Fleeing civilians, easy victims of Tiger savagery

Dhaneshi YATAWARA

Survival would have been a nightmare for the civilians entrapped in LTTE-held area. It’s totally different from chaos that anyone of us would have to face in life. Plight of the unarmed Tamil people, tragically kept as LTTE’s human shield, is beyond description.

Selvi, a 40-year-old mother of two teenage girls and a teacher by profession broke down when they reached the safety shores.

“I just couldn’t properly feed my children for the last three days. We had no food,” she wept with tears trickling down her cheeks while she explained their misery. This is just one sordid story as related by one of those 643 civilians who suffered the LTTE savagery.

These unfortunate people, with 224 children and 212 women, had to venture into deep sea to escape LTTE firing. And at last they were rescued by the Navy deployed in the seas off Puthumathalan.

Selvi is a native of Nelliady. She managed to escape with her two daughters and husband, a science and mathematics teacher himself. Her daughters were studying in Adampan Convent before the rise of LTTE atrocities.

“My eldest is a son. We sent him to Nelliady a year before. He is safely carrying out his studies,” Selvi said cuddling her 10-year-old daughter.

“We don’t have anything to eat. We don’t get the relief items the Government sends us. If we managed to get a little bit of dhal we would have cooked it with a pinch of salt,” a 50-year-old woman who wanted to be anonymous explained.

Very expensive

“We can’t buy rice or coconut. They are very expensive. Rice is 150 rupees a kilo and even for 200 rupees one can’t find coconuts,” she added.

“People are no longer with the LTTE. Now they don’t have their support,” 55-year-old Sellasamy, an escapee, said with anger and hatred. “I can’t save my two sons from them (LTTE). They just can’t bear the sight of young boys and girls. They drag them away,” he said.

Sellasamy was living in Kilinochchi town with his family before they had to escape to Murukandi. “From Murukandi LTTE drove us away, and at last we got stranded in the coastal line south of Puthumathalan”.

“They have kept their artillery and mortar guns just 50 metres away from where we were staying. They have placed some of them in the camps of displaced people like us”, he further said.

Sellasamy sent his two sons and wife in the first board which left the shores and managed to join the second one. “First we tried to escape very early in the morning. But LTTE Police came and tried to take the boys away. Then all of us protested and hit them, they went away,” he added.

The so-called LTTE Police came for the second time to forcefully take away the young boys and men in the crowd. As Sellasamy explained, an elderly mother came forward and scolded the Tiger for abducting their children.

“The LTTE men turned furious and shot her in the throat blowing up her head. They shot and killed another man, a father who opposed them. The shooting injured little children and people around,” Sellasamy kept on explaining the terrifying story. Late in the evening all of them decided to try once more to escape. Again the LTTE cadres came and assaulted them brutally.

They dragged young boys, including Sellasamy’s younger son and took them away through a coconut plantation close by. One boy hit a LTTE cadre and ran away and as the entire situation turned chaotic everyone started running all over. It gave these people a chance to escape in their boats which they kept hidden close to the shores. Then they sailed in to the rough sea - a deadly encounter. They were sandwiched between the devil and deep blue sea!

“If we did not burn down the LTTE police we couldn’t have escaped their harassments,” Nithya Rani, a mother of a 12-year-old girl said.

“People who can manage to come to Puthumathalan junction can escape. But what about those who can’t! We don’t know how they are going to escape,” she said.

Upon rescuing, all were brought ashore at Point Pedro and provided with much-needed food, refreshments and medical assistance. The exodus of Tamil civilians escaping from LTTE clutches is now on the rise.Despite the risk of being shot at and maimed for deserting the LTTE which is dying a painful death, many civilians manage to reach the cleared areas in large numbers in a relatively steady stream.

Terror outfit

They have understood the futility of shielding a merciless terror outfit which pays little respect even to those who have once given them succour. Yet, how many of the Tamil Diaspora were bothered to feed or provide shelter to these innocent people who may perhaps be their own kith and kin, while the citizens of Sri Lanka have contributed to the Government, knowingly or unknowingly, to feed and cloth these unfortunate people? Haven’t they only fattened LTTE arsenals which in return is used to kill their own people?

Sri Lanka Navy has made special arrangements to assist the helpless Tamil civilians fleeing by sea amidst the deadly waves during this season.

Expecting more of them naval personnel and vessels along with stand-by rescue and medical teams are on special deployment for this humanitarian mission in the North-eastern seas, Sri Lanka Navy stated.