There were 278,131 IDPs in May this year as at 21.12.2009 there were only 106,348 IDPs in Detention camps!

Overcoming many an obstacle:

World record in resettlement
Lakshmi DE SILVA

With the diminishing flames of war the government had to face another major problem in May this year. The innocent people trapped and held hostage by the LTTE were escaping from their ruthless terrorists hanging on to their most valuable things-their children.

Most of them skeleton-like were struggling to cross over to the Government held areas unheeding their former bosses while the terrorists were shooting at them.

The untold misery was shown on their faces. The trickle swelled. The exodus finally ended recording the IDP number at 278,131. It was the largest humanitarian operation in recent history. The Army, Navy and the Air Force personnel were providing security, shelter, food and drinking water at the first stages with the maximum support from the political leadership.

More than 23 school buildings, and Government offices were immediately turned into transition relief centres, while 200 to 300 acre scrub jungle lands were cleared and turned into relief villages to settle the internally displaced people at the initial stage, Resettlement and Rehabilitation Ministry Secretary U.L.M. Haldeen said.

It was not an easy task. But under the direction of President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapaksa MP with the Armed Forces we had to work round the clock to provide facilities to the crowds that increased every hour at the first phase.

This was a major operation and was a greater challenge than the war. The line ministries and institutions, Road Development Authority, UN Agencies, UNHCR . District Secretaries of Vavuniya, Kandy, Polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura with other Ministry Officials worked hard throughout with the mechanism for nearly three months during the peak time. They all joined in providing food, accommodation, drinking water and other facilities, Haldeen explained.

Water
Manik Farm was a scrub jungle area. We cleared it and provided infrastructure. Special water supply scheme was opened at Malwathu Oya to divert water to Manik Farm whenever there was a water shortage. Water Supplies Board officials and the UNICEF officials worked hard to provide sufficient water to the IDPs in addition to the wells, tube wells and bowsers supplied exclusively for drinking purposes, the Secretary added.

Food

How are you girls and boys?

At the beginning, cooked meals were flown by plane to Vavuniya. People from far as down Southern Province came and cooked food for the IDPs who were very weak.

Maha Nayaka Theras, Buddhist Clergy, the Mosques specially the Kathankudy Mosque, the Kurukkals, Christian clergy and the public voluntarily brought food, cooked meals and lorry loads or other relief goods of donations to these IDPs. Kuba Mudalali, a plantation owner, supplied lorry loads of coconuts for three months, free of charge. Countrymen from all parts of the country sent their generous contributions and there were millions of water bottles for the IDPs At this stage there were no barriers they did not consider about the caste, creed or religion. They provided to their own brethren in distress the needed items.

Also the foreign donor countries, Buddhist Association UK and the Tamil diaspora too provided assistance to us at the crucial hour and we thank all of them for their support, the Ministry Secretary said.

Sanitation
Semi permanent toilets were fixed with the assistance from the UNICEF and the Ministry. More than 40 gully extruder vehicles emptied the toilet pits and cleaned them every other day while 35 tractors were used for garbage clearing. There were 200 to 300 people engaged in garbage clearing and it was monitored by the UNICEF officers he said.

Education
In each relief village we constructed semi permanent schools and allowed the children to study their school curriculum with the assistance from the zonal directors and well wishers. Schoolchildren were provided with school bags, books, pencils, school uniforms and the kids with toys too. The teachers were from the IDP centres itself but the teachers were exchanged whenever there was a shortage, the Secretary explained.

He further expressed his gratitude to the 25 Peradeniya Engineering Faculty Student Union undergraduates who gave tuition to the O/L students for the past four months during the weekends.

One of the first steps we took was to send the University students back to their respective Universities for their higher studies after the confirmation from the University Grants Commission, Secretary remarked.

The children sat for the year five scholarship, O/L and A/L examinations and well wishers and the Government provided maximum support for them, he noted.

Health
We put up hospitals in each and every zone and more than 60 percent of IDPs were sick and feeble when they arrived. The Health Officers worked around the clock in addition INGOs and NGOs health workers. Those hospitals are still continuing its services to the people.

The Indian Government too helped us by sending Doctors, Medical Assistance and Health Officials . There were Specialist Doctors from France, India and other countries serving the IDPs free of charge. Health Ministry upgraded the hospitals in Vavuniya, Mannar and Chettikulam. The IDP zones had around 15 ambulances for their emergency purposes and 10 to 15 CTB buses were also available to the IDPs for transportation of patients, he noted.

Conditions of the IDPs
During the first two weeks the IDPs who arrived were very weak. Some people told me that they had gone without a proper meal for a long period.


They were happy to be going back to their own vilages

Some said they could not even wash their face and could not bathe for nearly three months. More than 60 percent were physically weak when they arrived at the relief villages and could not even speak, Haldeen said. (But now some of them were refusing to go back to their villages as there were more facilities at relief centres than they had....)

De-mining and Resettlement
President Mahinda Rajapaksa had appointed a Task Force chaired by Basil Rajapaksa MP and their main concerns were Security of the IDPs, Development of the area and resettlement.

First they decided to provide infrastructure roads, bridges, culverts and improving the minor and major irrigation reservoirs and the hospitals, school buildings and civil administration in addition to electricity, water, cleaning of wells and irrigation canals.

De- mining process was handled by the armed forces specially while some of the INGOs like UN agencies were assisting the Armed Forces. But it was our Army personnel that worked hard though it was not an easy job. More than 500 Army personnel were trained and we bought equipment to expedite the de- mining process. It was done manually and with machinery.

* It was a world record resettlement. More than 50 percent of the IDPs have been resettled as at 21.12.2009

* There were 278,131 IDPs in May this year as at 21.12.2009 there were only 106,348 IDPs in relief villages.

* 15,000 IDPs go out everyday in the morning and return to the relief villages in the evening.

* There are now only 8 relief villages functioning. All the Government Buildings where there were transitional camps have now been returned to the relevant institutions.

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