A Two - Day Trip to the I.D.P. Camps in Vavuniya and Chettikulam
by Kath Noble
We are constantly told that restrictions on access to IDP camps prove that awful things are happening. If the situation were under control, this hypothesis goes, the Government would allow people to go and see for themselves. So when journalists write unverified stories about disappearances, rapes, starvation, epidemics and more, often encouraged by equally imaginative NGO reports, they are believed.
Few of us trust the Government enough to take its word for the wellbeing of the long suffering people of the Vanni.
I was given permission to travel to Vavuniya last week, and this piece is dedicated to what I saw there. While time in the IDP camps was limited to a couple of days, and I was never very far from the officers who were assigned to escort our party, I believe that it would have been difficult to present a story too different from the truth.
There are more than 280,000 people staying in about 20 locations. These range in size from the Vavuniya schools with 1,000 people to the 70,000 people in Zone 2 of Menik Farm on the road to Mannar.
My first impression on walking into Saivapirakasa Maha Vidyalaya on Wednesday was that there were rather a lot of visitors. I hadn’t even realised that they were allowed. Looking in the book maintained by the lady soldier at the gate, 119 people had been in that day, and more were lined up waiting to enter. She explained that relatives only needed to bring their identity card. Many of the visitors were carrying parcels of food to supplement what was given by the authorities, and it was clear from the smart dress of the majority of the 3,000 residents that clothing and other items had been provided too.
The same was true of all the IDP camps I visited, even places a long way from anywhere. At Menik Farm, we passed a CTB bus that had been laid on to transport people from Vavuniya.
The next thing to strike me was that it would have been quite feasible to take a photograph of the residents looking through barbed wire, but only with a little effort. There were two rolls of about ten metres in length next to the gate, and my crouching down in front of one of them would have attracted a fair crowd to the other side, even though there was no actual barrier between us. A wrong impression could thus easily have been given. I saw where the infamous pictures of barbed wire were taken later, at Menik Farm Zone 0, and learnt that it was the arrival of a dignitary by helicopter that had attracted people to the very edge of the camp, which turns out to be rather large in area. People don’t normally stand anywhere near the barbed wire.
An elderly lady approached as our group entered the compound, to complain that she hadn’t been given any soap or washing powder. Whether this was the case seemed after some discussion unclear, and she didn’t look in the slightest bit dirty. It emerged that she and her husband were both over 65 years of age, and therefore eligible for release, but their nearest relatives lived in Kandy and for some reason couldn’t travel to bring them home. Allowing such people to move to a specified location of their choice would seem to be a reasonable alternative.
We moved on to one of the new sites being established in the countryside between Menik Farm and Vavuniya, called Dharmapura. Our military escort told us that some 15 to 20 locations were being developed, to house the 20,000 people staying in Vavuniya schools and to reduce the numbers in the more crowded zones at Menik Farm. Each family would have more privacy, he said, and there would be space to initiate activities to give the residents something to do.
It was here that I began to appreciate the tremendous contribution of the Army. When the Government started working on the IDP camps in anticipation of the outflow of civilians earlier in the year, the job was given to private contractors, but it either didn’t happen or proceeded at an appallingly slow pace. By contrast, the Army is able to clear land and put up shelters in just over a week. When the massive influx of civilians arrived in May, they worked for several days without sleep to get the job done.
By the time I came home, I was convinced that complaints from the United Nations about militarisation of the IDP camps had been counterproductive, because the Army seemed to be the most efficient and dedicated of the agencies involved. Our escort had been in the thick of the battle in Putumatalam, but days later was assigned to the IDP camps. Nevertheless, there were no signs of tension with the residents. People interacted quite naturally with the Army, even small children.
We saw the benefits of these new sites at Weerapuram on Thursday, where some 6,000 residents had moved in from a number of Vavuniya schools two weeks previously. Although the location was dusty, the advantage of having more space was being demonstrated as our vehicle drew up by a group of boys playing volleyball. If the Government implements its plan to give residents seeds to plant homegardens, the conditions would become quite reasonable.
The Army’s efficiency was in evidence again. They had built a covered area by the entrance so that visitors wouldn’t be exposed to the elements while they waited to enter, but the agencies responsible for putting up identical structures to serve as classrooms hadn’t started work, so the tables and chairs provided by the Government lay in a pile by the road. Meanwhile, the officer in charge had decided that lessons had better start, allocating spare tents for the purpose.
I understood some of the concerns about unlimited access too. Having wandered off from the group, a small crowd gathered around me and a retired teacher of English and Sinhala from Kilinochchi was brought out to speak. In a deeply conspiratorial tone, she explained that their children had been taken away from them and many lakhs of people had been killed. Not being fresh off the plane from England, I knew that this was untrue, also because I had met quite a number of their children at the centres for LTTE cadres, but people who come looking for horror stories would leap on such quotes with glee.
Having lots of outsiders running around probably isn’t a very good idea in any case. After the tsunami, hoards of journalists and aid workers descended on the survivors, quickly instilling in them a victim mentality that has proven difficult to shake. Far better that people be allowed to get on with their lives, as much as possible without observation or interference.
There is another lesson from the tsunami that could be usefully applied here too. Chandrika Kumaratunga handed over responsibility for the relief and reconstruction work to a group of completely unaccountable business leaders, TAFREN, whose understanding of and commitment to the interests of the affected people was almost zero. Whether as a result or otherwise, clear plans for their recovery took a long time to emerge and even longer to be put into effect. Indeed, we are still reading stories of tsunami projects being completed, four and a half years after the event. While nothing of the sort has been done by Mahinda Rajapaksa, one way of ensuring that the situation in the IDP camps improves as far and as quickly as possible, and that the resettlement moves forward as it should, would be to give political leadership to people with a stake in the future of the residents. Tamil politicians who are already canvassing for votes have an incentive to do their best.
I saw what the Government can do when it really tries in Menik Farm Zone 0, starting with the piece of cake and ice cold drink that we were given on arrival. Work started there at the end of November, and the results are impressive.
Each family has their own semi-permanent house, appropriate for the climate. Homegardens with banana trees, pineapple plants and a whole collection of leaves that I couldn’t recognise are set out in front, while sufficient numbers of decent toilets are to be found nearby. Toddlers in blue uniforms are taught or at least entertained by ladies in carefully pressed pink sarees in the preschool. There is a play area with swings and a slide alongside. Beyond that are the post office, bank, shop and telecommunications centre. Older children get their lessons too, including several hundred A Level candidates. There is even a vocational training school, where some of the 20,000 residents are offered courses in woodwork, dressmaking, motor mechanics and computing.
People here don’t bother to approach visitors. However, when the officer accompanying me asked at the queue for the telephone if anybody could speak Sinhala, a middle-aged man from near Mullaitivu stepped forward. Having started to talk, it emerged that his English was better than my Sinhala, although he was a farmer, so we switched. He had been in the IDP camp for several months and was clearly unhappy, although he stressed that the facilities were acceptable. With a somewhat resigned look on his face, he shrugged, saying that he had nothing to do.
This should worry those who believe that these people need to be held until the last cadre is flushed out. In Menik Farm Zone 0, the residents are quite comfortable, they have opportunities for education, facilities for games and other social activities, and they can even go to other zones to work as labourers, for which they are paid. Yet they feel their confinement intensely.
I’m not sure that I see the point in this strategy any longer, although I must admit that I don’t have the expertise in security matters to make a proper judgement. All the LTTE leaders are dead, some 9,500 cadres have surrendered or been identified by the Army and are in rehabilitation centres. Meanwhile, it is rumoured that people with money have been able to buy their way out of the IDP camps. If there were any chance that this is true, compelling 280,000 people to stay on in Vavuniya would be mad. The last cadre is probably already here amongst us in any case, with his or her arms cache intact.
The Government will face a number of difficulties in trying to provide the same facilities to all the IDP camps, not least the United Nations and its obsession with basic standards. Wanting to discourage the authorities from keeping people for good is perfectly reasonable, but this is obviously not the intention. Even if the Government abandoned its policy of detention, there would still be people in need of a place to live while their villages were being demined and homes reconstructed. A fair number would probably stay on in the IDP camps. So working to minimum needs can only cause unnecessary suffering. I find it morally outrageous too, seeing as United Nations personnel do not work for basic salaries.
Zone 2 at Menik Farm is as bad as things get, with 70,000 people. Although the situation is considerably better than similar camps in other countries, and indeed better than slums here, it is not good enough for us to sit back and relax.
White tents are to be seen in what appear to be endless rows in every direction. There are toilets and bathing areas, but not of the kind of quality that ought to be possible with the money available. A middle-aged lady from Bandarawela, whose family has been compelled to move numerous times over the decades, pointed out some of the difficulties. While much of the garbage that had accumulated in the first weeks after their arrival has been cleared up, some remains. Many people have been able to start their own cooking, but not all. There are very few areas in which the residents can gather, other than on a patch of dirt with the sun beating down on them, let alone places suitable to hold lessons for children.
Nevertheless, life goes on. A group of kids was playing cricket as we passed through. Several residents have turned the front of their tents into shops, selling bits and pieces to their neighbours. We saw one lady busy with a sewing machine. These people coped in much worse conditions in the Vanni, and that’s without considering the dangers of the conflict. Even if facilities don’t improve, they are better off than they were a couple of months ago.
The stories of disappearances, rapes, starvation and epidemics are clearly propaganda. I know that now, and I am glad that I had the chance to see for myself. The Government deserves a lot more credit for its work than it has been given. The situation is in hand, at least for the moment. Readers may not like to take my word for it either, but there are plenty of others working on the ground on a daily basis. The people that I spoke to didn’t have anything different to say, and it is up to the Government to make sure that none of us have any reason to change our minds in the weeks to come.
(Kath Noble is a freelance journalist based in Colombo.)
26 Comments
Freedom is what these people aspire most of all not the charity of the GOSL nor the collective punishment for being born in Vanni.
LET MY PEOPLE GO...
Kath Noble expects every one to believe her story!! Going by the track record of the present government it is difficult to believe this story. This is like getting the children all dressed up and made to garland Ban ki Moon and sing for him when he visited the camps. They may have brought the children in uniform from some school from somehere and put up a show!! Kath Noble expects the readers to think others are all telling lies about the condition in the camps. How can anyone trust a Government which cannot even have law and order in Colombo? So many Tamils were killed in brad daylight and the Government did not even bother to investigate and punish the culprits!! So many Tamils held in prison for years without any charges!! People are arrested without any charges and then charges are "invented" later to keep in them in custody. Sri Lankan army is famous for their human rights violoations!! Remember the army sent to Haiti came back in shame with charges of rape!!How can anyone expect them to change into "gentle souls" overnight? The army is given the green light to do anything to the Tamils!! They know very well that they will not be charged.
Jaffna which was "liberated" more than 10 years ago is like and open prison!! Batticaloa which they claim was liberated is under the armed paramilitary. Abduction, murder for ransom, vote rigging, robbery are endemic there!!In short Sri Lanka is a failed state!!
Regarding Menik Farm Zone 0, if everything is as good as you describe, how come no photographs are permitted?
How many camps did you visit? What was the process by which you were selected for the tour? Did you have to submit copies of your previous work? Did you have to clear your copy with the government/army before publishing?
Also, why don't you don't believe the story of the retired teacher who told you that their children had been taken from them and that many lakhs had been killed? You say you saw their children in an LTTE cadres' centre. How did you establish that these were the missing children that you saw? Had this woman been informed that these children were safe? Could you tell us about the conditions at the LTTE cadres' centre?
You refer to the UN's "obsession with basic standards". Do you think these people do not deserve such basic standards? You said you had not just stepped off the plane from UK, so I will assume you are British. If these camps held British white people, would you still be as satisfied with the situation as you appear to be here? What if they held your white grandmother or your parents?
It is certainly comforting to hear that GOSL and its armed forces are doing a wonderful job in providing all basic amenities for the 280,000 IDP. BUT it is analogous to keeping the parrot within a golden cage with the fruits and vegetable while keeping the door of the cage shut. These IDP are Sri Lankan citizens who have the fundamental rights to go to their villages, to join their relatives or to go to any parts of the country of their choice.
By keeping them in the camp until the last LTTE cadre is flushed out, is a crime against humanity and some form of terrorism. By doing so MR Government is further alienating the Tamil people from any future reconciliation.
this article clearly shows brought to Sri Lanka by the government for its own propaganda!
Sing Hosanna, Ms Noble, to the King....
You will be surely rewarded.
Observation and inference! This journalist has a lot to learn. There is a lot of chicken pox in camps, I know for sure. The kids with infection stay inside the tents, those with no pox run around playing cricket. You observe the cricket players and conclude there isn't any chicken pox.
"I didn't notice it, therefore it can't exist". Is this what they teach in journalism courses at universities these days?
This writing is absolute drivel. You are trivializing the trauma these people have endured and claiming that they're trying to play victims and sensationalizing their stories. How can lives simply go back to normal months after a massacre has gone on? There is no talk of the emotional and mental trauma that these people have endured. Working to get minimum needs to every camp is a waste of time? And the army must be allowed to work without observers and without intervention? Where was this talk when aid monies poured in from around the world during the tsunami? Was that not intervention? Give the foreign countries their money back and then tell them to butt out of Sri Lanka's affairs. If conditions were as good as you claim in these camps, the government would not hesitate to show off what it has accomplished as its history tells. Do not glorify these killers. The army is not benevolent or noble. Independent unbiased media such as Channel 4 have reported the exact opposite of this biased, government backed fairy-tale that's been reported here. Get you head out from Mahinda's ass and start acting like a real journalist. You are a shame to your profession.
What a Comedian !!!!!!!!!!!
I like to read a some what positive article after a long time. I know government has given the priority to uplift and care for the IDPs. We all hope that these unfortunate people will be able to go where ever they wish and settle down as families.
We should thrive to achieve this soon. As no point of wasting too much of time and energy for temporary shelters if they can get back to thier original homes soon.
It truely a miracle that the conflict did end at the end and now there's no shelling or gunfire anymore.
I too agree with the writer that army is more sufficient in resettling and building than pvt. contractors.
Lets not forget these people like we did forget the tsunami victims after 6 months or so. Keep reporting until they are given the freedom of choice to live where they want.
Why don't they allow the people who have been already screened to go out and live with relatives? They could screen in some orderly fashion from village to village or something like that, so that they can be settled in those villages. Like wise they they can demine the villages also one by one.
Sri Lanka is keeping these people like a "business" so that they can make money by showing the IDPs and get money. Some of this money will go towards other needs as the govt. is broke. Ministers and their friends will pocket some of the money. This is how the country is run. Those people who are from the areas like, Jaffna, Mannar and Trincomale and who has people to look after, can be released. This will ease the congestion. But Sri Lanka has sinister plans of "physical and mental GENOCIDE". If and when these people come out of these camps, they will be "broken physically, mentally and culturally"
When information is limited due to lack of access,imaginations runs wild.I for one is not interested in knowing who is right or who is wrong. Happy to hear things are not as bad as some reports pointed out.
One fact bothers me.Holding people against their will which by definition is incarceration.When their free movement is restricted the definition become complete.
Hope GoSL will speed up the process of screening and let most if not all have freedom of movement.
If some one choose to live in IDP camp because of lack of family or provision, that is their choice.
Same is true if some one chooses to live amid land mines once they are made aware of the mines.
If SL military can provide facilities faster and efficiently so be it. It would be their contribution towards peace efforts and a valuable one too.Also the men and women in uniform are paid so their labor is already paid for.
In my opinion when any one who served in disaster relief and mass camps become better individual.When we see the sufferings of others we get to appreciate each other better.
Obviously, this author was given a guided tour of some IDP camps. By her own admission, she was never very far away from army escorts. It is pertinent to ask WHY she was never allowed to speak freely to the camp inmates. In which sort of flourishing environment are human beings not allowed to speak freely? This is the first point.
The second is the conditions of the camps. Nobody, I repeat nobody, wants to live in a tiny one-room metal tarpaulin structure... before this there were the UN-supplied tents which are even worse. These structures are missing the obvious amenities of modern homes, not least of all multiple rooms: kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, etc. Furthermore, these one room shacks lack any internal water supply, and they are built on top of pure dirt. Thus they are fully exposed to the elements. I already mentioned how these shacks lack any any internal water piping/latrine facilities. Therefore people have to stand in line to get water,use the bathroom, and bathe. What a waste of time! And how uncomfortable, given the scorching heat. This is something that we normal people, including the author, take for granted... if anyone made us stand in line for such basic amenities, we would protest loud and clear. These IDP camp inmates cannot protest because they are at the mercy of a gun. Even in prisons the inmates do not have to stand in line to use the bathroom. What is ridiculous is that the author goes on to state - without consensus from any IDP of course - that given a choice, many inmates will choose to remain in the misery of barbed-wire dirt camps, rather than return to the lush surroundings of their natural homes.
The author does her best to downplay reports of disappearances. She assumes that because there are large numbers of visitors in the "waiting area", because there is a "vocational school", and because the Government plans to hand out seeds for people to grow in the tiny patch of dirt adjacent to their densely congested metal shack dwellings, that human rights violations are somehow not possible. When one inmate stuns the author out of her daydream by stating the obvious - that youth HAVE been taken away and many other people killed - the author dismisses such a claim on the basis of a "high conspiratorial tone." At least one can understand why this author is a freelance journalist based in Colombo and not elsewhere. Given her obvious investigative talents, no foreign news agency with an ounce of sanity would employ her. If the author assumes that people's children are alive and well, she should give a reason why no publicly available database exists to verify their whereabouts.
The last point I want to make about the authors unfortunate work of horror is the lack of pictures. The fact of the matter is, she cannot back up her utopian vision with any visual evidence. Long lines of people waiting for food and water, youth standing around idly, the sun blazing down on the red dirt and metal shacks (how scenic)... the congestion of the dwellings.... soldiers everywhere with loaded guns......and of course, the infamous barbed wire. Just one picture would easily qualify the article to be in the bottom of the rubbish heap, which is really the only distinction it merits.
Dinesh Gopalapillai,
Have you seen the refugee camps for srilankan tamils in Tamilnadu, India? In many camps there are no toilet facilities at all! In places where they have the facility it is woefully inadequate. And these camps are guarded by the TN state police. The inmates cannot legally get driver's license despite staying in TN for more than ten years. This prevents them from being legally employed as drivers. Also, they can't own motorcycles. They cannot be legally employed in many sectors. They can do only menial jobs. They should return to the camps by 6pm every day. If anybody goes missing the family members will be subjected to humiliating interrogation by the police. All this is happening in a place where they are supposed to be taking refuge on their own will. Given this, I wouldn't say the GOSL's treatment of these IDPs is horrible. It's not up to standard. That's all.
These IDPs have been living alongside minefields for many years knowing how to be careful in avoiding them.Many mine field removal workers employed by INGOs have been killed by unknown persons,suspected to be armymen or paramilitaries.
There is absolutely no reason to hold the IDPs in these Horror Camps any longer.Even the supreme court's directive made last year to resettle those evicted by the 'high security zones' has not been implemented.This is persecution of these unfortunate persons. There is also the fear that they will divulge the truth of what actually happened in the last weeks of the war to national and international media.This is why international visiters are taken on carefully guided tours and prevented from speaking with the civilians in private.
This is the DharmaRajya ! ! !
I cannot understand the reason why Arun is comparing the refugee camps in India and the concentration camps in Sri lanka. First of all these people are citizens of Sri Lankan and it is the responsibility of the Government to protect its citizens. These people are made refugees by the same government which is duty bound to protect them!! The refugees went to India, because of the atrocities perpetrated against them by the Sri Lankan Government. At least they are allowed to go out in India. They are allowed to talk to anyone. They are not raped or killed in India.India has no obligation to accept them. It is no consolation for the refugees to campare Indian camps!! Further more they have their own houses and farms and whatever livelihood they were accustomed to before they were MADE paupers DELIBERATELY by the Government!! This is part of the GENOCIDAL policy of the government!!
Arun should try to put himself in the the suffering refugees shoes!!
Dear Noble,
OK we beleive your STORY...... why not make a TRIP to http://dbsjeyaraj.com/dbsj/archives/841
After reading upto comment 16 , just thinkign how many of these commenters have realy visited these camps.. but many are commenting out of rage and emotion than knowing the true facts on the ground . Mostly by reading articles in the media and internet blogs.
Don't pass judgements without knowing true facts. If some one had visited the camps and had seen and witnessed to what is going on, he / she is free to comment on his /her opinion. So this is Kath Noble's opinion take it or leave it don't sling mud at her.
"I understood some of the concerns about unlimited access too. Having wandered off from the group, a small crowd gathered around me and a retired teacher of English and Sinhala from Kilinochchi was brought out to speak. In a deeply conspiratorial tone, SHE EXPLAINED THAT THEIR CHILDREN HAD BEEN TAKEN AWAY FROM THEM AND MANY LAKHS OF PEOPLE HAD BEEN KILLED. NOT BEING FRESH OFF THE PLANE FROM ENGLAND, I KNEW THIS WAS UNTRUE, also because I had met quite a number of their children at the centres for LTTE cadres, BUT PEOPLE WHO COME LOOKING FOR HORROR STORIES WOULD LEAP ONTO SUCH QUOTES WITH GLEE."
" I SAW WHAT THE GOVERNMENT CAN DO WHEN IT REALLY TRIES in Menik Farm Zone 0, STARTING WITH THE PIECE OF CAKE AND ICE COLD DRINK THAT WE WERE GIVEN ON ARRIVAL. Work started there at the end of November, and the THE RESULTS ARE IMPRESSIVE."
"THE STORIES OF DISAPPEARANCES, RAPE, STARVATION AND EPIDEMICS ARE CLEARLY PROPAGANDA. I KNOW THAT NOW, AND I AM GLAD THAT I HAD THE CHANCE TO SEE FOR MYSELF. THE GOVERNMENT DESERVES A LOT MORE CREDIT FOR ITS WORK THAN IT HAS BEEN GIVEN. The situation is in hand, at least for the moment. READERS MAY NOT LIKE TO TAKE MY WORD FOR IT EITHER, BUT THERE ARE PLENTY OF OTHERS WORKING ON THE GROUND ON A DAILY BASIS. THE PEOPLE THAT I SPOKE TO DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING DIFFERENT TO SAY"
is this stuff (the above) for real??? does not the amateurish tone of the piece make you chuckle???
PEOPLE…who is "Kath Noble???" Is this Oxford trained mathematician really who "she' claims to be???
See - http://www.island.lk/2008/06/01/features6.html
An examination of all 'her' previous articles including this one serve only to raise suspicions, the writing is so pathetically stylised that it is hard to discern anything but blatant childlike propaganda. It is i think, no coincidence, that Kath Noble is a 'freelance' journalist - i.e. she is not affiliated to any professional, internationally recognised newspaper house or any other respectable journalistic enterprise (the "The Island", fails on most counts, to fall into this category). it is additionally to be noted that NONE of the "VARIOUS organisations campaigning on issues of global governance both in Sri Lanka and elsewhere in South Asia, Africa and Europe" which she claims to have worked for, are mentioned by name.
Perhaps, incredible as it may seem, it is the case, that the quality of the journalism/research evidenced in this and in other previous pieces have been deemed by internationally respected institutions simply not upto scratch. might it be the case that the ONLY place where this quality of journalism receives press is Sri Lanka, a columnist for the Island - coincidence? Shurely shome mishtake!
So again the questions must be posed, who is "Kath Noble", who is 'she' writing for, or who is writing FOR 'her'???
1) An extremely stupid person possibly verging on mental illness/learning disabilities OR simply a piss poor journalist?
2 An idiotic singhalese propagandist working for the Sri Lankan government utilising all the brain cells at his/her command?
3) Actually the ardent anti-imperialist British girl she claims to be…who somehow has fallen in love with the Sri Lankan state? (or a Singhalese, perhaps Dayan Jayatilleke!, and is now blinded to all else?)
OR
4) Some combination of all of the above?
the oxford english dictionary definition of "noble";
1 belonging to the aristocracy. 2 having fine personal qualities or high moral principles. 3 imposing; magnificent.
"Kath Noble", whoever you are, what you do is not noble. Your articles (which also betray the basic principles of good journalism - "speaking truth to power") display an absolute absence of "high moral principles". really it is best that you cease from spreading falsehoods, shut up shop and simply go away. [remember there are many eyes watching and recording YOU, and others like you, understand this, neither history nor the law will be generous to you…]
Walking around the camps after having a piece of cake and iced drink, thereafter speaking to one person, the writer comes to a host of conclusions regarding the veracity of reports and the well being of the refugees.According to the writer it is OK to hold people behind barbed wire as long as they dont come too close to the boundaries.
Also they are being looked after rather efficiently by the army. So perhaps we should hand over the entire government to the army. I tend to agree that this may be a better option than being governed by a set of corrupt politicians. The army will probably do a better job governing this country than this bunch of thugs and thieves.
Also 119 people were allowed to meet a few of the 50,000 people held in that particular camp for the day. The refugees had the privilege of wearing clean clothes. So every thing must be tickety boo.
Really it is rather difficult to understand this warped reasoning other than that to come to the conclusion that the writer does not care much for the rights of people and does not want to displease our political masters.
I simply love the UTTER DENIAL of these comments...once again showing us that these Tamils who sit and Pontificate from 12000 Miles away only BELIEVE WHAT THEY WANT TO BELIEVE... Here is an article that basically disproves the HORROR STORIES being cycled in the TAMIL TABLOID TRASH PROPAGANDA websites to try and keep pushing the EELAM AGENDA because it shows a credible and Factual picture of life in the camps. I concur with the author that these Camps are No 5 STAR Luxury Resorts, and life is not easy for sure... After all I have visited the Camps in the East in 2007 and they were squalid and makeshift and not many IDPs (Sinhalese, Tamils or the Muslims) had anything positive to say about the camps. Still those people are back in their homes 6 months to a year later and there is no chorus of condemnation for them by the Tamil Diaspora.
People Like Gopalapillai and Nandasena will continue to Spin the Impression of the SINISTER EVIL SINHALESE and their "GENOCIDAL INTENT" ...right up to the point that the Camps will cease to be, and everyone is finally resettled... so I guess I will have to listen to their PARROTING of REDUCTIO AD HITLERUM about the Government for at least another 6 months to a year from now... (oh well, I will buy the popcorn)
All stories have two sides.
You storey is obviously one extreem end of the spectrum. Truth is somewhere to the middle.
Congratulating the army for providing tents to the innocent civilians after distroying their towns and villages in the final stages of asymetrical warfare is over the top.
Let us forget for the moment Kath Noble's commitmment to sing for her supper(of course she does this with great skill and journalistic virtousity)|
SHE HOWEVER MISSES THE POINT ENTIRELY:LET US ADMIT ACCEPT HER POSITION THAT THE CAMPS ARE NOT AS BAD AS HAS BEEN CLAIMED, FOR ARGUMENTS SAKE,BUT THE QUESTION IS WHY ARE THESE TAMILS IN THE CAMPS IN THE FIRST PLACE?WHY SHOULD THEY BE THERE TILL THE END OF THE YEAR?WHY DON'T YOU ADVICE YOUR SPONSORS TO SEND THEM HOME TOMORROW AND EARN NOT ONLY THEIR GOODWILL BUT OF THE INTERNATIONAL CUMMUNITY AS WELL?
Rajan Karalasingham
N.Ram of Hindu visits tamil camps
( earlier, N.Ram had called chinese invasion of Tibet as beneficial to the Tibetans )
--
Visiting the Vavuniya IDP camps: an uplifting experience
N. Ram
The photographs by Thilak Bandara – taken during our visit on July 1, 2009 to some of the Zone 1 IDP camps on the outskirts of Vavuniya town in Sri Lanka’s mainland North – speak for themselves. They are testimony to the Sri Lankan government’s efforts, with international assistance, to care for a brave and resilient Tamil community, which will be resettled and rehabilitated in the next few months through an ambitious programme.
Colombo: The last phase of Sri Lanka’s low-intensity military conflict saw the elimination of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam as a military force. It simultaneously witnessed a poignant human drama in which some 300,000 Tamil civilians were rescued by force of arms from a terrorist organisation that, claiming to fight for their freedom, had no compunction in using them as a human shield.
Most of these internally displaced Sri Lankans are now housed and cared for by the government in transitional relief camps located in five demarcated zones of the 1500-acre Menik Farm on the outskirts of the town of Vavuniya in the mainland North. International concern has been expressed over the present condition and the future of these Tamil civilians, who include a large number of children, women, and senior citizens.
Following a three-hour conversation, including a recorded interview, with President Mahinda Rajapaksa at ‘Temple Trees’ in Colombo, I had, at his suggestion and thanks to the helicopter and other facilities provided by the Defence Ministry, the opportunity of seeing for myself how the Tamil IDPs were being sheltered and cared for in the camps. It was an uplifting experience, which is reflected in some measure in the photographs by Thilak Bandara published on this page. The sight of tens of schoolchildren returning from makeshift schools and of the distribution by the Controller of Examinations and his team of preparatory material for the A-level exams, which will be taken in a month, was special.
What became clear during the visit to Anandakumaraswamy Village in Zone 1, through glimpses of other camps in the vast IDP relief complex, and in conversations in Tamil with some of the displaced people was this. Conditions in these camps are much better than what has been depicted, mostly second-hand, that is, without visiting the camps, in western media reports. Moreover, they are visibly better than conditions in Sri Lankan refugee camps in India, which are still mostly inaccessible to journalists, researchers, and other outsiders. Basic needs, including education for the schoolchildren and vocational training for older boys and girls, are being met by the Sri Lankan government with assistance from the United Nations, a number of countries, including India, and more than 50 INGOs.
Hearteningly, the best hospital in the Menik Farm IDP relief complex is the one staffed and provisioned by the Indian Medical Team with its eight doctors, four nurses, and overall strength of 60, including senior and junior paramedics. After this highly skilled and dedicated medical team, led by Dr. K. Vasantha Kumar, moved to Settikulam from Pulmodai (in the East) in March, it has treated close to 13,000 Tamil civilians and performed several surgical operations.
In his interview, which will be published in The Hindu on Monday, President Rajapaksa claimed, without exaggeration, that “the condition in the camps is the best any country has.” He admitted some “shortcomings,” chief among them being a lack of “freedom of movement.” But he also emphasised his responsibility for the security of his people and pointed to the need to speed up the work of de-mining in the heavily mined Wanni, which needed to be certified by the U.N. He reiterated his personal commitment to resettle all the Tamil civilians speedily.
The Sri Lankan government is now confident that the President’s 180-day resettlement plan can be implemented. This confidence would have been boosted by the unexpected success of the first meeting of the All Parties Committee for Development and Reconciliation, in which all parties, including the Tamil National Alliance, promised cooperation and support to the project of reconciliation and development in the North.
Kath Noble is an enigma wrapped in mystery. Why is she here, what is her source of income, who is she working for? In an environment where neutral local journalists live in fear but continue to be critical Kath sings the praises of MR and the administration. This is a typical article where she tries to white-wash the Govt that holds nearly 300,000 civilians in virtual Concentration camps. It is surprising in her forays into these camps she has not run into any Tamils in tears, complaining of the terrible crime they have been thrust into. She only sees giggling girls preparing vast quantities of rice, peeling potatoes and boys – former LTTers – playing cricket with the soldiers. One can understand Sri Lanka getting into this rut but England (I presume she is British) that we looked upon for so long as the source of much good and the culture of decency coming to this level of sycophancy is truly sad. Che Guevera used to see a young woman (Tania??) among his guerilla fighters and he often wondered what she was doing there, who see works for etc He even wrote a poem about this mystery woman. When Che was caught by the Bolivian forces with inside information from the CIA fingers were pointed at her. She has vanished by then. Strange theatres breed strange creatures.
ISS
Kath Noble, bought by Sl government with the blood of Tamils.
Who on earth is she?! My auntie is caught in the Vavuniya camp as well as my uncle. Through rare telephone access my uncle phoned to tell us that he hasn't received food for three days or any other sanitary items. I hate people like Kath Noble trying to hide the unbearable truth.
The flooding is really bad with people having to live in pee and poo. And she tells me that everybody looks clean?!
Kath Noble are you blind or something? It's people like you who are in the way of freeing our people of genocide. But beware we will get TAMIL EELAM!!!!!!!!!!
TAMIL EELAM FOR EVER AND EVER! Thamilarin thaham thamileela thayaham.