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.

Puttalam
Puttalam



Well known for its picturesque lagoon, a paradise for shallow sea
fishing activities, Puttalam lies on the North Western coastal belt.
Bordering the Kala Oya and Modara Gam Aru in the north, Anuradhpura and
Kurunegala districts in the east, Ma Oya in the south and the Indian
Ocean in the west, Puttalam is home to people of every faith and race.
History of this dry zone district goes back to the arrival of North
Indian Prince Vijaya, 2500 years ago in Tammanna in the coastal belt
above Puttalam.This happened when his vessel was washed ashore.
Thonigala the homeland of Kuweni is deep in the district.

Situated at the apex of the coconut triangle, Puttalam is the second
largest coconut producer of the country. And Tabbowa, a fertile land for
agriculture records highest paddy production per acre. Holland fort at
Kalpitiya, St. Anne's Church in Thalawila and Munneshwaram Kovil in
Chillaw underline the historical importance of this region.

Puttalam Refugee Camp, Boys in a Village, Armed Conflict, Conclusion
Puttalam Refugee Camp, Boys in a Village, Armed Conflict, Conclusion



.

14. Puttalam Refugee Camp

Three hours by a bus towards north from Colombo, I and IMADR staff Prishanthi arrived at Puttalam. Welcoming us, one staff of Community Trust Fund (CTF) explained that it was established by the Internally Displaced People (IDP) who mainly fled from the north part of Sri Lanka due to the ethnic riots in 1990.

Most of them are Muslims, speaking Tamil. CTF are visiting camps regularly and having meeting for community building, aiming at solving daily problems. After having lunch that he and his family kindly prepared for us, we visited some of those camps.

The hard and red ground becomes muddy soon after raining. Running on the road about 10 minutes seeing beautiful ocean on the right hand, small houses made of coconuts leaves come into our sight.

People are living under the mental stress in a little-privacy life, on the land owned by government or private owners. It is hard for them, who fled from the fighting field for long time with minimum possessions leaving their property there, to pay the rent. CTF are lobbying to the landowners to reduce or remit the payment.

Since a field in Puttalam does not suit agriculture, some people go to work at the other fields as a day worker. It often is too far. Job harassments are also reported. The rest of life depends on the donation by the national/international organizations. As Prishanthi says, it is hard for people living in such a dependent life to have hope for the future. CTF are working to raise awareness among people to have subsistence life, letting them know their rights and obligations with national and international laws.

Some camp established a pre-school for three to five-age children in a room only equipped with children's paintings and small chairs. A trained teacher, one of residents in the camp, is teaching paintings or simple English. The public education starts from the age of five with provided school uniform and textbooks. In reality, many children do not go to school for several reasons. For example, although Muslims in Puttalam speak in Tamil, the number of a school teaching in Tamil is not enough and these are often too far from the camps. Most of them cannot afford to pay for the transportation. Some parents are not willing to make their children go to school.

But the life in Puttalam is much better than a fighting field or its border villages in north and east. Putttalam can be at least free from direct damage by the armed conflict. However, here is a tricky point. International attention and support tend to gather at the most devastating area, even though the other areas have not been improvement at all. At the 2001 Anti-Racism and Discrimination UN Conference, according to CTF staff, there was no mention of Muslims in discussing about Sri Lankan ethnic conflict. Many of the participants did not recognize the Muslim community such as Puttalam. CTF are willing to advocate Muslim community problems to national and international society. This visit made me understand how the problems caused by this ethnic conflict are complicated, and gave me a lesson to observe things from various aspects.

15. Boys in a Village

I joined my friend's father to go to a village for repairing his motorbike. I asked a paper and pen to a mechanic man, painting scenery on a bridge. Three boys came and spoke to me in simple English with friendly smiles. "Where are you from?" "What is your favorite colour?" "This is King coconuts!" "Why don't you come to my best friend's house? That is his house." The boy pointed the next boy.

Then he replied, "Yes, he is my best friend!" Everyone smiled. "Japan is very clean (they seem to have leant in a school text book). Is Sri Lanka dirty?" Soon after this question, foods or gavages thrown and rotten on the street, a large number of small insects (maybe because of its hot climate), cockroaches, mice or rats and panhandlers I saw daily in Sri Lanka, came up in my mind. I could not say anything.

The boys, who asked the question without any implication, soon moved to the next question, "Is nature in Sri Lanka beautiful?" I nodded strongly. They made their signatures in the right corner of the paper. $B!!!!(J

16. Armed Conflict

The parties of armed conflict are LTTE and the government army. I heard and read many cases of kidnapping, raping, murder and suicide bombing by LTTE. Though many articles and books on Sri Lanka often label the LTTE as an international terrorist, a leader of LTTE says, " we are clearly different from a terrorist.

Terrorists are fanatic, but we are fighting for the right to self-determination that is recognized by international community".

(Future )

On the other hand, there are many cases of harassments unreasonable arresting, raping, and murder by the governmental army. Some Tamil person says, "Everybody will be able to stand to some extent." However, if it exceeds some line, you have to fight to protect you and your family. For this aim, some sacrifice is unavoidable. LTTE is freedom fighters". Regardless of the name and its belief of each armed group, there are three common things. Firstly, most of the army members' motivation is poverty. Salary as a soldier can guarantee life of them and their family.

Secondly, people near the fighting field have to choose to live under a pressure from the armed conflict, or to refuge to another place leaving all of their property there. Lastly, the most victims are children. The conditions are the same among not only Shinhala and Tamil, but also Muslim and the other indigenous people. The newborn babies should be free from the past tragedy. $B!!(J

Although this does not mean to forget the grief, it is more important than sticking to retaliation, beyond assailant or victim, to learn the lessons from tragedy so as not to repeat it. I know it is easy to say and very difficult to do, especially for the people still have a memory of tragedy. However, future is up to our determination to forgive the others.

17. Conclusion

Co-existing extreme poverty and richness; devastating damages by ethnic conflict and rich nature. The contrasting sceneries made me recognize another reality. Stepping out from a familiar world is an opportunity to think about myself objectively and consider about the others. The curiosity to know another world and people is, I think, a necessity for life. I hope I could make you feel an atmosphere of Sri Lanka, stimulating your curiosity.

(Living on Surface of a Tree )

END

santa -singh
**Y did santa singh sign all the cheques in his cheque
book...........
.................so that no one else could use them if
he lost his
chequebook?!!@@?


***************
**Santa : We have to learn Telugu within 6 months or
we will not be able
to communicate with my child.
Banta : Is it! Why?
Santa : We have adopted a telugu child and it will
start to speak after
6 months


***************
**How did santa singh attempt to transfer some files
from one PC to
another
PC.....

1)Right clicked the mouse on the file which he wanted
to transfer and
selected cut option
2)Disconnected the mouse from that PC
3)Took that mouse carefully and connected it to the
other PC where he
wanted to copy that file
4)And trying to paste it there....!!!!!!!!!

***************
**Once Banta got a party invitation saying..... Black
tie only !
At the party Banta was very shocked to see other
people wearing suits
also!!!!!!





Smart Indian

It is because of the business sense demonstrated below.


An Indian walks into a New York City bank and asks to see the
loan officer. He says he is going to Europe on business for two weeks
and
needs to borrow $5,000.
The bank officer says the bank will need some kind of security forsuch a
loan, so the man hands over the keys of
a new Rolls Royce parked on the street in front of the bank.
Everything is checked out, and the bank agrees to accept the
car as collateral for the loan. An employee drives the
Rolls into the bank's underground garage and parks it there.
Two weeks later, the man returns, repays the $5,000 and the
interest, which comes to $15.41. The loan officer
says, "We are very happy to have had your business, and this
transaction has worked out very nicely,but we are a
little puzzled. While you were away, we checked you out and found
that you are a multimillionaire. What puzzles us is why would you bother
to borrow $5,000?"
The Indian replied,"Where else in New York can I park my car for two
weeks
for 15 bucks?"
Cheers !

Indians are Indians......, Smart





1.MAN: I want a divorce. My wife hasn't spoken to me in six months.

LawyER: Better think it over. Wives like that are hard to get!

2.A Happy Boss tells his employeES:

You worked very hard this year. As a reward, I 'll give everyone a
cheque for Rs 5000. If you work with the same zeal next year, I'll
sign those cheques.

3.HubBY: Darling, years ago u had a figure like Coke bottle.

WiFE: Yes darling I still do, only difference is earlier it was
300ml now it's 1.5 ltr.

4.An observing him. Suddenly a star falls, seeing that Santa shoutED:

Kya nishana lagaya hai!

5.God thought that since he couldn't be everywhere he made a mother.

Then devil thought that he couldn't be everywhere he made a mother-
in-law.

6.SanTA: I'm a proud father. My son is in medical college.

BanTA: What's he studying?"

SanTA: He's not studying, they are studying him!

8.Banta sent sms to SanTA: Bhejnewala mahan, padhnewala gadha.

Santa got angry and repliED: Bhejnewala gadha, padhnewala mahan.

9.Life is a paradox-what u want u don't get(luv), what u get, u

don't enjoy(marriage), what u enjoy is not permanent(girlfriend),



what is permanent is boring(wife)

10. An SMS : Sincere ApoloGY: If u dont like any of my SMS n dont

like 2 read, then plz dont hesitate, feel free to.....





Lessons in Logic

If your father is a poor man,
it is your fate but,
if your father-in-law is a poor man,
it's your stupidity.

........................................................................
..

I was born intelligent -
education ruined me.

........................................................................
..


Practice makes perfect.....
But nobody's perfect......
so why practice?

........................................................................
..


If it's true that we are here to help others,
then what exactly are the others here for?

........................................................................
..


Since light travels faster than sound,
people appear bright until you hear them speak.

........................................................................
..


How come "abbreviated" is such a long word?

........................................................................
..


Money is not everything.
There's Mastercard & Visa.

........................................................................
..


One should love animals.
They are so tasty.

........................................................................
..


Behind every successful man, there is a woman
And behind every unsuccessful man, there are two.

........................................................................
..


Every man should marry.
After all, happiness is not the only thing in
life.

........................................................................
..


The wise never marry.
and when they marry they become otherwise.

........................................................................
..


Success is a relative term.
It brings so many relatives.

........................................................................
..


Never put off the work till tomorrow
what you can put off today.

........................................................................
..


"Your future depends on your dreams"
So go to sleep

........................................................................
..


There should be a better way to start a day
Than waking up every morning

........................................................................
..


"Hard work never killed anybody"
But why take the risk

........................................................................
..


"Work fascinates me"
I can look at it for hours

........................................................................
..


God made relatives;
Thank God we can choose our friends.

........................................................................
..


The more you learn, the more you know,
The more you know, the more you forget
The more you forget, the less you know
So.. why learn.


........................................................................
..

A bus station is where a bus stops.

A train station is where a train stops.

On my desk, I have a work station....
what more can I say........

----------

What do you get when you cross a lawyer and a pig?

Nothing, there's some things even a pig won't do!



----------

A couple was planning on getting married. Seeing how they didn't
have much money to go on a honeymoon, they decided tojust go back
to their new apartment after the wedding.

The groom had three close friends, that were prone to committing
practical jokes. One being a carpenter, the other a ordinary guy,
and the third a dentist.

They all decided to pull practical jokes on their newly married
friends. The carpenter decided he would cut the slats in the bed
so that when they climbed into bed, the bed would collapse. The
ordinary guy decided to short sheet the bed, so that when they got
into it their feet wouldn't reach the bottom. The dentist chuckled
and wouldn't tell anyone what he planned to do.

A week later the 3 friends all received letters in the mail. "Dear
friends, we didn't mind the fact that when we got into bed, the
bed collapsed, or the guy that short sheeted it, but I'm gonna kill
the bastard that put the novacaine in the vaseline!"



YOUR QuOTE:

Posted by abs at 4:46 PM

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wife
Men Have Better Friends . . .



Friends of WomEN:

A wife was not at home for a whole night. So she tells her husband, the
very next morning, that she stayed at her (girl) friend's apartment
overnight. So the husband calls 10 of her best (girl) friends and none
of them confirm that she was with them.


Friends of MEN:

A husband was not at home for a whole night. So he tells his wife the
very
next morning, that he stayed at his friend's apartment over night. So
the wife calls 10 of his best friends and 5 of them confirm that he
stayed
at their apartments that night and another 5 are claiming that he is
still
with them . . . :-)