First anniversary of the Eastern Liberation:

East like phoenix rises from ashes

Shanika Sriyananda reporting from Mavil Aru

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Snarling through the newly built bund, the dust and heat greet us showing the signs of the rustic life of an area always burdened with hardships.With no mercy, the sun bakes the ‘soil as well as the skin’.

The embarkment built with fresh red soil to prevent flooding which in undates the entire area with more than 15 feet under water. The sluice gates was the landmark of a humanitarian mission to liberate the fertile Eastern province, where thousands of Tamils were held as human shields, from the paws of the LTTE.

Mavil Aru

Despite the scorching sun the tractor drivers and labourers were busy levelling new bund, a stretch of over three kilometres, happy with the Ministry of Nation Building for giving them job opportunities.

“This is the first time that we have cultivated large acreage of paddy lands after liberation of the East. The LTTE terrorists while holding the Mavil Aru anicut, some farmers were chased away and some were killed. We abandoned these lands until the military captured and restored peace”, says H.M. Tikiri Banda, a paddy farmer in Mavil Aru since 1978.

With the closure of the Mavil Aru anicut by the LTTE depriving them of water for over 30,000 people on July 22 in 2006, the security forces launched the ‘Operation Watershed’ to gain control of the Mavil Aru, which supplies water for all three communities. The military mission successfully come to an end on last August 11.

Expecting a bumper harvest this time he says that there is no other better fertile soil than Mavil Aru where there is no need of chemical fertilizers to boost the yield.

The security is fully strengthened by the security forces in Mavil Aru and over 300 families in Medagama, Kalara ran to Kantale for life as the LTTE closed the Mavil Aru anicut denying their rights for water. Living in welfare centres in Kanthale for months they have now returned to their homes.

The young and the old have now started life afresh. According to statistics there were over 17,410 hectares of paddy lands in Mavil Aru in 1990s, but now after liberation it has increased to over 30,000 hectares.

H.M. Tikiri Banda

Ratnasingham

A sense of freedom and happiness has been written on their faces. The agony and the painful memories of an era under the LTTE control, where the innocent farmers were abducted and killed, is fading off.

“With the closure of Mavil Aru we did not have water to drink. We were forced to abandon our main livelihood, the agriculture and as the terrorist threats increased, we fled to Kantale with our children and old parents. “We were totally helpless without water”, recalls G. Kanthi (42), a mother of three children.

Thanking the security forces for liberating them while sacrificing their own lives, the villagers in Medagama say that they are happy as they can now freely move around in Tamil villages. Seventy five-year-old D.M. Tennekoon and T.D. Wijeratne (62) from Sirimangalapura say that they lack job opportunities and meet their daily expenses by doing odd jobs. “But they are happy, because today we live without fear”, they claimed.

After several years the temple bell now rings bringing peace of mind to many Buddhist villagers, whose lives were always under threat. The daily religious rituals in temples as well as in kovils bears testimony to the fact that life in Mavil Aru has returned to normal. People of Mavil Aru now are counting their days to collect a bumper harvest in coming September.

Vakarai

We are crossing the infamous Panichchankerni Bridge, which was the final push to capture Vakarai. In its long march to free the people of the East, the security forces from Mavil Aru stepped into the LTTE stronghold Vakarai, destroying LTTE Leader Prabhakaran’s dream of making Trincomalee, the capital of Eelam.

Today Panichchankerni bridge stands tall after reconstruction with more strong iron bars around. The security forces in its five months long battle captured Vakarai on January 19, 2007 freeing over 30,000 civilians from starvation.

Over 10,000 people who were denied basic needs and used as human shields, fled the Tiger controlled areas as the military entered the Vakarai.

The town, which already shelters IDPs from Sampur, gave refugee to those civilians who fled in thousands. With the Vakarai Rural Hospital, which was used to treat the LTTE cadres with bunkers and artillery positions around it the landscape tuned into a tent-city overnight.

In the year of its liberation, Vakarai is now breathing fresh air of freedom with maximum security provided by the security forces.

New buildings are coming up and the hospital has been upgraded into a Base Hospital. With no refugees, the displaced people in Vakarai have been resettled.

G. Kaneshan with his family and an another family with a van load of their belongings are waiting to cross the Verugal through the ferry to go to Killiwetti IDP camp.

The Verugal, the entrance to Trincomalee is a hive of activity with hundreds of another batch of refugees from Valachchenai crossing the river using the ferry. No luxury items, but the most valuable assets of the majority of them, are their sawing machines.

Undergoing tough security check-ups, which unload each and every gunny bag full of aluminum pots, pillows, mats, and even clothes and other accessories, these people carrying new born babies, born in their refugee camps, are brimming with hopes of a better future. Entertaining hopes for a better future, most of them are going back to their original lands.

As the fighting was escalating and troops were advancing, Kaneshan ran with his children to Vakarai and from there to an IDP camp in Valachchenai.

“ The LTTE charged them for using the ferry to cross the Verugal river. The LTTE conscripted underage children and my children were small at that time. They taxed us’’, says Kaneshan who earned a small living as a labourer.

The two children, Thayanandani and Anisha who attended the Koralamadu School in the IDP camp will find a new school in Killiweddi.

Sixty five-year-old Ratnasingham, a former Principal is at Verugal waiting to return to his village in Thangapuram. Being a refugee at the Batticaloa IDP camp, he is returning to his old house after a lapse of three years. Hoping to start a new life, he says, that people are happy as they are going back to their original lands.

“ We do not want the war. We suffered and experienced the war badly. We want to start our lives and live in a peaceful manner. Lots of children and elders including women were taken away by the LTTE forcefully. They used us as a shield”, Ratnasingham says that he feels a sense of security as the military is present in the area.

It is an arduous job to check all the bags and baggages of the IDPs. But the young soldiers and their female counterparts keeping their very watchful eyes check every thing that carried across. “We do not take a chance. It is a tiring job. But there is no chance for any one to carry ‘unwanted things’ with them’’, the young Captain in charge of checking said.

Not only here but in every check point manned by the army and the STF together with the Police the civilians are closely screened leaving no room for LTTE infiltration into the villages.

In all these areas, people have started their day to day lives. New shops have come up at every corner. Schools and government offices are now functioning. Most of these buildings and houses have been color-washed. Road construction have begun and the people have found new jobs in those new sites.

J. Moosin is a three-wheeler driver who had his vehicle at Thiyawattawan junction with 10 other three-wheelers. Complaining about poor daily earnings, he said he is happy that the military is controlling the security in this once LTTE controlled area.

He says under the LTTE control they suffered for four years. The people were abducted by the LTTE and imposed taxes which were unbearable to the civilians.

The sight of new resettlements are evidences itself that the life in the East has began afresh after so many years of violence and war. Still undergoing immense hardships like water, finding jobs and other social agonies, the people say that they have hopes for a better future for their children! They are trying to rise up from the ashes of war and misery.

Thoppigala

In these villages, the youth did not move around at night earlier in fear of conscription. Now they are seen playing volley ball in barren lands cleared of mines. Schoolchildren walk alone back from school.

Pulakadu in Thoppigala, is another village where over 300 families have been resettled. They lost their houses made out of bricks and also temporary structure due to war. Living in temporary shelters where there are no cement floors, the villagers are happy that the government and the security forces have taken steps to speed up resettlement process.

“Otherwise, we have to stay many years in IDP camps. This time the government has taken steps to clear all landmines with the help of the security forces and NGOs in these areas. They are now free of land mines,” says Nagamuththu Pillaiyan (54) whose livelihood is agriculture.

He said that during the LTTE control they were forced to pay taxes for cultivation, fishing and even making fire wood. “They forced the villagers to give their children over to the LTTE. We tried our best to protect our children from the LTTE. Some young girls and boys got married to survive but in some instances they took the married couples as well”, he complains.

Water is no major problem for these villagers but sanitation needs attention.

The villagers flock to the Pulakadu Kovil for the pooja for the God Mariya praying for rain. The women were busy preparing kiribath (milk rice), sweets and rotti while men and children were engaged in decorating the small kovil with yellow polythene sheets.

Kanaka Pullai is a grandfather who looks after his grandchildren as his son, Thangaraja, was abducted by the LTTE. “The LTTE abducted lots of young people like my son and when we went to inquire about their whereabouts we were assaulted. Still we do not know whether they are living or dead! It is a great relief that the security forces have liberated us.

We, especially our small children can enjoy peace now”, the old grand father still grieves for his son as his three young daughters have become a burden to the old man.

Punidhavani (30), a mother of two small children pawned her jewellery and started a small boutique in the village. As her husband does not have a job, the couple depends on the small profit they earn from the sales. She says it is not possible to run the business as most of people come to buy things on credit. “It is difficult to pay the money back as they do not have jobs.

Ultimately I do not get money to fill the stocks”, she complained, saying the soda, betel and cigarettes have the highest demand.

Sandiveli ferry, which was renovated and guarded by a small Army detachment, is the gateway for these villagers to Batticaloa and Vakarai to obtain medicine and to necessary food items.

The ferry operated under LTTE control and taxed people for each trip. Over 480 people travel daily, to and from Thiladedi.

At Illuppadichena, where Sergeant Pathira was brutally killed during the operation to capture Thoppigala, the people are moving around freely and engaged fully and confidently in their day to day activities.

The festivities the Sivamuthumari Ambal Temple, where they have started the annual festival can be heard all over the junction. People living in the surrounding areas will visit the temple which is the biggest kovil in Thoppigala, for the annual festival.

The STF which took over the control of the area from army is giving their fullest support to the villagers who returned to their lands.

After many months, the drizzling have started just after few days of the festival where the devotees are paraded around the Illuppuduchena daily. With no major festivals as such when these 360 families were under the control of the LTTE, they just worshipped the Gods.

The fear that these villagers had for our security forces is gradually fading away as most of the young soldiers communicate with them in their own Language, Tamil. These young soldiers who are very friendly with the villagers living around their camps in some days sacrifice their lunch and distribute the food among villagers who still depend on the rations.

“We have seen, death, destruction and war everywhere and this is the first time we have witnessed how people try to rise up from destruction and their struggle for survival. Earlier we captured land and just moved forward but this time we are there helping them to develop their lives.

We, the soldiers are happy to see this change”, says Major Thushan Silva who accompanied us to Vakarai.

The security forces have helped to address the hardships faced by villagers in the resettlement areas.

In Pullipanchgal a new milk collecting centre has come up to facilitate the livestock farmers. Earlier they had to travel more than 20 kilo meters to Kiran and Sithandi to sell their milk.

The LTTE had taken half of their collection on the way and they had once abducted a vehicle belong to the Highlands Milk Company.