Some of the more vivid and haunting images that came from the video footage during the last days of the LTTE earlier this year were of the streams of 'walking sticks' - almost the 'walking dead', painfully inching their way out of LTTE-held areas into the safety of Government territory.

Malnourished to skin and bone, they brought horrific memories of the pictorials during World War II which showed civilians in Europe, trapped in the bitter fighting, and at the brink of starvation pouring into makeshift camps for a bowl of soup.

The lives these people in the Wanni region had led all those years under the thumb of the LTTE - the chronic malnourishment of two generations -- were missed by the propagandists on both sides; the Government concentrating on the valiant soldiers and the political leadership given to them and the pro-LTTE lobby focusing on the collateral damage caused to the old, the women and the children in the Government's quest to 'finish off' the terrorists once and for all.

More than four months later, these unfortunate people remain as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), and so marked the International Day for Elders and also for Children on October 1 within the perimeters of a refugee camp.

While the Government must not be seen to be adopting 'delaying tactics', asking that these IDPs be sent to their original homes post-haste is both easier said than done, and may not be in their own interest.

Very obviously, these people would rather be at home than in a tent. But ask them if they wished to be there without food, education and with shells falling on their heads, and they would naturally prefer the lesser evil.

That is why it is a mystery why the Government is not permitting at least a select numbers of overseas observers to visit these camps, and see for themselves the enormity of the logistical problems in relocating them.

The question remains as to why those who made an issue when the nemesis of the LTTE was nigh, were tight-lipped all the years these 'miserable folks' had to suffer under the sandals of the LTTE. Probably, the issue was not controversial enough as saying they were a discriminated bunch.

UN agencies could have done better at the time in applying greater pressure on the LTTE. Often, their supplies were intercepted and used by the fighting cadres. Children would join the LTTE just to get a square meal. The UN Special Rapporteur on Child-soldiers Olaro Otunnu put up some reports on the use of child soldiers by the LTTE, and went into hibernation.

Non-Government organizations received funds to wean these child soldiers away from the conflict. What did the LTTE do? It surrendered a few dozen child soldiers, collected the funds and laughed all the way to the bank.

There are two fundamental requirements for elders and children among the IDPs. For the elders, it is to go back home. For the children, it is to go anywhere but back home. The latter fear retribution if they were members of the LTTE, or believe there is no hope for them anyway. Talk to them, and they will all say in unison, they want jobs abroad and to start new lives far from home.

Various ministries are engaged in rehabilitating these children (and young adults) and there is no dearth of 'Action Plans', reminiscent of the mighty good intentions that were planned, but not implemented in rehabilitating the youth from the south after the 1971 insurgency.

The problems of the elders and children are not confined to the IDPs, although they are the ones in dire straits. Issues like child labour - voluntary or involuntary, directly linked to abject poverty in rural areas especially in the plantations; education or the lack of it - the lack of teachers, schools, funds and the inefficiency of the Provincial Council system; the politicization of the exam paper setting and marking system, are the legacy Sri Lanka's future generation will have to grapple with.

The latest UNICEF report has this to say about Sri Lanka; "For a country that suffers no significant food shortages and provides extensive, free maternal and child health services, it is rather paradoxical that malnourishment affects nearly one-third of children (and one-quarter of women)". This is a damning statement if any. The situation in the areas that were once under LTTE control is even more damning.

A local NGO launched in 1999, the UN Year of Older Persons, has drawn up a 'Voice of Elders' Charter (Please see Page 8 for details) pointing out that elders and children are two ends of the same spectrum of life and advancing age. It points out that Sri Lanka is a fast ageing country resulting in a sharp change in demography with 2.3 million that can be classified as 'elders'.

The numbers are staggering. There are also an estimated 3 million Sri Lankans who are either "disabled" or who have "restricted ability" - some temporarily. That is almost 15 out of every 100 people. The numbers swelled with the 'Rana Viru' soldiers and those affected by the 'war', but the bulk are senior citizens.

Currently, the National Council for Disabled Persons which functions under the otherwise able-bodied Ministry of Social Services has shown little progress in upgrading public buildings for those with "restricted physical ability" as is a sine-quo-non in the modern world.

This modern world has also seen a drop in the number of able-bodied volunteers coming forward to help the under-privileged and less fortunate, especially the elders and orphaned children. Much of this has been attributed to professional careers consuming people's time.

In modern states, the Government or the private sector steps in to fill the vacuum with professional care services. For decades the Ministry of Social Services overlooked this, but now with devolution, to hand this onerous task to the corrupt and inefficient Provincial Councils is almost the 'kiss of death'.

Now that the 'war' is over, the issue of elders and children is big enough to warrant the Government's attention throughout the year than be limited to a single day of the year.