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| Sunday, 16 January 2005 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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The situation in Mullaitivu by S. Ganeshan reporting from Mullaitivu
Mullaitivu, the eastern coastal area in the north covered by the Bay of Bengal sea is one of the first places to be hit by Tsunami on December 26. Around three thousand innocent civilians perished instantly when the Tsunami waves from the seas of Bengal hit Mullaitivu. The LTTE controlled Mullaitivu is badly in need of relief assistance both locally and Internationally. Despite the shortcomings it was remarkable to witness the way the LTTE cadres and the volunteers of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation engaged themselves in handling the relief measures. A group of journalists from Lake House had the opportunity of getting a closer look at the relief operations carried out by the LTTE in Mullaitivu last week. The refugee camp put up at the Mulliyavalai Tamil Maha Vidyalaya houses around three thousand refugees of all ages and gender.This camp also remains a nerve centre in coordinating all relief activities in the region. The Mulliyavalai camp is unique in many ways as it is equipped with computers and other machineries required for a big scale relief operation. Under the supervision of the Mullaitivu area leaders of the LTTE, the women cadres operate the computers which provide the necessary details and data of the disaster, such as deaths, wounded, missing and the damage to the buildings. When the journalists asked about the number of refugees sheltered at the camp, a woman cadre who was operating one of the computers came out with a print out which gave in detail the precise number of refugees in the camp and also about the food and medicine provided to them by the volunteers. "We acted fast, within an hour the Tsunami had struck the Mullaitivu coastal areas. The relief operations were worked out with the closure of all main roads heading towards Mullaitivu. The injured civilians were removed from the debris and rushed to the Puthukudiyiruppu hospital with another group of cadres arranging for blood donations," the LTTE's Mullaitivu political chief, Mugunthan said. Vasanthi, the manageress of `Illanthalir', an orphanage created to accommodate the children orphaned by the war, describing on the relief measures says," that the orphanage is situated 150 metres away from the Mullaitivu coast. The age group of children housed at this orphanage range from two to sixteen years of both gender with a total number of 170 children. On the ill-fated day the Tsunami struck Mullaitivu, there were 150 children staying at the orphanage. When the waves first entered the orphanage premises, the matron who was on duty was able to put around twenty children above beds. However the second attack came in couple of minutes pulling rest of the children towards sea. By this time the sea tigers entered the orphanage with great difficulty and managed to rescue the children who were stranded at the orphanage along with the matron. A counselling centre has been set up at the Mulliyavalai refugee camp where medical specialists and volunteers were engaged in counselling the refugees who were in a state of trauma after having lost their beloved ones. A few yards away from the main camp, the Co-operative society building in Mullaitivu has been converted as a store to accommodate the relief goods. Every item taken out from this store and brought in were well measured and their details were fed to the computers. Therefore the distribution is done with utmost precision leaving no room for foul play and wastage. There are twenty three Tsunami refugee camps set up in Mullaitivu with utmost preference for hygienic conditions at every camp. Rubber slippers have been kept at the entrance to the toilets and the refugees have been strictly instructed to wear those slippers whenever they use the toilets. Women and children stay in separate camps, mainly to prevent them from being subjected to any type of abuse. |
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