Light at end of the tunnel !

Shanika SRIYANANDA

Normalcy has begun to prevail gradually. People have started living... decent lives. They can eat., bathe clean water and more importantly they can sleep peacefully. No thundering explosions of artillery and mortars or shooting at close range they are learning the art of living after some years. Battered by terrorism and suffered under the deadly shadow of the LTTE, over 180,000 people, who fled to the government controlled areas, want to have a fresh start in their lives.

C. Thangamani who spoke to the 'Sunday Observer' at the Omanthai checkpoint on her way to the Manik Farm after undergoing a thorough military screening including registering herself as an IDP, said they felt a sense of freedom as soon as they crossed the Nandi Kadal lagoon. Being on the run for over five months, she said they were treated like slaves by the LTTE.

Having Seen the devastation for over three decades, Thangamani is prepared to face any future challenge. Starving for days, she and thousands of others who were rescued dearly by the military in a harmless manoeuvre, never thought that government would lend its hand to protect them all. The unexpected exodus of IDPs from the No Fire Zone made the government breathless as to how to provide the necessary facilities for them.

Crucial problems

"At the beginning from April 21 to 24, we had some crucial problems like providing accommodation, food, water and even sanitary facilities for the massive number of civilians pouring in. Now things are under control and the government is doing its maximum to make the IDPs happy'', the Chief-of-Staff of the Sri Lanka Army, Major General G. A. Chandrasiri who is the Competent Authority in-charge of resettlement said.

Gradually overcoming the challenges with the help of the INGOs. NGOs and people of the South who shared their plate of rice with the IDPs starved and dying, the government immediately embarked on a mission to provide urgent relief.

With the unexpected exodus of people fleeing NFZ the government faced several problems earlier. But the military which initiated the world's biggest rescue operation to get the civilians out of combat zone, was there to feed them and protect them provisionally until relief measures were properly implemented. The government spends an estimated Rs. 20 million to address the urgent needs of these civilians daily.

The Disaster Management Ministry sources said that over 192,640 civilians have sought refuge since commencing the Vanni operation and 170,967 have already been sheltered in 24 camps, including two welfare camps. Nearly 11,150 IDPs are sheltered in 11 camps in Jaffna and 856 civilians in 3 camps in Mannar and 5,667 in 3 camps in Trincomalee. From February 10 to April 30, the ICRC had transported over 12,880 people including 5,147 patients to relief centres.

However, the government with the help of the people and many organizations who were alive to the difficult situation have been able to face the challenge off a second 'tsunami'! Now it has turned into a 'full blown' relief mission, where there the IDPs are given from food to clothing to shelter to education and health and even the other important facilities like communication, postal and banking. There is no room for them to tell that they are being isolated or given step-motherly treatment.

From a newly born to an elder, the government looks after all with a caring hand.

Maj. Gen. Chandrasiri said that the whole process was geared to give all the facilities for the IDPs under 'one roof'. "We have been able to shelter all those fleeing NFZ and they are given the maximum facilities because these people suffered under the LTTE. Nearly 20 lorries are taking the essential items for the IDPs daily and there are three warehouses in Vavuniya, Anuradhapura and Medavachchiya", he said.

The chief of the relief mission said that no room was left for the civilians to feel that their day-to-day activities were neglected. "One would not believe how determined are these officers attached to this program to make the whole mission a success and also to see the IDPs are well treated at the end of the day'', he said. Maj. Gen. Chandrasiri who answers an average of over 100 calls daily and conducts progress review meetings to improve the conditions of the IDP camps, said that they heaved a sigh a relief daily only after midnight!

Leaving no vacuum in education, the government teachers are being employed to conduct classes for children to catch up their neglected school work. All the school going children are given facilities to attend the classes in each of the IDP centre. The elders who do not know their 'ABC' have also been given a chance to study in night classes.

Providing health facilities is a major task that the government has undertaken. The deadly scares of gun shot injuries on their limbs! Most importantly, the health care providers are planning to have counselling programs as well for them.

A fully-equipped 100-bed field hospital by the French government is under construction at Chunddikulam. The French government had made arrangements to deploy a trained medical staff of 75 including doctors and nurses.

They are now working along with the Chunddikulam hospital staff. Two other hospitals, one by the Medicines sans Frontiers and the other by the Indian government will come up soon to treat the IDPs.

Existing shortcomings

The daily progress review meetings headed by Maj. Gen. Chandrasiri with all those involved in the mission have been able to address the existing shortcomings. One such is the introduction of 'community cooking' instead of distributing cooked food. Some bitter experiences at the beginning brought the new changes for the betterment of the IDPs.

Meanwhile, family cooking packs have been distributed among the families. The pack is includes a cooker, other cooking utensils and dry rations enough for a week for a family of five. Each family can cook its own meals and also can cook in community kitchens as well. One can also share one's rations with others and cook a common menu!

Co-ops, post offices, a Bank of Ceylon branch, a Fisheries Department outlet, a mobile health unit, a children's park and a vocational training centre are opened daily at the camps.

"Yes, of course these people live amidst high security. A fence would be erected around them. That is for their own security. Few days ago there was an incident where there was a commotion among the IDPs. They have assaulted a youth badly. After questioning he admitted that he was an LTTE cadre. According to IDPs, that LTTE cadre had assaulted and killed people who tried to flee. People have identified the terrorists among themselves and gone against them'', he said adding there are lots of terrorists who came in as innocent civilians abandoning their weapons and uniforms.

He said these camps need tough surveillance to prevent unfortunate happenings. "Now people give us the tip on suspects and sometimes bring them to us", he said.

Sleepless nights

Poor sanitary facilities, which were a major issue at the beginning, have been improved but the relief mission chief agreed that there are still lapses in providing such facilities. He said that new toilets were coming up and water was not a problem as it was distributed properly.

For these IDPs, who wore tattered clothes, baked under hot sun, drank polluted water, starved for days, lived in extreme fear and spent sleepless nights, the camps are 'semi luxury heavens'. Nobody complained about lapses. They are highly fascinated by the facilities that they enjoy themselves now. "After many months, now my children sleep without fear, We are happy", Mamangaraja said.

Like Mamangaraja, all of these IDPs are happy with what they are getting now.

They have felt the difference of being under terrorists and living in a democratic enviorment. They said they feel very much better than the days that they had spent in LTTE controlled areas. Their major worry is that they could not find the whereabouts of their family members who are sheltered in other camps.

"All the facilities have been given to them to trace their relatives now.

Special committees are appointed in each camp to help these people.

Telephone booths are set up for them to take calls abroad. But still we cannot accommodate their relatives here due to security reasons'', Maj. Gen. Chandrasiri said.

Well organized

Refuting allegations that there is no proper mechanism adopted, he said that everything was well organized and properly managed. "The situation created was greater than that of the tsunami! It is a result of putting lots of hard work together.

Daily we, together with the heads of all INGOs, NGOs- sit together at 4 pm to discuss the daily progress. If there are lapses we take immediate action to remedy the situation. The government machinery has taken over more than 50 to 60 percent of the work. So there is a well organized mechanism to look after these refugees", he said.

Apart from the four zones Kadirgarmar, Anandakumaraswami, Arunachalam and Ramanadanpuram - sheltering IDPs, ground work has been completed to house over 20,000 more people coming from the South of Puthumathalan, where the LTTE terrorists still hold civilians as hostages.

According to Maj. Gen. Chandrasiri, a 1000 - acre land has already been cleared in Parayanakulam to establish the next zone.Several programs are in the pipeline to facilitate the IDPs until they return to their own habitats. According to Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights sources, the civilians over 60-years-of.age would be allowed to live in elders homes or with relatives and this decision was taken to minimise congestion in camps.

The government servants who were under the LTTE are engaged in some administrative work in the camps, while the Army handling the entire process.

They government is planning to use the knowledge and experience of the government servants in relief operations.

Facilities

Anyone who ventures into these camps and talks to the IDPs will understand that they are living happily with no horrified surroundings. Those who were on the run for months said that the facilities that they are enjoying are enough and they never thought they would be able to begin their lives afresh. "We would like to be away from fighting. Life in these camps are more comfortable and we have everything. No one knows how we suffered earlier", a young mother who was happy with facilities such as clean water, a small tent, cooking items, a bag full of packets of dry rations and milk powder and medicine for her tiny daughter, said.

The elderly father was happy he could phone his son abroad to tell his whereabouts. Many of these IDPs are happy that they have the facilities to exchange the foreign currency sent by their kith and kin abroad from the Bank of Ceylon branch at the camp premises.

Beaten and trampled under the LTTE terrorists each and every IDP, who did not have hopes for lives, is now brimming with hopes. They, who try to rise from ashes, know that their days in camps would not be long. For them, gold or diamonds are no matter but what is precious for them is a small space to live without fear and terror.