| Whose truth? > A Tiger for Tamil Eelam > Father Francis Xavier
In North America, the Tamil Tigers are banned as a terrorist organization. But many Sri Lankan Tamils in Toronto see the Tigers as freedom fighters, and their only hope for an independent state.
Father Francis Xavier is one of those supporters. He is a psychotherapist, pastor and long-time counsellor to the Toronto Tamil community, the largest in the world.
AUDIO: Mary Wiens' profile of Father Francis Xavier. Listen  . (runs 6:22)
On the kitchen wall of his apartment in Scarborough, there is a calendar that shows the smiling leader of the Tamil Tigers. To western governments, Pirabakaran is the leader of a terrorist organization. To Father Francis Xavier, Pirabakaran is a hero, and he's proud to count himself as a follower.
"We are all sympathizers", he says. "I could be called a Tiger because all those who wanted an independent free state, or self-determination, our homeland. When you hold this view, people call it a Tiger so, in that sense, I am a Tamil Tiger, but in the real sense that I take up arms, no, I personally am against violence."
AUDIO: Andy Barrie speaks with John Thompson of the Mackenzie Institute.
He believes extortion and violence are used to bolster local fundraising. Listen . (runs 7:14)
The Tamil Tigers are notorious for their use of child soldiers. They were also one of the first militant groups to use suicide bombings, carried out by a branch known as the Black Tigers. The organization has also carried out political assassinations, including that of former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.
There is a contradiction here. Father Francis Xavier is a pillar of Toronto's Sri Lankan Tamil community. He is associate pastor at the Parish of St. Columba and All-Hallows, and counsellor at a treatment program for victims of domestic violence. Father Francis Xavier is also an ardent supporter of the Tamil Tigers.
At 76, Father Xavier's eyes are failing. He flips through an atlas, searching for Sri Lanka, where he was born, in an attempt to make sense of the seeming contradictions.
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