A Sri Lankan Ph.D. student Apsara Wimalasiri was recently allegedly killed by her ex-husband in Weliweriya, while she was on a short holiday to take part in Galle Face protests. She had arrived in Sri Lanka only two days back when she was murdered.
A report in The Island (1 May 2022) says, ” The 33-year-old moved to Wellington in 2020, completing a masters by thesis, before moving on to become a Ph.D. candidate at the university’s School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies on a full scholarship.
Her Ph.D. supervisor and friend, Dr. Corrine Seals, said Wimalasiri was “so loved by so many people” and was connected to many communities both in New Zealand and Sri Lanka, New Zealand media reports said.
“She was an activist and a scholar, who was always supporting everyone around her. She was a very central part of my school … but she was also connected to Samoan studies and psychology and had friends all across the university.
“She was constantly impressing people, both academically [and] also with her heart and who she was as a person, which is why this has impacted so, so, so many people.”
She had previously been at the forefront of protests in Wellington about the civil unrest in Sri Lanka and had planned to participate in protests during her trip to her home country to visit family.
The Island report adds: Weliweriya Police told the media that, a 37-year-old resident of Matara, had attempted to commit suicide after allegedly killing Wimalasiri and critically injuring her sister and friend. He is now in hospital under police guard.”
