`Evicted', a voice for IDPs

Indeewara THILAKARATHNE

"Evicted", a film in DVD documenting the plight of over 500,000 adults and children who have been forced out from their homes and now spend their days either at IDP camps or relief villages, has recently been launched at the Centre for Poverty Analysis in Colombo.

The DVD which was produced by PANOS Institute, Sri Lanka with funds from Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and ActionAid, aims at providing a voice for this vulnerable segment of the population at a time when Government is fully committed to improve their lot.

"Evicted" depicts the individual voices from over 500,000 displaced persons who have been forced to leave their homes due to the conflict, and natural disasters. A common characteristic of the IDPs is that they beat the identity "Displaced Persons" and are longing to go back to their original homes.

Cathrine Brun who did a research on IDPs in Puttalam district pointed out that since October 1990, the displaced Muslims have been living in relief villages in Puttalam after they were evicted from Jaffna by the LTTE. Over the years the relations between the "IDPs" and the "host" community have progressively changed. About 65,000 of Muslim IDPs who were driven away from Kilinochchi, Mannar and Jaffna by LTTE have now been living elsewhere for the past eighteen years, eagerly hoping to go back to their homes. They live in 145 welfare camps. Some of the IDPs have bought land in Puttalam and settled down. However, the second generation of the IDPs who were born in Puttalam, have now become rootless. In most of the cases, it has been reported that the members of the host community continue to treat IDPs as second class citizens. The IDPs, who by now constitute 18 per cent of the population, have changed the cultural landscape of the area with their distinct cultural practices. However, these IDPs are still being referred to as refugees and are accused of grabbing the opportunities enjoyed by the host community previously.

It is obvious that the IDPs relations with the host community in Puttalam are not that friendly and cordial.

In Kinniya, the tsunami victims have been designated as IDPs. It has been pointed out that although men and women are deemed equal before the law, the authority continue to insist on giving the name of male head of the family when it comes to receiving benefits for the affected families.

However, the DVD highlights a model community built with the equal participation of women where title deeds were given to women and how this unique experience has brought about changes in relations between males and female members in the family. It has also documented on families displaced as a result of launching the Southern Express Highway Project. The DVD gives a fair representation to individual voices from IDPs and their particular issues that are to be looked into in reviewing their status by the Government.