by Caroline Brennan
It was the auspicious wedding season in India this year when Anita (name changed) got married, but her honeymoon was little like those of other newlyweds. For Anita and her husband, their first days as a couple were spent inside a warehouse with no windows, no toilet and little privacy from 25 other families sharing the same roof.
Anita is a Sri Lankan refugee living in India. A growing generation of people like Anita - who know only Indian refugee camps as home - reveals the depth of the crisis taking place in their home country.
As many as 69,000 Sri Lankan refugees are known to have made it across the body of water that separates the two countries. It is a perilous escape that few people talk about. Back in Sri Lanka, some 200,000 people - a population larger than the city of Ft. Lauderdale-fled their towns with the reality that almost anywhere is safer than home.
Earlier this year in Sri Lanka, emergency relief camps for displaced families were doubling in size in a matter of months. Now, more than 6,000 families from West Batticaloa are encouraged by the government to return to their homes; another 12,000 families are scheduled to do so by the end of the year. But, returning is difficult because many homes have been destroyed or looted. The access and security for humanitarian organizations trying to help them is restricted, and resources are running out. People are traumatized by the events that have seized their towns and lives.
In India, people's faces show a different lens into the crisis. The feeling is not one of abrupt transition. Shelters look weathered and worn in, as do the refugees. In fact, this crisis is not new for many living here. Several thousand people, including Anita, have been waiting in this place of refuge for peace, for a safe return, for the past 17 years.
The Soundtrack of War
The Sri Lankan civil war between government forces and the Liberation Tigers has lasted a generation, starting in 1983, with chapters of relative calm. In April of last year, after five years of a cease fire, the fighting erupted again; now it has become a full-scale humanitarian emergency with hundreds of thousands of people trapped in the middle of the fighting.
For Anita, this has been the backdrop of childhood. She was 4 years old when her family fled their country and arrived at the Narayaammalpuram camp in Tirunelveli, India, in 1990. She grew up in the camp, completed her studies and, at 21, is a newlywed.
Anita met her husband in the camp, which is also where they held their wedding. The privacy they've attempted to create in the dilapidated warehouse comes from a self-made, 6 ft. mud wall. Anita said that if she could have anything to start her marriage, it would be a safe place to live.
The government of India has been the main supporter of these refugees, providing basic amenities including shelter, mid-day meals, subsidized rations (of rice, sugar and kerosene), water and electricity in 120 camps housing 73,097 people. All refugee children are provided entrance into the government schools - a gesture deeply appreciated by the families.
But, this is no place to raise a family. When children complete school, job options are minimal and competitive. Anita's husband is a daily wage laborer, spending his days at construction sites, painting houses and loading trucks. He would like to be doing more.
Some refugees have tried to return to Sri Lanka to make a go of it. Niloopa (name changed) is one of those who took the risk. Like Anita, she arrived in India young - at the age of 8 - in 1990. In 2003, she and her husband, whom she met at the camp, returned to Sri Lanka to try to build a life in a country they knew only from childhood. They succeeded for three years until fighting broke out in 2006. They were forced to sell their fishing boat and used their savings to make the return journey to India. She is now 24 and a mother of three children.
"We want to go back," she says. "Once there is peace, we will go back."
CRS Response
In India, CRS partners are working in 38 camps, supporting 25,408 people, and collaborating closely with the Indian government. In particular, CRS is prioritizing safe shelter, sanitation, psychosocial support, and means for people to earn an income. CRS support includes:
- Major repairs to the shelter infrastructure in all 38 camps.
- Construction of water and sanitation facilities - bore wells, hand pumps and latrines - in 17 camps.
- Collaboration with women and youth on income generation activities and job placements.
In Sri Lanka, CRS has committed $350,000 to provide emergency food relief, shelter, sanitation, clothing, counseling and educational support. These efforts are taking place in the war-affected districts of Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Mannar and Jaffna.
Going Home
For Niloopa, Anita and thousands of Sri Lankans forced to leave their homes behind, they share a looming question: when will it be safe enough to go back?
In Sri Lanka, people still hear the sounds of war at night and haunting their dreams. The time for return does not appear soon, and the wait and fear are agonizing. In India, refugees can be heard singing a special version of the Sri Lankan national anthem. It is a hopeful version they wrote to remember their beautiful country and life before the camp, and to educate the new generation about a homeland they've yet to see.
Caroline Brennan is South Asia regional information officer for Catholic Relief Services. She has reported on CRS activities for the Pakistan earthquake, the Indian Ocean tsunami, the Darfur crisis, and postwar development in Democratic Republic of the Congo and Afghanistan, among others. Caroline is based in New Delhi, India.