British Tourist With Buddha Tattoo Lands In Sri Lanka, Gets Arrested!

A British tourist is to be deported from Sri Lanka after authorities there discovered that she had a Buddha tattoo on her arm! According to The Guardian, 37-year-old Naomi Coleman had arrived from India to Sri Lanka for what was supposed to be a peaceful outing at the tropical island-nation. Things turned for the worse when authorities at the Bandaranaike International Airport at Colombo, the country’s capital noticed a Buddha tattoo on her right arm. Following this, Naomi was detained and later arrested by the local police for “hurting other’s religious feelings”

Naomi was then made to appear before a magistrate who ruled that she be deported from the country for carrying the “disrespectful” Buddha tattoo. At the time of filing this report, Naomi is yet to be deported from Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile the Sydney Morning Herald has managed to get in touch with Naomi who said that her experience with the Sri Lankan authorities has been “hellish”. She also paid Rs.5000 ($38) to a lawyer who didn’t help her get out of the mess. She clarified that she herself is a practicing Buddhist and the Buddha tattoo was done out of pure respect. Naomi is a mental health nurse from Coventry, England.

Naomi added that she had visited Sri Lanka twice on earlier occasions and was never pulled up for the offensive Buddha tattoo. In fact, she had also visited other Buddhist countries like Thailand and Cambodia without hurting the feelings of Buddhists there with her Buddha tattoo. Coleman adds that during the six hours of being detained for the “offensive” Buddha tattoo, she was never told about the charges that have been pressed against her and that she was even harassed by police officials for bribes. “I cried. I am very afraid,” she told the SMH.

Sri Lanka is a Buddhist majority nation and has been historically known to be sensitive about all matters pertaining to Buddhism. Not surprisingly, this is not the first instance of a tourist being detained by Sri Lanka for sporting a Buddha tattoo. In March 2013, another British tourist was barrred from entering the country because he too sported a Buddha tattoo. Then there was the case of three French tourists who were sentenced to six months in jail after they kissed a Buddha statue. In 2010, US rap star Akon was prevented from visiting the country because one of his videos apparently had featured scantily clad women dancing in front of a Buddha statue.

Meanwhile, Naomi was provided consular access by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in Sri Lanka and are working to get her out of the country.

Do you think it was an over-reaction on part of the Sri Lankan authorities to detain a woman for sporting something as harmless as a Buddha tattoo?

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