Archive for the ‘Vavuniya’

Unshed Tears

“These are Elephants, Those are Tamils”1 -words from a friend. Baby Elephants- dearly beloved elders were killed before their tender eyes Baby Elephants-arms, legs, teeth shriveled with the pain of the bullet Baby Elephants- loose wrinkled skin hangs off starving, haunted frames Baby Elephants-left over remnants of humanity scraped up from The scorching earth of Vanni Yes, they are Tamil. Baby Elephants-no newspapers flare up for them in bold headlines Baby Elephants-no person steps into the streets to demand their well-being Baby Elephants-no believers in Ahimsa to speak for them, the intellectuals are mute Baby Elephants-no one to beat their chest wailing “aney” “apoi”2 at their fate Yes, they are Tamil. you know that your mothers lie dead. breasts heavy with the swollen pain of hardened milk. you know that your fathers lie dead who stomped the earth trumpeting intensely standing guard. Whom are you the Beloved of now? you know no countrymen will offer poojas to the gods with…

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Bearing Witness: Submit content on IDPs and Police brutality to win a Flip Ultra video camera

Through Bearing Witness, Groundviews seeks to engender critical citizen journalism on two vital issues confronting polity and society in post-war Sri Lanka. The ground conditions in Menik Farm, worsened by recent flooding, are a non-issue for most mainstream print and broadcast media in Sri Lanka. Yet, as this recent report from the UN’s IRIN news service notes, Close to 300,000 people now languish in 30 government camps in Vavuniya, Mannar, Jaffna and Trincomalee districts. Many of the camps – which were hastily erected in the final days of the war after thousands fled south from former LTTE-controlled areas – suffer from severe overcrowding. More than three months since the conflict ended, Zone two of Menik Farm continues to hold close to 55,000 – almost double its planned capacity. In fact, in some parts of Menik Farm, a single latrine caters to up to 80 people [Sphere standards call for 20], while some tents designed for five were accommodating up to 14. There are…

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Status of IDP’s and the ‘Right to Protect’

“Man generally resorts to dialogue, compromise and consensus in resolving human conflicts due to his superior intellect. However, it is not uncommon for man, when under pressure, to submit to his baser instincts of survival by resorting to physical confrontation and warfare despite the attainment of a high level of civilization.” The ‘divide and rule policy’ of the British colonial administration in Sri Lanka covertly took advantage of the country’s ethnic profile to appoint better educated Tamils in key government positions  to act as a buffer against possible sedition by the Sinhalese majority. With the declaration of independence emerged extremist Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism as a response to such discriminatory policy which served as an effective political platform for power hungry Sinhalese politicians. Ever since, the Tamil community has been gradually victimized, marginalized, repressed and regularly subjected to extreme violence by sinhala extremists through pogroms, sometimes state sanctioned, which conveniently served to divert attention from economic mismanagement. Tamil youth who were…

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Sri Lanka: Vanquished Tiger, Roaring Lion

The stakes of life and death, hope and despair, peace and conflict are now higher than they were when the war was declared “over”. The Tiger was declared dead, and the Lion roars. We watched this nation dance to the drum beat of the victor, sing triumphant songs, parade the glory of the forces, rejoice at the restoration of the nation while it ignored the lament of the victim, forgot the dead, and disregarded suffering. While a significant portion of its citizenry grieved, the nation celebrated. We, therefore, expressed but a part of our humanity, and a part of the heart of this Nation. If the nation wishes to forget its festering wounds and ignore a suffering part of its nation – 300000 civilians, men, women and children, the elderly, infirm and dying – languishing in the refugee camps, it probably can. After all, life continues as normal for most of us. It is easy to forget, easy to shut…

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The shame of Menik Farm

The floods that affected significant swathes of the expansive Menik Farm a week ago generated interesting responses from government. One of the most revealing was the deafening silence of the usually loquacious Rajiva Wijesinghe, and the lack of any statement over the flooding by the Disaster Management and Human Rights Minister, Mahinda Samarasinghe. On 22 July, Mahinda Samarasinghe noted during an adjournment debate on IDPs in Parliament that, We are quite definite in our view that conditions on the so-called welfare centres and relief villages can and must be improved. As I have said on numerous occasions, these persons are not a mere statistic to be discussed as an abstract problem. These are Sri Lankan citizens with all the expectations, hopes and dreams of a better tomorrow which has been made possible by the defeat of terrorism. We must not let those aspirations wither away for want of concentrated and concerted effort on our part. He went on to note,…

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Confessions

Stop this struggle He pleads Of his comrades A revolutionary leader Broken in pain In State Custody They set me on the wrong path He blames, pointing to his friends A young rebel in a Lonely rehabilitation camp Dreaming of a quick release. He frets about the cruelty of his Organization on Rupavahini.1 Thinking some good may come of it An old retired warrior Now surrendered into Military Custody. Praising the military loudly He serves sambhar2 into Sinhala plates. A Tamil waiter in Colombo fearing his own Sudden Disappearance. The Sad Truths he brought from a forbidden war zone are untrue He recants to the Rupavahini amidst a circle of Military Weapons. A doctor who treated thousands of wounded. Her daughter was a traitor Disowns a Sinhala mother of her daughter who died of a Sinhala bullet for a Tamil homeland. an elderly agitated voice amongst those celebrating an Ultimate victory. I see the desolation of an Abandoned Cause beneath…

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A first hand perspective of Sri Lanka’s largest IDP camp: Are they really ‘our people’?

This is an interview in English secured by Vikalpa with a Sri Lankan Tamil who had visited his family at the “Ramanathan Transitional Relief Village” in May. His family is amongst 260,000+ other IDPs interned in Menik Camp. In an interview conducted before the recent flooding, the speaker records the inhuman conditions and indignity IDPs have to face in these camps. Pointing to the irony of calling them ‘relief centres’, the speaker notes that with upto 19 persons having to share a single tent, hours of queing for drinking water and to use toilets, what they are in fact are detention centres. “The President of Sri Lanka, Hon. Mahinda Rajapakse says these people are his own citizens, but how they treat these people you can’t believe” the speaker notes at the end. Repost This Article

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Update on Menik Camp flooding: More images and reports from the ground

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After first breaking news on Friday, Groundviews continues to receive disturbing photos on the flooding in Menik Camp after last Friday’s torrential downpour. No journalists have been allowed to visit the IDP camp even after the floods. Key points of situation updates received by Groundviews Groundviews contributor Vidura’s tweets (available here) are one source of information related to the worsening ground conditions in Menik Camp.Though unverified, shared concerns and points in a number of other reports received by Groundviews indicate, People detained in Zones 4 and 5 are facing severe hardship. Some reports suggest they have moved in to common buildings like schools and hospitals and that this has in turn created other problems over over-crowding and sanitation. Roofs of tents have have been blown away by strong winds. As camps are flooded, vehicles have found it difficult to reach the IDPs with help Toilet pits are overflowing and whole areas are stinking. Huge concerns over health and sanitation. For…

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First images: The flooding in Menik Camp and the increasingly dire situation for IDPs

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These are the first images of the flooding in Menik Camp, where over 260,000 IDPs are interned. Groundviews was first to break the news on Friday that flooding on account of torrential rain was severely affecting thousands of IDPs, particularly in Zones 3 and 4 of Menik Camp. While heavy rain has stopped, intermittent showers are continuing, exacerbating the hellish camp conditions as flagged by updates from Vidura today. Severe hardships and challenges on the ground range from toilets that are overflowing to shelters that are under water and a lack of dry firewood for cooking. Vidura, who is witness to the conditions on the ground, goes on to categorically note that the zones cannot survive the monsoon, even with upgrading and preparation. Other reports received by Groundviews suggest that things have improved on the ground compared to yesterday, with sandbanks stopping the inflow of water into some areas. Vidura also reports that the water treatment plant that got damaged is now operational and…

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A critique of Sri Lanka Unites: Freedom has NOT made itself known

“After 25 years, terror, war, and violence have lost their grip, and freedom has finally made itself known” ~ Prashan De Visser, President, Sri Lanka Unites While acknowledging the meritorious work of Sri Lanka Unites and the passion being exhibited by such young people in contrast to the general apathy of most of their peers, as a Sri Lankan I feel it is my duty to bring to note certain issues that must be brought to light. Firstly, I am astounded and dismayed by Prashan De Visser’s message to the participants of the  “Future Leader’s Conference” organized by Sri Lanka Unites. It requires a level of supreme audacity or ignorance to proclaim that “freedom has finally made itself known” when we are currently under the aegis of a tyrannical terror state. Over 300,000 of my fellow citizens are living in sub-human conditions, 18 journalists have been killed under the current regime and Tamil’s are still  treated as second class citizens…

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Barbed Wire

Barbed, by Valimar A little boy stares through barbed wire, wondering which direction his home is. He reaches out to rest his fingers between the rusted knots of wire but his watchful mother calls out to him to be careful. At the same time, a soldier patrolling nearby walks briskly up to him and pushes him back. “Listen to your mother” the soldier tells him not unkindly in shaky Tamil. The boy looks up along yards of camouflage material and searches the soldier’s face. “I want to go home” he says miserably. “I don’t like it here” The soldier’s expression softens. He looks around awkwardly to see if anyone is watching and then quickly bends towards the boy. “I want to go home too” he says softly and pats the boy’s cheek. He straightens and clears his throat. “Go and play” he orders gruffly and strides away, the dark skin of his neck and hands glinting like his gun against…

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Breaking News: IDPs in Zone 3 and 4 in Menik Camp affected by flooding

Reports received by Groundviews this evening indicate that torrential rains in Vavuniya throughout the day have severely affected IDPs interned in Menik Camp, particularly in Zone 3 and Zone 4. Other unconfirmed reports put the number of those affected by the rains at 15,000 at the time of writing. As early as May this year, serious concerns of possible flooding due to poor drainage in Zone 4 of Menik Camp were clearly voiced by humanitarian agencies. There concerns were flagged again in the UN OCHA update on 31 July 2009, available here. Vidura, who has written in to Groundviews previously, offers one perspective of the situation on the ground at the moment through Twitter. See www.twitter.com/apelankawe for updates. Salient tweets until now from Vidura are reproduced below and flag the farcical and extremely dire circumstances on the ground in Menik Camp: the side cladding in some toilets have been removed and made flooring in some sheds….so going to toilet in some…

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Some Reflections on North-East Development in Sri Lanka

(The author is formerly of the Ceylon Civil Service and Retired Senior Professional of the Asian Development Bank.) Recent developments, including the statements made by President Rajapakse and his brother Basil Rajapakse, on the need to return North to normalcy after the horrific civil conflict that brought suffering and dislocation to countless number of civilians, provide opportunities to revisit the past and look at the pre-conflict situation to determine current and future courses of action. In order to do so it is necessary to define priorities in the light of conflicting reports emanating on the ground situation in Wanni and elsewhere. The issue of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPS) Attention has been drawn to the plight of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) living in camps, the conditions of which have been variously described as “poor and sub standard” and “below expectations” both within and outside the country. Obviously a sudden influx of thousands of people from war-torn areas creates difficulties for…

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Heeding the voices of the North

The results of the elections to the Jaffna Municipality and Vavuniya Urban Council are an instructive measure of the distance to be traveled for peace, reconciliation and national unity. In both cases voter turn out was relatively low, though in the case of the Jaffna Municipality not as low as some commentators have made out. This is because the turn out figure has been calculated on the voter registry of some 104,000 electors, when in actual some 41,000 polling cards could not be distributed on account of the absence of voters from the municipality. They have either come south, joined the diaspora or are languishing in camps unaware of the procedures required for the exercise of their franchise or just not interested in doing so. Consequently, the turn out figure of 20% should be doubled and will effectively stand at something like 40% – some 7% lower than in the 2004 election during the ceasefire period when the LTTE got…

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Sri Lanka: The best humanitarian crisis business destination

It will not be long before areas in the north and east will be declared Industrial Zones or BOI areas, opening up opportunities for development. But wait; business is already going on there at full swing! The world’s best Humanitarian niche markets are now available in Sri Lanka and people are rushing in to supply the demand. Of course business could be done both ethically and otherwise. So let us take up the current humanitarian business market. However before I start, one must note the emails and the stories which are also rampant in the society today generalizing and criticizing humanitarian operations. While most of these stories are flights of fancy, this article is not meant to add fuel to that fire, but to present a scathing view of some of the organizations. I must acknowledge that there are few humanitarian agencies that are doing excellent work in different sectors in Sri Lanka. These are probably the organizations that work…

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About Groundviews

Located at the Centre for Policy Alternatives in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Groundviews is a citizen journalism website that uses a range of genres and media to highlight critical perspectives on governance, reconciliation, human rights, the arts and literature, democracy and other issues. The site has won two international awards, including the prestigious Manthan Award South Asia in 2009. The grand jury's evaluation of the site noted, "What no media dares to report, Groundviews publicly exposes. It's a new age media for a new Sri Lanka... Free media at it's very best!"

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