Jaffna fishermen who have returned to the peninsula to be resettled in their coastal village homes say they have not been compensated for losses suffered during the 27-years war between the Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Not only have they not been compensated, they do not have even livelihood essentials, they maintain.
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| Struggle continues for the Jaffna fishermen. |
The government has resettled most of the fisher families that were displaced from their homes in Vadamarachi East, the coastal belt of Mullaitivu, and the Maathakal, Senthangulam and Valithoondal areas of north Jaffna.
All these families have grievances that need to be addressed, S. Thavaratnam, president of the Fishing Federation of Jaffna, told the Sunday Times. “Because these people have come from the Vanni, we cannot expect them to have any fishing equipment for their daily fishing operations.”
When fishing families in other parts of the country suffered from the tsunami disaster of 2004 , non-government organisations (NGOs) rushed to their assistance, Mr. Thavaratnam said, but only two or three NGOs are helping the resettled Jaffna fishermen. These families do not have the basic facilities even to start their fishing way of life, he said. The fishermen families also lack proper housing.
Resettling organisations have put up tiny makeshift homes, better described as sheds, made of stone and a dozen or so sheets of tin for a roof, Mr. Thavaratnam said. “To add to their woes, their inadequate homes are being battered by the strong winds and heavy rains of the North-East monsoon,” he said.
“The government said it would build 50,000 houses for resettled families, but there has been no progress on this promise,” Mr. Thavaratnam said.
Meanwhile, the bad weather has had the unfortunate result of making “refugees” once again of the resettled families, who have had to move out of their homes to seek shelter in temples and schools.
This in turn has led to serious sanitary problems. Toilet facilities are lacking in the shelters. According to Mr. Thavaratnam, the fisher families are not allowed to dig toilet pits, under regulations put in place by the security forces.
Fishermen whose homes were in the vicinity of the Mayiliddy fishing pier have not been allowed to return as the area remains a part of the High Security Zone, Mr. Thavaratnam said.
There has been talk that no families will be resettled within a kilometre of the eastern end of Maathakal. It is understood that land in this area has been earmarked for sale in a deal with a foreign company. Residents of the area held a protest last Thursday to express their objections to the sale.
Mr. Thavaratnam said the Fishing Federation of Jaffna and other fishing groups have discussed the problems facing the fishermen in the North with senior government officials and foreign officials.
He had praise for the Government Agent of Jaffna who, he said, was working hard to sort out the fishermen’s problems.
Explaining the government’s resettlement programme, Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan, Deputy Minister of Resettlement and Rehabilitation, told the Sunday Times that the state was providing free food for resettled families for a period of six months, in addition to giving them free fishing equipment. At the end of the six months, the fishing families will be expected to manage on their own, he said.
The Deputy Minister explained the position regarding the high security zones. “Some of the areas in the high security zone have permanent camps for the security forces, and therefore cannot be used to resettle families. While there is no ban on fishing in the seas there, the residents should know to accept the security arrangements. Those who formerly fished there would be provided alternative areas for fishing purposes.”
A high proportion of the population within the security zones has moved to other parts of the country or migrated to other countries, the Deputy Minister added.
In areas where there are permanent camps for the security forces, former fisher residents will be given 40 perches of land per family to settle. These lands will be distributed in Mannar and Kombavil.
The greater part of the resettlement effort has been completed, and only the housing, which will be put up with the assistance of the Indian government, remains to be done, Deputy Minister Muralitharan said. If the fishing community in the North had other issues, these should be referred to the Ministry of Fisheries, which has drawn up a comprehensive plan for the fisher community’s rehabilitation, he said. |
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