Refugees Voices: Displaced Muslim in Puttalam, Sri Lanka
Refugees VoicES: Displaced Muslim in Puttalam, Sri Lanka
01/21/2004
The majority of the population in Sri Lanka is Sinhalese Buddhist. The
Tamils, who are dominant in the northern and eastern parts of the
country, form the biggest minority on the island. The Tamils are mainly
Hindu, but a group of Tamil Muslims makes up 7% of the total population
of Sri Lanka.
Fighting broke out in the northern areas of the country in the early
1980s between the government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam (LTTE). The LTTE claimed to be fighting the government in order to
free the Tamil community from the domination of the Buddhist majority;
however, the LTTE was not supported by the Muslim segment of the Tamil
community, which backed the Sri Lankan government.
In the early 1990s, the LTTE had de facto control over most of the
northern Jaffna peninsula. In October1990, the LTTE decided to evict the
Muslim population of Jaffna, approximately 100,000 people, with two days
notice. The Muslims were told to leave the North within 48 hours or face
death. They were carefully searched by the LTTE prior to their departure
and all their possessions and valuables were taken away from them. They
were permitted to carry with them 300 Rupees (about $3 US) for
transportation out of Jaffna and a change of clothes. Thousands of
Muslims fled to the area of Puttalam in western Sri Lanka, where they
have lived for more than a decade.
Ramsia is one of the displaced Muslims now living in Puttalam who fled
from Jaffna in 1990 with her husband and 10-month-old daughter.
According to Ramsia, prior to 1990, her Muslim community in Jaffna had
no disputes with the LTTE. The Tamil Muslims, although being of a
different religion than the Tamil Hindus, had many cultural similarities
to the Hindus. On more than one occasion, Ramsia's family gave shelter
to LTTE members who were trying to hide from the Sri Lankan armed
forces.
In Jaffna, Ramsia's husband was a fisherman, and the family owned
property and a house. However, these were taken over by the LTTE at the
time of the eviction of Muslims. The LTTE did a thorough checking of
Ramsia's family and took away their jewelry and cash. Ramsia was able to
hide a few hundred rupees in her shoes, but most of the others lost all
their savings. At the time of the eviction, Ramsia's two brothers were
taken away by the LTTE. Ramsia has never seen her brothers again and she
believes they were used as human shields by the LTTE.
After coming to Puttalam, Ramsia's family lived in a tent for two months
before local NGOs helped them set up a semi-permanent shelter. The local
population of Puttalam was at first welcoming to the displaced, but
relations deteriorated between the Muslims and the local community as
the Muslims soon outnumbered the locals, and the two groups began to
compete for limited resources. Ramsia acknowledges that she sometimes
encounters discrimination from the local community, and although a cease
fire agreement has been in effect between the Sri Lankan government and
the LTTE since early 2002, she is reluctant to go back to her original
home in Jaffna. Like many other displaced Muslims, she believes that as
long as there is no permanent peace between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan
government, there is no guarantee that the rights of the Muslims will be
safeguarded.
Meanwhile, since the cease fire, her husband has gone back to Jaffna to
work as a fisherman. According to Ramsia, her husband is frequently
harassed when traveling through the LTTE-controlled areas between
Puttalam and Jaffna, but he is willing to take the risks because, for
the first time in more than a decade, he is able to do the kind of work
he knows best, and also earn money rather then having to depend on
handouts from government and aid agencies in the camps in Puttalam.
Ramsia says that her life was changed forever in 1990, and she has no
expectations about her future. She hopes, however, that one day there
will be a permanent peace in Sri Lanka and her four children will never
have to undergo the kind of experiences she and her husband did.
The interests of Tamil Muslims have been neglected in the Sri Lankan
peace process, with neither the government nor the LTTE adequately
addressing their needs for political participation and compensation for
property lost in the expulsion from Jaffna. Refugees International has
been advocating for the particular needs of the Tamil Muslim community
to be addressed as the peace process advances.
Posted by abs
at 8:46 AM
