Misled youth ever grateful to Army

by Shanika SRIYANANDA

Ranjan Ragu can walks again. The artificial limb, donated by the Sri Lanka Army has brightened his life that was in darkness all this while.

A misled youth, who was trained to kill people, now explains the value of life.

“I never imagined that I would be able to get an artificial limb. Now I can walk”, the 19-year-old youth smiles. The eyes sparkles with happiness showing that he is looking forward for a brighter tomorrow.

In 2006, Ragu, who was on a visit to Madhu to see this uncle was abducted by the LTTE to strengthen its ‘baby brigade’.

After a 45-day training on weapon handling at the Sivaneshan Training Centre in Kilinochchi with 150 other abducted underaged children, he was assigned to LTTE’s mobile transport unit. His responsibility was to transport goods to whichever destination directed to by the leaders.

But his stay at the unit was short when he was found guilty a slight mistake while at work. Ragu was ‘thrown’ among the Kilali forward defence lines as a punishment.

“I was just 15 and was so scared of fighting with soldiers. Other small boys with me cried sometimes but we had no option. We had to lob grenades and then shoot. But we did that not to kill the soldiers but rather to save our lives”, he said.

One night Ragu was asked to deliver ‘dinner’ (rotti and a curry) to the cadres in the other bunker.

Few seconds later his leg was blown off by an anti-personnel mine that had been buried by the LTTE.

“Our leaders did not tell us there mines were buried”, Ragu looking at his right leg.

Taken to Kilinochchi, he was given medical treatment in 2007. Later he was set free to go home and he stayed with his uncle family. With the battle’s setting hotter and people vacating their homes and villages, Ragu and his uncle family too started running from place to place.

They reached their final destination - Puthumathalan in April last year. Mingling with thousands of displaced civilians, Ragu too tried to hide away from the LTTE who had started to snatch plucking out disabled trained cadres to strengthen their shrinking manpower.

Some were forcefully used as suicide bombers to prevent the approaching military where the LTTE was boxed in.

All attempts by Ragu to hide failed. The LTTE’s police cops dragged him out from his makeshift hut and trucked him with several other disabled former cadres to the nearest forward defence line in Puthumathalan. The LTTE had ordered them to lie on the ground, shoot or throw grenades at soldiers.

“Some died right before me and I crawled as much as I can until I reached one who could help me. No one bothered about others. Every one was trying to flee”, Ragu said.The courage and love to live made the teenager to cross the Nandi Kadal Lagoon with thousands of others and surrendered to the soldiers who carried him to give urgent medical treatment.

“I felt ashamed when they carried me and who cleaned my wounds.

Today, Ragu has got a new lease of life at the rehabilitation centre at the Technical College, Nelukkulama, Vavuniya.

He is brimming with fresh hopes. He had never thought that they would have a future, free of war, youth like Ragu, who saw only blood and flesh, housed at the Centre now knows life is invaluable.According to Captain U.K. Navaratne, Officer-in-Charge of the centre, there are 1,169 rehabilitates in the centre and nearly 850 have been selected for release.

The government has decided to release all the disabled ex LTTE cadres in the camps considering their involvement with the defeated outfit.

They will be handed over to their close relatives soon. Capt. Navaratne said that over 50 percent of the disabled inmates have been amputated. “There are blind and deaf inmates as well. Some are totally paralysed”, he said.

The disabled inmates are in the age group of 18 to 45 and majority of them are below 30.

Commissioner General of Rehabilitation, Brigadier Sudantha Ranasinghe said that these youth would be handed over to their relatives soon.The government spends over Rs. 88 million to rehabilitate over 11,000 rehabilitates monthly.

Ragu and his disabled friends at the centre have received artificial limbs donated by the Army and various charity organisations. These youth whom were just left to die are looking forward to weave their lives through the support of the government and the Army.

“I now feel ashamed when I feel that I am walking because of the Army. The LTTE had painted us a very bad picture. They taught us that soldiers are barbaric and would kill when they catch us. But today they help us to walk, eat and start our lives”, Ragu who wanted to be reunited with his family - father and two sisters and two brothers said.

The soldiers who they thought would kill them are now trying to trace their families apart from teaching them to be positive and courageous to face future challenges despite their disability.

Ragu has another dream - to own a small boutique one day.