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Shelter and solace, but for how long?
They all share memories of a cruel war, but the bigger fear now for the residents of Udupila Ranavirugama is that one day they may be homeless

By Kumudini Hettiarachchi
Not one but three marble stone slabs proudly lay claim to the opening of the quiet and tranquil Ranavirugama in Udupila, set amidst large trees and green paddy fields in the Gampaha district.

Most of the 56 families, who have found shelter and solace here, after being dealt life's cruel blows, have been resident for over a decade. Some are soldiers who have been grievously wounded in bomb blasts, sniper fire or ambushes in the north and the east and are left to face the world with a severe disability. Among them are young men who cannot walk due to paralysis and others who have had their arms or legs amputated.

The other residents are the mothers or wives and children of soldiers who have laid down their lives in the bloody war that rent this country apart for nearly 20 years.

The gardens in the Udupila Ranavirugama are well tended and the homes well built and comfortable. However, amidst this sense of peace, the residents have a niggling doubt, nay a worry that keeps them awake at night.

Can they call the roof above their heads their own? What will happen to their kith and kin after them? Will they be out on the street, destitute? This is the worry that looms dark and large. For, though most of them have lived in Udupila for a decade or more, there isn't a scrap of paper to indicate that they own the homes.

"The homes built by the army are comfortable and we are looked after well. We have all the facilities we need, but I do not have any document to prove that this is my house," laments an ex-soldier who moves around in a wheelchair. "The day I die, what will happen to my young wife?"

However, there has been no lack of promises. At different times, different officials and politicians have visited Udupila and promised the much-awaited documents. But nothing has happened. There are 23 disabled soldiers and 16 mothers and 17 wives of dead soldiers in this Ranavirugama.

"We cannot take a small loan by mortgaging our homes even to carry out repairs or improvements. We are like passengers living here. The banks just say no, the moment we tell them that we do not have ownership documents," the disabled soldier says, adding that it is beyond the army's purview to issue the deeds.

The prime mover behind attempts to secure some documents, is Sunethra de Silva, 58, who has been living in the village since 1992. Her son was the victim of a sniper in Trincomalee in 1990. Sunethra lives in Udupila with her second son. "The strength of Udupila is that we have become like one large family though our original hometowns are spread across the country. We have left our relatives behind and all 56 families living here have strong bonds, though there are some disagreements on and off," she says.

Udupila has a mix of people from Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Galle, Nuwara Eliya, Anamaduwa, Vavuniya and Trincomalee. They help each other at births, deaths and marriages. Now the collective worry is whether their homes will be taken away from them, says the wife of a dead soldier who lives with her son in Udupila. Her husband had been killed when the son was an infant and this is the only home the boy has known in his life.

Over the years, the families living in Udupila had been told various stories with regard to home ownership. In the 1990s they had been informed that "badu" documents would be handed over to them if they paid half the estimated value. Some including Sunethra had paid up Rs. 40,000 each by 1999.

Those who did not pay were threatened at that time with eviction. On the request of the ex-soldiers, some politicians had intervened and the issue had been put on hold. That was in 1999 and they had not heard from the authorities up to the time The Sunday Times visited Udupila last Monday.

"Where will I go if we are evicted?" asks the widow as the others nod anxiously. The next question is: "What will they do without documents to prove they own their homes?"

Giving relief
Sixteen land grant documents of those who have paid half the estimated value have already been sent to the Mahara Divisional Secretariat, The Sunday Times learns. In the 1990s there were instructions to get those occupying the houses to pay 50% of the estimated value but now that has come down to 10% under the 2002 land development statutes, says Assistant Land Commissioner, Western Province, Ms. E.A.R. Renuka.

"We attempted to grant ranaviru land free of charge but now instructions have been given that they should pay 10%. We will study the cases of the families who have paid 50% and try to get them some relief," she assured.

Meanwhile, Mahara Divisional Secretary R.P. Dayaratne said his office got the 16 "land grants" on August 30 and forwarded them to the Gampaha Land Registry. Once registration is complete the grants will be issued to the families in Udupila.

Plea for licences
"Issue us driving licences," is the plea of disabled soldiers in Udupila, not only for themselves but also for their colleagues. "We have modified trishaws to enable us to overcome our disability when driving," says an ex-soldier pointing out that catching a bus to come to Colombo once in three months to attend the clinic at the Military Hospital was difficult. "Often we spend about Rs. 1,000 for trishaw fare, so we decided to buy trishaws of our own and modify them."

If the right leg has been amputated, the ex-soldiers have fixed the brake to the left side. If their legs are paralysed they have fixed a hand brake instead. ”The disabled soldiers should come through the Ranaviru Authority and we will take their cases on an individual basis,” said the Commissioner of Motor Traffic B. Wijeratne.

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