Narrow escape from Tiger territory

By Hiran Priyankara Jayasinghe

A youth who narrowly escaped death at the hands of the LTTE in Mannar has returned to the refugee camp in Puttalam where he narrated how he made his escape, but grieves that he lost his brother in the process. S. A. Sameer Ferdivus told The Sunday Times that he and his brother were beaten up after they were captured by LTTE cadres and accused of lighting crackers when Thamilselvan was killed.

They were residents of Periyamadu earlier and were ordered by the LTTE to quit their homes in 1990 along with other Muslims. They had been at the refugee camp since then. On November 10 he and his brother, who work for the Rural Development Foundation had strayed into the Mankulam area which is LTTE-controlled territory, to see a doctor friend when they were confronted by armed men. They were questioned by the LTTE who had queried why they lit crackers at Thamilselvan’s death.

According to the youth he had escaped and spent the night on a tree. He described LTTE activity in the jungle where several armed men carrying guns roamed the area. He had sighted a tractor at dawn and the tractor driver had helped him to escape from the jungle but his brother was not lucky and was killed by the LTTE, he said.

On his return he had informed the Cheddikulam police about his brother’s fate. He had returned to the refugee camp after attending to his brother’s burial. He lamented the fate of his brother’s wife and two children who now face a bleak future.