namesake

the devi co-op is named after Krishnadevi Srijeyanthan, Jenani’s mother. Krishnadevi immigrated first to Canada and then the US as a refugee of the Tamil Genocide in Sri Lanka.  After escaping genocide, she was arranged to be married to a man, who she would quickly find out struggled heavily with addiction and PTSD. Krishnadevi navigated a household with severe intimate partner violence, worked three jobs, and did her best to give her daughters as much of a “normal life” as possible, all while also being a survivor of state violence in both Sri Lanka and the US.  When three restraining orders and criminal justice-centered interventions failed to keep violence out of the household or help her husband receive the treatment and care he needed, community support was what got Krishnadevi and her daughters on the path to safety. 

the devi co-op names this group after Krishnadevi Srijeyanthan. With her namesake, tdc hopes to empower communities to rely on one another to eradicate interpersonal and state violence, all while being driven by Krishnadevi’s struggle for a better life and future for her and her daughters.