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Many tsunami displaced in the north-east are still sheltered in camps run by the armed forces
Under the military’s wing
By Frances Bulathsinghala
It is morning. Their faces look tired. Waking up after yet another day, in the cramped interior of a tent, one of the many temporary 'homes' of the tsunami displaced, a sip of coffee from a flask, seems a luxury. A small fire continues to burn boiling more water to be used for the rest of the day.

Though what is described may sound like the typical temporary setting of displaced persons, these are not tsunami survivors, but members of the military, who manage the many camps for the tsunami displaced in the country.

Since the December 26 disaster, members of the Special Task Force in all disaster-affected parts of Sri Lanka have been carrying out a silent but Herculean humanitarian service. Around 90 camps for the displaced continue to be under military supervision, in the north-east.

There are 27 IDP centres managed by the military and STF in the Ampara district, 30 IDP centres in Batticaloa and 19 in Trincomalee. The Sunday Times visited the camp in Omariya in the Ampara division in the Akkaraipattu district, which presently shelters 79 families. "We are in charge of keeping track of what they need and are constantly identifying local and foreign non- governmental organisations which can help the residents of the camp get on with their day to day lives," explains the chief officer in charge of the camp.

He explains that there are various practical problems with regard to land allocation for permanent housing for this largely fishing community. "We are doing our duty in securing the area as well as the security and wellbeing of these persons. For the past four months we have been with them. We are now as keen as them to see that they have as secure a life as possible and are in constant touch with the District Secretaries and other government officials with regard to permanent shelter being arranged for them," he says.

The many discomforts and inconveniences these members of the STF must feel, undergoing the same hardships as the displaced they are responsible for, are shrugged off as he reminds us that they have faced worse hardships in the past twenty years of war.

"This is a joy to us to see that we are serving mostly Tamil people to whom we were largely seen as enemies during the past twenty years of war. Still we are aware that our humanitarian assistance by supervising these camps could be used for anti-military propaganda giving it a totally different context," adds the camp’s officer-in-charge.

We ask about any interference by 'outside elements' to disrupt the goodwill of the people towards the military forces. The officer explains that as the area is under government control there is no direct 'interference' but states that the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation, generally considered the social arm of the LTTE is treated as another non-governmental organisation.

"All we are concerned with is the good anyone can do to these people. While we will not encourage LTTE propaganda, we have had several visits from representatives of the TRO, along with other members of NGOs to distribute water and other essentials," he says. However, much of the water, one of the most needed of daily essentials, is brought from the military camp in Sangamankanda, the STF officers adds.

Sergeant K. Wijerathne, an STF officer at the Omariya camp explains briefly how the armed forces in the eastern areas saved hundreds of tsunami victims including a large number of LTTE cadres.

"There were many instances where army personnel sacrificed their own lives in order to save people from being drowned in the tsunami waves. We rescued them all; Tamils, Sinhalese or Muslims," he says.

Kanagasabei Yogaraja is one of the many Tamils occupying the camp in Komarai. The shallow boat that he owned was the main source of his survival along with his family of four. Today he is desperately working at a project initiated by several NGOs to use the manpower of the tsunami victims themselves to repair and build boats anew.

Five months after his harrowing experience, Yogaraja, whose house had been located in Periya Omarayiya, an adjoining fishing village, acknowledges the fact that the number of tsunami victims who died would have been more if not for the role played by the military.

As for himself, he has been lucky not to have any of his family members perish in the tsunami. As military spokesman Brigadier Daya Ratnayake explains, the camps that continue to be managed by the military now are fewer as compared to the immediate aftermath of the disaster. He explains that the camps that are in existence now are mainly based in the north and east.

"Although the overall wellbeing of the families in these camps is generally the responsibility of the Divisional and District Secretaries, a significant amount of work is being carried out by military personnel," Brigadier Ratnayake points out.

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