Harrowing experience of four Catholic clergymen

Darkness was enveloping the area amidst heavy firing. It was May 18th evening, where all guns and energy were directed towards a single direction - the small plot of land in Puthumathalan. The military, keeping to their pledge ceased firing until the last civilian, who was held hostage by the LTTE, crossed the causeway. The smoke emitting from the huge dump in Puthumathalan where the LTTE had burnt their vital documents had made the clear blue sky more dark.

It was the busiest and most exciting evening for the troops of all divisions - 53, 58 and 59 - who were to net the most prized catch in recent history. The competition was on and each division sent their special teams to sweep the land to hunt him down.

After a heavy day where we saw blood and flesh and hostages struggling to escape for freedom, we were at the small military base, just few hundred meters away from the No Fire Zone (NFZ). The house with pink colour coating and bullet holes on walls converted into the 'operation room' was packed and the communication equipment were ringing non-stop.

The top military officers of the 58 and 59 had a quick brainstorming session to put the final touches to their military plan. Orders were given and hundreds of soldiers disappeared in the darkness. They all had one goal - to get the body of the world's most ruthless terrorist or take him alive.

Suddenly a truck full of soldiers giving protection to four Catholic clergy emerged into the darkness.

"We were waiting for your arrival", said one priest who was greeted by the GOC 58 Division Brig (now Maj. Gen) Shavendra Silva, who had coordinated with the priests to get them out of the NFZ.

The tired faces mixed with shock and happiness showed the agony that they experienced for months and years. The souls, who devoted their lives to GOD, were herded from place to place by the terrorists.

Unshaven beards

With unshaven beards and over grown hair, the clean white cloaks of the four clergies had turned muddy. The crucifixes they wore around their necks gave them solace in the horror filled land. The pale faces brightened up as they were warmly welcomed and served hot short eats - fish buns, rolls and sandwiches - made by the soldiers.

That was the first time in the recent past they ate in an environment free of terror. The hot cup of tea served by a soldier refreshed them before they had a chat with the Brig. Silva and Acting GOC of 50 Brig (now Maj. Gen) Chagie Gallage.

They informed the Security Forces of the death of a clergy man who died due to a heart attack during their long march to freedom. He was not so lucky.

"We had a terrible time there", said a clergyman who had apparently had contacts with the military to flee terror. The LTTE had cut off all the possible telecommunication means to prevent information leaking out. Those found 'guilty' of having secret communication links were either killed or thrown into the battle front by the terrorists. But these brave clergy found ways to communicate with some of the people including fellow clergy and military to unearth the shocking incidence took place in the LTTE's hell-hole.

"Not only you the whole country had a hard time with the LTTE and there is no more a Prabhakaran to destroy this country", announced Brig Silva adding that the troops were engaged in clearing the land to trace his body.

"We tried to escape but since we had to take care of over 72 orphanages we couldn't do it so easily. We lived in bunkers", Fr. Mariathas said.

"No more bunkers and the military have saved all civilians trapped in the No Fire Zone", said Brig Gallage inquiring the whereabouts of those clergy.

Fr. Mariathas of the Jaffna Diocese was appointed to serve people in Mannar from June 1, 2008. He fled from Mannar to Vellankulam to Vannari to Puthumathalan with displaced civilians who were threatened by the LTTE to move from place to place. "I fled from Mannar with over 30,000 civilians. We did not have any option other than listening to the terrorists", Fr. Mariathas (38), whose family too lives in a welfare camp said.

He had missionary education in Kalutara and Kandy. He related their nightmaric experience under the ruthless terrorists, who only knew the smell of blood.

Difficulties

"People faced many difficulties and they starved because the LTTE had stolen their food quota. They used all inhumane tactics to hold the people. However much we pleaded the LTTE did not allow us to cross. Those who tried to flee were beaten or killed", he said.

They said that at the beginning the LTTE said that underaged children would not be recruited but they breached the promise when they lacked manpower to fight the troops. "Parents went against the LTTE but to no avail. They snatched who ever who could fight and did not have any sympathy towards children", the clergy said.

They said they were entrapped in the NFZ, just 500m metres away from this base and struggled for over five days to cross to the military but failed as the LTTE was continuously firing at those who fled. Finally the group - five clergy and 72 children aged eight to 16 fled to Mullaivaikkal and from there they surrendered to the troops.

They said that civilians would have fled much earlier if the LTTE had released their children recruited to fight. "Those children died helplessly as they did not have any other option but were compelled to fight", they said adding that they could not go against the LTTE as the terrorists were becoming so rude to the civilians.

Without abandoning their mission to freedom, they tried continuously for three to five days to flee. Their biggest concern was the children.

Their life with over 72 children in the circumstances was not easy as most of the children were crying in fear with no food and medicine available the clergies had to face severe hardships. They starved for days and days and depended on a single meal - milk rice.

"You cannot call it milk rice as we had just boiled rice with water and fed the children. Kids were crying in hunger but we were helpless. We came here with empty stomachs", they said.

From May 17, with the escalation of the final battle and people fleeing the NFZ in thousands, the team of clergy tried their best to surrender to the troops. Experiencing a bitter incident where the LTTE posed as innocent civilians and tried to break the Forward Defence Lines, the troops did not believe them at first. They had to have several moves from the bunkers to prove their genuiness. "We tried to cross and soldiers fired at the sky and asked not to move.

We crept into the bunker. We failed but tried repeatedly. At last, the soldiers at the FDLs asked us to come with a white flag", Fr, Mariathas recalled.

Ending their naightmaric journey to freedom, the clergymen, who prayed for the safety of children, and their staff walked in carrying the small children who starved for days.

Humane battle

The soldiers, who fought a humane battle, skipped lunch and offered the share to the children. They also treated the sick and wounded and transferred them to the nearest medical centre for further treatment.

Fr. Gnanaraj Croos of Mannar Diocese, Fr. Stephan of Jaffna Diocese, Fr. A.V. Alfred OMI of Trincomalee and Fr. Mariathas of Jaffna Diocese, interviewed by the 'Sunday Observer,' said that they do not want war any more and all Sri Lankans need peace.

"It is a terrible experience. We suffered with the people and we did not want to leave the people and come. Therefore, we stayed with the people until the last minute. As a whole it is a total destruction and people here suffered enough and they need peace", said Fr. A.V. Alfred OMI.

All priests said that they witnessed the war and its horror from the time they were born. The three decade long war had made them suffer.

"We all are children of war. We did not have a good childhood, always lived with fear and the only solace is GOD. We have lost thousands of valuable lives who did not want war", they said.

The group thanked the military for coordinating their journey and taking care of them.

It was almost 9 p.m. The troops were still busy hunting the 'most wanted', who was believed to have hidden somewhere in the small patch of land. The clergymen and the children were transported to the welfare camp in Vavuniya.

We concluded our days' assignment and followed the fleet of vehicles of the two GOCs plying on the Puthukudyiruppu stretch of road along the Nandi Kadal Lagoon.

With thick darkness and thundering explosions of artillery in the NFZ, we reached ourdestination.

Next day morning (May 19), with the happiest news - the troops had killed the most wanted and found his body - we breathed a sigh of relief as we realised that we had escaped a deadly attack by the LTTE who were hiding neck deep in the Nandi Kadal Lagoon to escape.

It was few hundred meters from the point that the deadly Prabhakaran and his men numbering over 150 were hiding in the small stretch of islets in the lagoon to the road that we had travelled.

Today, these priests have been released from the welfare centres and when contacted some appreciated the Government decision to allow them to return back to their religious practices.

They, the living examples who called themselves as 'children of war', will tell the world how horrific was the war.

They, who saw destruction for over 30-years, will tell the world the saga of Tamils who had victimised under the LTTE and forced to die innocently.

'Sunday Observer' staffer Shanika Sriyananda recalls a nightmarish rendezvous while covering the warfront in the last days of the LTTE terrorism.

The group of hostage, five Catholic priests and 72 children arrived from Puthumathalan on the evevning of May 18, just a few hours before Prabhakaran was killed at the Nandi Kandal Lagoon. Here, the priests, who witnessed the LTTE's terror throughout, recalled their horrifying experiences in an exclusive interview.