knew their were a different ethnicity in group in Sri Lanka.
study some history , preveena, and dont rely on your parents for accuracy. not only burghers. malays, tamil muslims (moors) who think of themselves as a separate group from Tamils (hindu/christian). lanka was very multicultural before sinhalese nationalism ruined it. having said that, on the other hand jaffna tamils were themselves quite haughty about sinhalese, in particular Vellalas, themselves quite caste predjudiced. what a mess. tragic. but that's why you are now Canadian.
Pallathur1917 it wasn't nationalism, it was socialism. Branadnaika was a socialist, conquer and divide. thats how he got in power. No one wanted be separate. race/ethnic mixing was going on
Everyone in lanka is sinhalese , even these people. Tamils also related to sinhalese except their language.
@@dsijj123 Nope, these ladys all have Dutch bloodlines. As you'll probably know, "burgers" is a dutch word meaning: "Civilians" or Citizens".
@@PianoMeSasha just a one reason that thalaivar prapagaran he was a karaiyar but he is the a hero only tamil without vellalar that's why you are in Canada beacouse of war
But why did so many have to leave Sri Lanka?
my grandparents left because of the discrimination against the burghers in Sri Lanka
Awesome
Anai lets unite as one Srilankan and go forward.. 😘
First Sri Lankan middle class gone with the wind!
There was a friend he used say one Proverbs "elephant body, chicken brain".
Let me wish them all my deepest respect.
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
those days our neighbouring people and most of our classmates' mothers or aunts ..
later part few became our relatives through marriages ❤
....this is very misleading,...they were never neglected or given a special status,..they are being treated same as all of us. They are very peaceful community.. like most conservative good Christians in Sri Lanka,..we love them a lot. Here,..it seems that their loved-ones had abandoned them,..that's sad.There is a large community of them still live in Sri Lanka very happily..I am a Burgher proud to be one but more than that and was born in Srilanka and I am an Srilankan and that is the most important thing. The documentary tries to incorrectly say that these few women in the aged home are the only Burghers left in the country. They are in plenty in Sri Lanka and are very happy. Lot of Burghers have mingled/blended well mostly with the Sinhalese.
Im so glad to see these ladies of our comunity. What ever the british did here in Ceylon then was very wrong.. but these innocent soul's are not to be blamed for those mistakes. Im a burgher ! Yet in hunt for our ancestors. I am very much interested in knowing how we settled in this Island and who was the person responsible for that ?!! Like most of other burghers every burgher should have had the oppertunity of migrating to other countries. Ive seen our kind suffering and struggling yet, currently to survive.i wish them success and hope they would overcome all their difficulties.... Anyways thank you for publishing this video...
Although they are European mix. They don't look fair as some Indians, Pakistanis or Persians. For a Canadian or American "some" Persians, Indians or Pakistanis are more white or pale than burghers of Sri Lanka.
All Burghers Don't Have To Be White....All Of Them Come In As Different Colours...Which Makes It Unique ...Is All Portuguese Dutch British White....Of Course Not.... Every Country Has Mixed Colours....No Country In The World Has Only White.....🤨...
Burghers means city dwellers!! They are of the Portuguese and Dutch origins mixed with all races living in Sri Lanka. then called Ceylon. However they became a vanishing tribe once the successive governments adopted the policies facilitating the Sinhala and Tamil majorities who were deprived of their due rights for several centuries !!
I am a Burgher. Born in Sri Lanka and residing in Sri Lanka. I dislike you calling us a TRIBE. That's ridiculous. That's like calling you a Veddha or a Aadi Wasiya.
You are wrong in categorizing Burghurs as belonging to a *tribe*..certainly no jungle affiliation in the Burgher community ..I wonder what you meant by that 🤔
This is a misleading clip.. this is a home for old burger ladies .. run by Sri Lanka burger union. The loved ones has abandon them and living some other country or separately.... so many burgers live in Sri Lanka still. They are very nice Christian community fun loving and fashionable. They very well mix with Sinhalese and other communities.. in Sri Lanka .. we love them and care for them ... they are part of the Sri Lankan community
Last lady is gorgeous ❤
i think these ladies deserved respect because like anybody elsewhere ppl just try to adapt and live and rise socially the best they can in colonial times if they had european ancestors they could be respected nobody wants to be 2 class citizen but think about it no they dont belong anywhere, they are not european nor feel like most tamil
I born to a burgher mother and Tamil father I am so blessed to have my parents
i AM PRAUD OF DUTHCH BURGHER NICE TO SEE THIS PEOPLE GOD BLESS + AMEN.
I really hope they're all doing well even as of right now
My wife is a Burgher. So what ...
We are proud of our Burgher brothers and sisters! We are all Sri Lankan!
Its so sad to see them leaving..Sri Lanka belongs to all of us..btw They too have to be bit more flexible and change accordingly..Now most Sri Lankans can speak english so they shouldnt have a problem
Burger girls are beautiful.. lost lots of burgers in Easter Sunday attacks..
I know some terrible burger people.They put unwise Sinhala men in deep trouble.They are noted for their 'fast' life and low morals in general.Eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we die.That is how some of them live.Not all.
Jacqueline Fernandez is also a Burgher like these ladies right?
And what kind of a burgher is she- Dutch or Portugese?
And why does she have an American accented english?
I think she's a Dutch burgher
@@AkshanyaA
The Burghers of Sri Lanka seem like anglo- Indians of India.
As you'll probably know, "burgers" is a dutch word meaning: "Civilians" or Citizens". These lady's all have Dutch bloodlines, no Portugees involved here
Jacqueline Fernandez Father Is Portuguese Ancestry....And Mother Is A Malay...Which Is Malaysia....
I think Dutch burger.
Really sad that some people comment negative words.this is why we are seperating as a nation. remember when our Country is in distress we need each other as Srilankans.not Sinhalese.Tamils.Muslims .Burghers.and when we help its the caring people who do it.so many disable homes.orphanages.elderly homes are helped by foreigners too.most of us lives feeling superior but doing nothing for another.no one is perfect to judge another human being.thats what we are.
By making Singhala the official language this automatically impoverished not only Burghers but also Tamils who had high government positions. This led to a devastating civil war with massacres on both sides (started by Singhalese) between Singhalese and Tamils.
Well English wasn't their native Language
It was Portuguese but they've chosen English
First of all Dutch came down to srilanka it rule our srilanka. When srilankan asked who they were they said "we are burghers " do you know what it means in Dutch, burghers means citizen. See how tricky they were. Finally dutch was kicked out by British.
Ps by the way I am married to a burgher
Most Countries, Empires, And Civilizations Tend To Fall When They Are Divided. Division Was Look Upon As A Weakness By The Colonial Powers All Around The World And They Took Advantage Of It To Conquer Everywhere. If There Was No Division They Would Create Division And Conquer. Stay Together In Unity As One Cause That’s Where The Real Power Is.
This is why politicians shouldn't force things like language on other people who are a minority, it creates a separation amongst people, which causes huge problems, no one should be forcing anything on anyone, let everyone be themselves, whether tamil, burger, ect.
we are all human, the majority are always racist. Sadly, thats how it is in most countries. :(
Whrere this burgher community young people are gone
They Are All Coming Back To Serve The Country...Watch The New Srilankan Football Team....
Dear Narrator, maybe due to lack of your knowledge or what ever, it's not 'SINHALA ONLY ACT' it was Just making Sinhala Language back to National Language, it was the national language before the country was subjugated..
These ladies are so lovely and amazing. However, this video is kind of misleading. Burgers, as an ethnicity has never been discriminated in Sri Lanka, and in fact enjoy higher social status among other ethnic communities. English is also widely spoken and used in most of the technical documents and literature. Of cause no country would continue to keep it's colonial language after independence, when the majority speak another language. In any case, for a country that is multi ethnic as Sri Lanka, the only way forward is to consider all it's citizens as Sri Lankan, instead of Sinhalese, Tamil, Burgers, Muslims, etc.
Echcharai. Dan iwarai. God bless these cute ladies.
Duminda Silva's mother is of Burgher extract if I'm not wrong!
majority Sinhalese so the main language must be sinhala! anyone can live in sri lanka, and when u are a citizen you are a sri lanken, if you look at other countries for an example japan. Italy,germany,Portugal etc all of then have their own language, they dont use English as the main language even its an universal language, people live in sri lanka should understand it, doesn't matter you are a tamil, muslim or burger
If not for the colonizations, there Wundt be roads and rail tracks !
If it wasn't for colonization we wouldn't have lost the chance to build our own railroads and tracks you uneducated potato.
Do you think that they built them because they loved the natives? They built them to transport the natural resources looted using slavery to the ports.
There we go again, talking about racism while watching some old Burgher ladies. Let us wish them a happy life, instead! By the way, the information given here re. the Burghers in Ceylon/Sri Lanka is objectively correct. I salute these old people with respect!