SRI LANKA: Tsunami Victims Worry About War, Not Housing

By Amantha Perera Reprint | | Print |

Amantha Perera

JAFFNA, Mar 16 2006 (IPS) - The famed sand mines of Manalkadhu vanished in a swirl of houses and people when gigantic waves crashed into the village on Dec. 26, 2004.

Fifteen months on, most of the families in this hamlet that depend on fishing and selling construction sand, are still living in makeshift centers set up by the United Nations. At least 210 families live in tented accommodation and, unlike elsewhere on the island, there are no complaints about the long wait for permanent housing. The only fear is renewed hostilities between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels.

The two sides have been observing a Norwegian brokered truce since February 2002, the longest in Sri Lanka&#39s history. In the two months prior to a meeting in January between government representatives and the Tigers in Geneva, the ceasefire was brought to the brink of collapse by renewed violence, especially in the Tamil stronghold of Jaffna.

At least 120 persons, including 80 government services personnel were killed in the violence. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), as the Tigers are officially known, did not claim responsibility for the attacks. Instead a shadowy organisation calling itself the Tamil Resurgence Force (TRF) did. TRF said that it was made up of civilians but the attacks stopped when the Norwegians met the top LTTE leadership and obtained guarantees to get back to the negotiating table.

But the Tigers have continued to provide basic military training to civilians inside areas under their control.

Before the 2002 ceasefire, more than 65,000 people were killed in two decades of fighting, led by the Tigers, for a separate state in the north and east for the country&#39s minority Tamils. The war left 100,000 people displaced out of Jaffna&#39s total population of 600,000, according to the latest estimates by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The combination of warlike conditions and the massive natural disaster has left most victims in Jaffna helpless, according to aid agencies.

&#39&#39Sadly, tsunami victims from this district have already been the victims of an ethnic war that has disrupted their lives to a level beyond imagination. While the war had taken its toll on the people over a period of nearly two decades, the ravages brought on by the tsunami had been instantaneous. Naturally, the people are depressed and frustrated by the fact that they have undergone man-made and natural disasters,&#39&#39 the UNDP said in a report titled &#39People&#39s Consultation on Post-tsunami Relief, Reconstruction and Rehabilitation in Sri Lanka&#39, that was handed over to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse, last week.

More than 60 percent of the post-tsunami reconstruction needs are from the north and east, scene of much of the fighting. As violence increased, relief agencies scaled down reconstruction work. Given the ethnic nature of the conflict, Tamils in the north and east have complained that they have been discriminated against by the government in providing relief.

The UNDP report said victims were not empowered enough to demand equal treatment from authorities and felt marginalised due to the ethnic conflict.

The report, compiled with help from the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka and the Community Extension Center of the University of Colombo over a three month period last year involved discussions were held in 1100 villages in the 13 tsunami affected districts of Sri Lanka.

&#39&#39If the war starts again, that will be a big problem, we can wait for the houses, but war will finish everything,&#39&#39 66 year old fisherman Anthonypillai Joseph told IPS at the Manalkadhu make-shift camp.

The recent violence triggered a massive exodus, with 16,000 fleeing the north east for the relative safety of Tiger- held areas. Even those affected by the tsunami left, according to Joseph.

&#39&#39We took what we could like chairs and utensilsà some of us have come back, but we are still nervous,&#39&#39 said Luth Aruldass who was among those who fled Manalkadhu.

Two of Aruldass&#39 family members were Tiger cadres, killed in earlier fighting. Such families became natural suspects and Aruldass had no choice but to flee to Tiger areas in January.

&#39&#39We spent our time in a school and that was it,&#39&#39 he said. Back in Manalkadhu, he is now waiting for the situation to calm down further.

While he spoke, distant firing of automatic weapons could be heard from soldiers engaged in firing practice. Because Manalkadhu lies close to Tiger-held areas, the military fears that the militants could use the beach for a large-scale attack. &#39&#39They can just come in from the sea, and we have to be careful,&#39&#39 said a soldier guarding the main road.

Security precautions have been increased in the past two months with new bunker lines built and soldiers regularly patrolling the camp area as well. Fishermen are allowed to fish even in deep waters and, last week, the government relaxed fishing bans in some parts of the north.

But camp life has its own problems. According to the UNDP report, the victims need permanent housing urgently. &#39&#39People complain that they are living in hot and uncomfortable conditions. They suffer from illnesses such as cough and sinusitis since moving into these shelters. They also fear that the roofs and walls may not withstand torrential rain.&#39&#39

&#39&#39We don&#39t have any privacy inside the house or outside. We have to use public toilets and 12 houses share one well,&#39&#39 18 year old Rita Anisha said. In her one roomed hut, there were six children and four adults including a grandmother.