Displaced Tamils face difficulties in B’caloa
January 13th, 2007
By D.B.S. Jeyaraj
The Eastern Tamil majority district of Batticaloa is faced with an unfolding tragedy.The intensifying of hostilities between the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is leading to more deaths, destruction and displacement.The devastation has led to a major humanitarian crisis.
The district in its entirety undergoes difficulties due to war and oppressive measures enacted by the state. There are two segments of the people who are faced with particularly harsh problems. One segment consists of the residents - permanent and temporary - of the Koralaipattru north division in the district. This is under LTTE control.
The other comprises those people who have fled those tiger dominated regions into GOSL controlled territory in other parts of Batticaloa district. These refugees in their own land are classified as Internally Displaced Persons (IDP’s). Together both these segments of people can truly be called the wretched of the Eastern earth.
According to Batticaloa district secretariat figures as of Jan 6th 2007 there are 71, 762 persons from 19, 491 families registered as IDP”s currently. These include people from nineteen Grama Sevakha (GS) divisions in the Trincomalee district as well as from Batticaloa.These IDP’s include many who began moving from August last year into GOSL areas from LTTE controlled areas in Batti and Trinco. Many such people are living independently or with friends and relatives. Some displaced Muslims from Muthur are also here.Tamil IDP’s include those from Koralaipattru and the Tiger controlled areas of Batticaloa west or “Paduvaankarai”.
The major component of these IDP’s however are those who moved into GOSL areas from the Vaakarai - Verugal region from December 12th last year. This massive IDP flow within a month has taxed the civilian administrative infra- structure of the district severely. As of Jan 6th 40, 563 persons from 11,016 families belong to this category. They are housed amid great difficulty in 61 transit camps. 29 of these camps are in schools. 5600 of those in transit camps are school going children.540 are infants.
[Space is shared with a lot internally displaced persons, in Zahira College welfare camp in Thiruchenthur -Batticaloa district - Photo: HA]
Govt officials, volunteer organizations, NGO’s, international agencies and religious institutions struggle to cope with this unfolding humanitarian crisis in GOSL areas of Batticaloa The suffering displaced people however are “relatively” better off than those living in Vaakarai. The slight advantage is that these people have some form of shelter, food, medicine etc. Despite the poor accommodation and sanitary facilities they consider themselves luckier than their kith and kin in Vaakarai because there are no artillery shells or aerial bombs. But there are difficulties cropping up.
In the first place there is some “preferential” treatment caused by political considerations of demography. The overwhelmingly Tamil IDP’s are not to be accommodated or settled in neighbouring Amparai because that district has Muslims and Sinhalese as the majority.The population balance is not to be upset. This mindset was prevalent in Trincomalee some months ago when resentment built up against Muthur Muslim IDP’s being sheltered in “Sinhala” Kantalai. So all Tamil IDP”s have to be catered to within Tamil majority B’caloa.
But again another problem. Relocating the original residents of Vaakarai in other areas of B’ caloa will not be an issue as the overall population of the district would not be affected. But those Trinco district Tamil IDP’s moving out from Vaakarai are from another district. Apart from administrative restraints there is resistance on two counts. One is the reluctance in some Muslim circles towards the Tamil ratio in Batti going up. The other is reluctance in some Tamil circles over the Tamil ratio in Trinco district going further down. So there are efforts to discourage permanent settlement of Trinco Tamils here.
One Government official at the B’caloa Kacheri said “we can easily resettle Vaharai displaced people in semi permanent houses because they are from Batticaloa district and it will not bring about a demographic change of population but with regard to Trinco IDPs it is difficult and they should go back soon. Resettling Trinco IDPs in Batticaloa district will bring about a political problem and Trinco should not lose its Tamils”.
A human rights activist aware of these political undercurrents observed to this column “I feel Trinco IDP’s are intentionally moved to locations that are not livable for long . Why choose a former burial ground in Sathurukondan when Batti has large plots of bare land owned by the government? Given the recent de-merger judgment relocation of Trinco IDP’s is a fragile issue but should these IDPs be indirectly forced to return against their will?”
An immediate problem is the separation of family members. Many families have been split with some elderly and sick members opting to stay on in Vaakarai. The great escape from Vaakarai has broken up family units. Husbands and wives, parents and children , brothers and sisters etc have lost touch with one another. The traditional village unit is fractured. Desperate people seek missing persons desperately. Tracing and connecting the divided is a formidable task.
The IDP’s are being given shelter in areas like Chettipalayam. Kurukkalmadam. Kaluvanchikudi, Kallaru, Aaraiyampathy, Manchathoduvaai, Navatkudah, Kalliyankaadu, Sathurukondaan,Kokkuvil ,Sithandy, Chenkallady, Ervoor, Kiran etc in the Batticaloa littoral. Apart from schools being turned into camps all sorts of places like a Govt food storage facility in Kalliyankaadu to an unused cemetery in Sathurukondaan are being utilised. Some NGO personnel were shocked to find skeletons being dug up and tombstones being flattened at Sathurukondan a site of a horrible civilian massacre by the armed forces in 1990.
“The location of the cemetery that has been cleared to accommodate the Trincomalee IDPs is Sathurukondan Burial ground. They say it has not been use over 10 years. When we visited the site we saw many skeletons being stacked by the side of the tents that have been erected to accommodate these IDPs. We saw them demolishing the grave stones and putting up tents on top of it.” an NGO worker told this writer.
With schools scheduled to re- open Govt officials are prioritising the clearing of schools as IDP camps.”Most of the current shelters being school buildings the Batti Gov. authorities are trying to relocate the IDPs to temporary camps cautiously”. said an education dept officer. The rainy weather is a big hinderance. Lack of adequate sanitary facilities at camps is another hazard. Most IDP’s have brought only a few belongings with them due to the perilous journey.
A major issue of concern is health. A local medical team undertook a two day trip in the first week of January. The team conducted a mobile clinic at the Kalliyankaadu food storage camp and another one at a school in Kokkuvil.The medical team treated 269 patients at Kalliyankaadu and 110 patients in Kokkuvil.
According to a team member “almost 75% of them were affected by Chikungunia fever. Other commonly observed illnesses were influenza, hepatitis, typhoid, and anemia. There were 09 individuals who received injuries during Kathiravali shelling and many inmates of these camp have lost their loved ones during the three day journey they took through the jungles of Vaharai. “.
” Every individual we met had a tragic story and there were many still searching for their missing family members. There were seven kids who did not know the whereabouts of their parents. Kalliankadu food storage camp has 29 pregnant women and most of them have not had access to any check up since their pregnancy. There is an urgent need to accompany pregnant women from different camps for regular check ups. With more than 70,000 IDP’s in 62 camps scattered all over and there is an urgent need for a mobile clinic unit that can visit these camps at least twice a month.” the medical team member suggested to this column.
A huge problem in Batticaloa district at present is Chikungunia. The fever spread from India to Mannar and has now afflicted vast parts of the North - East. It is estimated that about 80% of the districts 580, 000 people have been affected by Chikuguniya or some other viral fever.. A member of a recent fact - finding mission to B’caloa stated thus - ”
” The NGO’s I visited were not functioning fully due to most of its staff being affected by this fever. Batti hospital is full and the staff is over worked. Patients are sleeping on the floors of the corridors. Batti Base Hospital has 700 Beds but over 900 patients have been admitted right now. OPD patient turnout per day is over 600.There is an acute shortage of every category of hospital staff since 70% of the hospital staff too have been infected by Chikungunia and other viral fevers. The Aarayampathy hospital too is full and since it is the year end they have also run out of essential drugs.The massive and rapid influx of IDP’s is aggravating the situation and there is already a fear that the IDP’s have brought in more contagious diseases”.
In the case of Chikungunia the IDP patients are in a pitiful plight due to lack of funds. The mobile clinic members noted thus in a report - ” Usually Chikugniya patients are given Panadole (12 Panadole a week would cost them Rs. 168 ) but according to Batti doctors, they have to recommend in most cases Panadeen or Tramadole since the illness is serious and varies from patient to patient. They also have to recommend Beco or Calcium supplementary since the patients are weak. In most cases a patient has to spend Rs. 350- 500 a week treating this fever.”
Another issue was hygienic drinking water. It is a must that they should drink clean water but in IDP camps they don’t have facilities to boil drinking water.There are many Diarrhoea cases in many camps because of digestion problems. In many of these camps due to bulk cooking the rice, lentils, vegetables and soya meat that are served to IDP’s are undercooked. Given the poor toilet facilities in camps an outbreak of Diarrhoea aggravates hygienic problems.
An important issue confronting IDP’s in B’caloa is that of a very vulnerable category - Children! Many of these children have had no schooling from April last year. With accommodation itself being a problem the opportunities for resumption of studies seems a distant dream currently.They are idling in a state of uncertainty. Some IDP children have been seen begging for food and money in the streets of Batticaloa and other coastal towns.
The biggest fear of parents is that their children would be conscripted. Many fled Vaakarai to avoid that evil at the hands of the LTTE. But now they have the minions of “Col” Karuna trying to do the same. It was only a few weeks ago that the UN Secretary - General’s Special Representative on Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC) Radhika Coomaraswamy expressed satisfaction over guarantees given to her over the telephone by Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan a.k.a Karuna. But members of his outfit known as Tamil Makkal Viduthalaip Puligal (TMVP) continue “recruitment” merrily.
Many Karuna cadres can be seen in the vicinity of IDP camps . They eye these children like hawks hovering in the skies.Perturbed parents respond protectively like fowls tucking chickens under their wing.Compounding the situation further has been the official “inclusion” of the Karuna faction in IDP relief activity.TMVP cadres have now engaged in relief work in some areas with official sanction.
This then is the humanitarian crisis of B’caloa. One segment of people is being targetted deliberately so that it would scatter and disperse. Another segment of displaced people is struggling to find a safe haven elsewhere. The cruel war game of politico - military chess goes on. The people are the pawns.Let us not forget that these pathetic pawns are real , flesh and blood humans undergoing immense suffering in a war that they never wanted or made.
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