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Nature’s
fury buries war-battered refugees In the face of the natural disaster many war-refugees feel that most of the aid is being disbursed among people living along the tsunami-devastated 18 kilometre coastal belt in the north. The war has displaced about 176, 000 people in Jaffna while the tsunami has displaced around 50,000 people, who have also been battered by the long drawn out conflict. Some of the refugees who had not been affected by the tsunami now feel most of the NGOs who were helping them to pick up their lives have turned their attention to rehabilitate the tsunami-affected people. United Nations Development Programme’s Jaffna Field Engineer, Kamalanatha Sarma said before 2003 a person whose house was devastated by the war was granted Rs. 75, 000 which was later increased to Rs. 150, 000 and now they are being promised Rs. 250,000. However most of the refugees complain that they have not been given any shelter and feel that the funds have been diverted to tsunami-affected refugees. In desperation some war refugees in Jaffna ask “Why was my house not washed away by the killer waves?” UNDP’s Shelter Programme for the Internally Displaced war refugees in Jaffna has still not got off the ground as officials say they are still making arrangements with the main foreign funder, the European Union regarding the increased grant for a house from Rs. 150, 000 to Rs. 250, 000. They say they hope to start construction work in August. The plight of the war battered Muslim refugees of Jaffna is no different, with many of them still languishing in refugee camps in Puttalam. In 1990, more than 90,000 Muslim men, women and children, were ordered by the LTTE to quit Jaffna in 24 hours, taking nothing with them except the clothes they were wearing. They have always wanted to go back to their homes in Jaffna, and although the guns have fallen silent they are afraid to return in the absence of any assurance from the LTTE that they will not be driven out again. During the past 20 years there have been many instances of major displacements within the peninsula itself. In 1995, about 500,000 people were displaced by the LTTE when the Tigers planned an attack on the Nawakuri Bridge in Welligamma. People had to walk for more than 20 miles not knowing where they were heading. It was a year that the monsoon rains were very heavy and the people fleeing for their lives had to also wage a battle against the fury of the weather gods.These people still live in welfare centers, or with friends and relations. In March 2000 another major displacement took place in Thenmarachcy where about 70,000 people were displaced due to a military operation. More than 60% of Jaffna's buildings have been damaged in the 20 years of war. The city center has been the worst affected. Limbless statues stand amid the rubble of what was once a charming Dutch colonial seaside town. A sense of the old grandeur can still be felt in the Jaffna University, which remained open throughout the conflict. Behind the Jaffna market, an old woman sits on a tattered mat selling coconuts . Her face is lined with sorrow. She saw both her sons being killed during the fighting. "Nobody wants to go back to those dark days," she said. "But it'll be a long time before life gets back to normal. With the monsoon expected in September, the farmers are preparing their vegetable plots. However they complain that they are not being provided with adequate seeds and fertilizer. They also complain about the water supply and transport which are yet to get back to normal after 20 years of war. Farmers complain that NGOs and politicians are doing little to alleviate their hardships. They say although promises had been made to develop the roads and the transport system little has been done. Some of them also said that government officials say they are unable to provide them with fertiliser subsidy because of LTTE taxes. Farmer also lament that there is no fixed price for their vegetables. Meanwhile UNDP Senior Programme Officer Gnana Sivapathasundaram said they were awaiting funds from the European Union to construct the roads in Jaffna. |
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