Maali
Maali is the protagonist in The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida. He is a journalist and photographer whose passion is exposing the evils of the conflict in Sri Lanka. Maali has a Nikon camera that he adores. The camera is the only equipment that enables him to take photographs of different incidents of violence in Sri Lanka. The reader also learns that Maali is gay and atheist because he believes in freedom of choice, which goes against the government's directive.
Maali works in a dangerous environment during the conflict because his life is at risk. Several journalists and activists have been detained and killed. Therefore, any journalist trying to expose the government puts his life at risk. Maali is aware of the dangers, but he is passionate about leaving a positive impact on society. Towards the end, Maali dies under similar circumstances to those of activists and investigative journalists who tried to portray the government negatively.
Jack
Jack is one of the close friends of Maali, and they share a lot because their objective is to see a safe Sri Lanka. When Maali discovers that he will not see the light again, he arranges to meet Jack and his cousin to direct them on how they will retrieve his photographs from his bed and share them in Colombo. Maali wants the world to see the photographs and understand the magnitude of the conflict.
The Government Minister
The government minister in Maali's photograph symbolizes government brutality toward its people. The government minister stands and stares at people being massacred and their houses being torched. The minister is happy because he thinks the people dying are against the government. Therefore, the minister is doing the contrary because he should mobilize resources to save lives.
Tamil University Lecture
The Tamil university lecturer is an activist who meets his death when he criticizes the militant operative groups. Maali meets the lecturer in the world of death and learns he was gunned down. The university lecturer's story reflects what many Sri Lankan activists went through whenever they tried to oppose the government.
