Veda Narayana Dasa prays for the victims of the civil war in Sri Lanka, at the Vedic Cultural Center in Sammamish on Friday, May 15. Sri Lankan communities in eastern Washington planned the prayer event last week in the hope of raising awareness of the political and social conditions in their native country.

Hundreds of thousands of civilians are currently suffering due to a long running civil war between the government and the Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a separatist militant organization, which plagues the small island nation off the coast of India.

At the prayer event, Priest Bhu Dayal welcomed guests into the temple at the center, where he leads prayers and ceremonies.

A large prayer flag was decorated with the words of condolences to the people of Sri Lanka. For more information go to www.vedicculturalcenter.org.