Trincomalee Tamils continue fleeing to India
June 9th, 2006
By D.B.S. Jeyaraj
Sri Lanka is being steered firmly towards full – scale war by both the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) headed by Mahinda Rajapakse and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) led by Velupillai Prabakharan. The impact of total war will be felt by all sections of Sri Lankan society. It is however the Sri Lankan Tamils of the North – East who will bear the brunt of renewed conflict and undergo the greatest degree of suffering.
Realising the grave consequences many responsible members of Sri Lankan society are crying out against this tragedy in the making.. Their voices are becoming increasingly inaudible as the drum beats of war get louder and louder. The international community(IC) pushing for lasting peace in the Island is frustrated and on the verge of abandoning Sri Lanka altogether. The IC is correct in stating that the responsibility of ushering in lasting peace rests primarily on the GOSL and LTTE and not on others.
With the grim prospect of total war looming large on the horizon those likely to be affected most are becoming increasingly insecure. If the illusory glory of war is stripped away what remains is the suffering and loss of the ordinary people. It is the poorer sections of ordinary society that are most affected by war. The internet sites may be full of postings by “lions and tigers” clamouring for war but these vocal warriors with access to computers are far away from the theatre of conflict.
The ordinary people living in potential conflict areas are not roaring like lions or growling like tigers. They are gripped by fear. The violence of the present and resultant tensions provides them with fear of the future in a situation of war. These people have suffered in the past and know what it is going to be like in the future if and when conflict escalates to full scale fighting. In such a situation the vulnerable people are simply taking flight. They seek safe havens of security and not greener pastures of prosperity.
This sense of impending tragedy is felt intensely in the North – Eastern district of Trincomalee. This is a multi – ethnic, multi – religious district possessing politico – military importance. All three communities are more or less of equal strength here. Tamils however are more concentrated in the coastal areas including Trincomalee town.
In recent times there has been a concerted drive to populate the region with Sinhala speaking people along with a parallel effort to de- populate the district of Tamils. State aided schemes and other incentives are the way to attract new people into the district. Violence, terror, economic deprivation and enhanced insecurity are the ways through which people are compelled to leave. The escalation of the ethnic conflict along with excessive militarisation has made this process of “De – Tamilising” Trincomalee easier.
Thousands of Trincomalee Tamils left the district. Many relocated to other parts of the Island. Others went abroad to Western Countries. Some went to neighbouring India. A large number of Trinco Tamils who went to India were fisherfolk.
This process of Tamil outflow which accelerated after 1983 had only two “lulls” . The first during the time the Indian Army was in the Island and the North – Eastern Provincial Council with Annamalai Varatharajapperumal as Chief Minister was set up in Trincomalee.
The second one was during the climate of “no – war” created by the ceasefire accord of Feb 23rd 2002 signed jointly by Ranil Wickremasinghe and Velupillai Pirapakaran. This prevailing ceasefire period witnessed more than 5000 refugees returning from Tamil Nadu. Of these returning refugees the bulk were from Trincomalee and Mannar districts.
What is happening now is a reverse flow of Tamil refugees back to Tamil Nadu. Preponderant among these people are Tamils from Trincomalee district. Trincomalee Tamils began fleeing to Tamil Nadu state in India from January this year. Indian newspapers reported that by Sunday June 4th the figure of “new” Tamil refugees in the State had reached 3226.
The latest arrivals on Sunday 4th were 61 people from 21 families from Thirukkadaloor in Trincomalee. They landed on places like Paamban , Olaikkudaah and Arichamunai on the coast of Ramanathapuram or Ramnad district.There were 23 male and 22 female adults. The children comprised 6 males and 10 females. After the routine interrogation, screening and mandatory quarantine period they will be housed in the main Mandapam camp.
It is this Mandapam camp that is becoming home to the “new” Tamil refugees. This was a camp originally set up during British rule to facilitate transportation of Indian plantation workers to and from Sri Lanka. It became a major refugee camp for Sri Lankan Tamils in the eighties. Even before the current refugee flow began there were 775 people staying in Mandapam. Of these about 225 -30 have requested a transfer to other camps .
There are about 100, 000 Lankan Tamil refugees in India even now. According to Indian media reports about 60, 000 are housed in nearly 100 refugee camps in different parts of Tamil Nadu and also some other states. Those having links or suspected of having links with the LTTE are kept in Vellore. The security measures are strict here. Most refugees in camps consist of the poorer sections of society.
In addition to this there are also about 40, 000 Lankan Tamils living independently without Government assistance. These people are quite affluent and live comfortably. Many are engaged in business activity. A large number in this category relies on lucrative remittances sent by relatives in Western Countries
The Indian Government was slowly encouraging Tamil refugees to return after the 2002 ceasefire. This has now been put on hold. The Indian authorities are neither encouraging or discouraging Tamil refugees. They are not turning any one away. All those seeking refuge are first interrogated and screened due to suspicion that some LTTE members may be among them. Thereafter they are housed in Mandapam and given basic food items like raw rice and lentils, cooking vessels, mats, pillows, sheets, buckets, kerosene, soap etc and some cash.
The rations and dole distributed is definitely not enough by Indian standards for the upkeep of refugee families. So most refugees engage in work, self – employment or small business. This is the practice in Mandapam and several other camps. Indian authorities in the past had turned a blind eye realising fully well that the provisions and cash given was not enough to sustain the people. Tamil refugees have become a source of cheap labour exploited ruthlessly by employers. In some instances prostitution and drug running too take place.
The situation in Mandapam camp is far from satisfactory. Three Tamil Nadu legislators conducted an inspection of Mandapam recently. They were Gunasekeran from the Indian Communist party , Ramaswamy and Hassan Ali from the Congress party. They were not happy about what they saw.
Speaking to media persons later the Political leaders said that many of the cottages were in dilapidated condition. There was no electricity to many. The sanitary conditions were woefully inadequate. The monetary dole given was unrealistically low. The provisions given were not enough at all. There was also harassment by some officials. Deploying only male Policemen for security without female Police arrangements for the women was causing much friction.
The Tamil Nadu legislators have promised to alert their party high commands of the prevailing conditions in Mandapam. They would be urging remedial action. A petition outlining shortcomings and recommendations is to be drafted shortly and submitted for urgent action to Tamil Nadu chief minister Muthuvel Karunanidhi.
Notwithstanding the problems at Mandapam refugee traffic from Sri Lanka continues. The weather conditions are rather bad for sea crossings right now. Even the UNHCR issued a statement warning people not to undertake perilous sea journeys at this point of time. The Sri Lankan Government officials and Catholic clergy in Mannar are also advising the people not to hazard the choppy waves. The Navy has even threatened to shoot at the suspected refugee boats.
The navy has also apprehended some would be refugees. On May 22nd the navy made its biggest haul by seizing ten boats with 122 people at Pesalai in Mannar. On June 5th the navy caught another thirty – seven people and four boatmen off Thalaimannar. It was discovered that some of those arrested on May 22nd were among the people caught on June 6th.
Most of the people arrive in Mannar because that is the shortest point across to Tamil Nadu and has many boatmen familiar with the marine route. They are put up temporarily in Churches and Schools. Some stay with friends or relatives. With inadequate facilities at Churches and schools the people are being helped by residents of Pesalai and Thalaimannar who allow the refugees to use their homes for bathing and answering calls of nature. Government officials are trying to open a big refugee camp in Mannar but find themselves blocked by security officials.
Attempts were made by security authorities to forcibly drive refugees away from Mannar initially. Sections of the Colombo based media treated it as an illegal migration issue. These efforts to chase them away was stopped due to pressure exerted by INHCR and other NGO officials.
Despite these hardship and danger the people continue leaving for India. Crossing the sea at this point of time may be risky but they prefer that as the lesser evil. Conditions at Mandapam may not be ideal but they seem preferable to what they think awaits them in their own , motherland. The navy has caught some of them and warns that it would fire on boats yet the people cross clandestinely at night. As a Mannar Catholic priest told a Journalist “Even if they get caught by the navy they will try again. Some don’t have any thought of what fate lies in wait for them in India but they just want to leave the country.”
The fleeing refugees are taken by boatmen across to the Tamil Nadu coast and put ashore at points like Dhanushkodi, Arichalmunai, Muhuntharayar sathiram, Serankottai, Olaikkudaa, Paamban, Paambankunthukaal etc. Some just drop them off on the shifting sandbanks or “thittys” of Ramar Anai near the Indian coast. On May 19th 33 people were stranded for 33 hours on a sandbank till the Indian Navy rescued them. Another group was not so lucky on the same date. A boat with 30 people capsized near the Indian shore killing eleven people of whom three were sisters. On May 20th fishermen from Chilaw rescued another 20 people foundering in water after the boat had sunk.
Among the refugees who have gone across and are housed at Mandapam around 95% are from Trincomalee district. The rest are from Kilinochchi , Mannar and Vavuniya disricts. Trincomalee district is in the throes of a major refugee upheaval. Continuing violence in many forms resulted in massive displacement. At one point the number of displaced people in the district topped 43,000. Nowadays it has dropped to about 18,000 within both the GOSL and LTTE controlled areas. The climate of insecurity and fear remains and people continue leaving the district.
Apart from those at Mandapam in Tamil Nadu some Trinco Tamils are refugees in places like Munthal and Udappu in Puttalam district and Akkaraipattru in Amparai district . There are also many middle – class people who have moved to Colombo and other areas in the South. A few have reportedly gone to tiger territory in the Wanni. The statistics compiled at Mandapam camp reveals another important fact.Trincomalee Tamil refugees are from the coastal areas like Nilaweli, Sambaltheevu, Salli, Thirukkadaloor, Veeramaanagar, Padukkai, Pallanthottam and the 10th ward in Trincomalee town. Most of these people are fisherfolk , casual workers or petty traders.
What makes Trincomalee Tamils flee from the district is a combination of past experience, present problems and future fears. The current phase of refugee outflow began in the aftermath of the Jan 2nd massacre of five innocent youths at the Dutch bay beach and the mysterious destruction of a Dvora near the harbour. Fishing was restricted and fisherfolk were assaulted at random.
Then came the anti – Tamil violence in the town after the claymore explosion at the vegetable market. Tamils were attacked and businesses looted and set on fire while the security personnel simply watched or aided and abetted the violent elements. There was a sinister plot to drive Tamils away from the town and outlying coastal areas at night. This was stopped mainly due to the telephone conversation between Indian Premier Manmohan Singh and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse. Violence directed against Tamil civilians and harassment of coastal Tamils continues sporadically.
The Colombo regime also conducted a deliberate policy of targeting the coastal region of Muthur in the district after the bomb explosion at the army headquarters in Colombo on April 25th and the attack on a naval flotilla off Point Pedro on May 11th. These attacks sanctioned by Rajapakse himself demonstrated that civilian safety of coastal Tamils in Trincomalee was of no consequence to the GOSL.
There was aerial bombardment of areas in Muthur for two days in April. There was also shelling from naval gun boats and artillery fire from Army camps. After the sea attack in May there was artillery firing by the army from land and shelling by the navy from sea. The coastal areas mainly populated by Tamils were the most affected.
Adding to Tamil insecurity was the fact that no Tamil however “important” was safe in existing conditions. The popular Tamil political activist Vanniyasingham Vigneswaran was killed at his workplace premises in broad daylight. Dr. Aiyathurai Manoharan the father of Rajihar a victim in the Jan 2nd massacre was continuously harassed by security personnel and their Tamil henchmen for seeking justice for his sons murder. The medical practitioner has been reduced to state of abject helplessness due to the systematic persecution.
The April 12th anti – Tamil violence saw the businesses of one of the leading Tamil entrepreneur in Trincomalee being attacked. Another influential segment comprising bank employees were also under threat at their workplaces. Yet there was no action taken by the Police or security personnel to protect them.
Even worse is the complete break down of the law and order machinery when it comes to meting out justice to Tamil victims. No one has been penalised so far for any of the violence directed against Tamil civilians. Some of those responsible move about freely in a climate of unprecedented impunity.
All these developments would no doubt have added to the feelings of fear and insecurity among Tamils in Trincomalee. There were however other factors too that have contributed to this refugee flight. Foremost among these is the continuous harassment and persecution that Tamil civilians are being subjected to. Fishing has been severely restricted. Fisherfolk at sea have been attacked and even asked at times to jump into the sea by the navy. As a result their livelihood is affected. Also affected economically are the casual workers and petty traders. The climate of violence has stifled opportunities greatly.
It is the Navy that is mainly in charge of security in Trincomalee. According to Trincomalee Tamils the conduct of many Naval personnel has been atrocious towards Tamil civilians. They are taunted and threatened regularly. Some fondle women with lewd remarks under the guise of searching for hidden bombs. Pregnant women are severely harassed after the allegation that the suicide bomber who targetted the Army Commander was pregnant. Tamils are able to name particular Navy officials as being persistent in these activities.
The single most factor causing the refugee outflow is however the fear of full – scale war breaking out. Tamils know that their plight would be terrible in that situation. Adding to these fears is the continuous threats by some navy men , politicians and Sinhala anti – Social elements that Tamil areas along the coasts will be ethnically cleansed when war is declared formally. This is not an idle threat is the feeling shared by many Tamils.
Related to this fear is the increasing militarisation going on. Sinhala civilians are being recruited as home guards and given arms. This is done with the blessings of some persons in Yellow and Saffron robes. These elements are likely to engage in large – scale violence against Tamil civilians during war.
The tigers are also “training” civilians in warfare and giving grenades to some. The LTTE is also getting its so called civilian militia to engage in violent acts wherever possible.They have offered to give arms to Tamil civilian youths who team up with them. This is the only way out when war erupts say the tigers.
The simple truth however is that the ordinary Tamil people do not want to fight or even get caught up in a fight. They do not want to join or for family members to join the LTTE. They also know that remaining uninvolved and safe in a time of war would be virtually impossible. They know that they would be victimised by the security forces. Relocating to tiger regions is also no answer because aerial bombardment and shelling is possible. Also they dont want to be “drafted” by the LTTE as combatants. So they are voting with their feet and fleeing.
A rumour going around earlier was that full – scale war would erupt in June. This increased the refugee outflow. Many Tamils decided firmly that they were going to India as refugees and would return only if genuine , permanent peace was restored. They realised that the only safe place for Tamil refugees without enough money was India. It was only there that they would be safe from both the security personnel and tigers. The fact that many had lived for years in India as refugees fuelled this yearning for the safe haven of Tamil Nadu.
So many have sold their meagre possessions at rockbottom prices and scraped enough money to take them across. Apart from ferrying and transport costs there was also the “hidden” cost of bribing security personnel. When the refugee outflow started the going rate was 8000 rupees for an adult and 4000 for a child. This included transport from Trinco to Mannar, passage to India, bribes to security personnel and commission to the agents arranging everything. Now the rates have increased to 15 to 20, 000 for adults and about half of that for kids.
These hapless people reach Mannar by road and stay in houses or the makeshift refugee camps. After some days passage is arranged and they set off clandestinely at night risking their lives in the choppy seas. The Navy is usually bribed. But there are occasions when the navy is compelled to “catch” a few boats to show they are maintaining vigil and satisfy their superiors.
As for the Mannar boatmen they are prepared to take the risk because of the money. Fisherfolk have always been courageous and ready to risk life as part of occupational hazards. The cruel experience of war has only increased their intrepid valour.
Whatever the “noises” made by those walking the corridors of power in Colombo there is no denying the fact that the Trincomalee refugee situation is covertly relished by the Rajapakse regime. Depleting Trincomalee of Tamils is advantageous to Sinhala supremacist ideology politically, militarily and economically. The Tamil population ratio decreases and economic opportunities can be “Sinhalaised” further. Militarily the strategic coastal areas are made “safer” for Colombo. The long term project of transforming ” Thirukonamalai” into “Thrikanamale” becomes easier.
With the threat of war becoming larger and larger the refugee problem can only increase. The unfolding Tamil tragedy in the Island continues . The plight of Trincomalee Tamils encapsules this situation vividly.
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Contact DBS Jeyaraj : djeyaraj2005@yahoo.com
[Pictures: Sunset in Orr's Hill, Refugee Camp at Saraswathy Vidyalayam, Thirukonneswaram Temple vicinity, 'Pandiyan' era 'Kalvettu', Uppuvelli Shore and Sunset in Thamaraikullaum - Courtesy of HumanityAshore.org]
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