‘Came hoping for better life’
RAMESWARAM: It is not easy to meet residents of the Mandapam refugee camp for Sri Lankan Tamils. Life in the camps is not easy with longtime residents speaking of difficulties in accessing jobs and opportunities. Yet, 22 Lankan Tamils, most of whom had resided in such camps in Tamil Nadu, have returned to the India in five batches, along with 17 children, seeking refuge since March 22 till April 10. While earlier waves of refugees reached the shores of India due to a quarter century-long civil war, now it is the spiralling economic crisis on the island nation that has brought the Lankan Tamils back.
TNIE visited the Mandapam camp recently and learned that many of the families that arrived had gone hungry for days. “When we first arrived in Sri Lanka from India, things were fine. But in recent months, life became very difficult. We needed around Sri Lankan rupees 1,200 per day to meet our needs (one Indian rupee is about four Sri Lankan rupees) but work has become hard to find. Yet, even if we had the money, it was impossible to get provisions,” Mary Clarin, who arrived in the first batch, told TNIE. Mary was engaged in daily wage labour in Sri Lanka.
With no other option, the returning refugees invested all their resources in paying local fishers to bring them back to India. While the refugees in the first batch said they paid Sri Lankan rupees 10,000, those in the last batch paid up to SLR 25,000. The three-hour journey to Rameswaram too was fraught with fear as fishers sought to sneak them past the Sri Lankan navy, Indian coast guard and other authorities. This, after waiting several hours on the Lankan shores, to embark on the trip made on small fibreglass boats.
Mary recalled that they were dropped on a sandbar at 1am. “We had nothing to eat and had to wait for four to five hours on the sandbars. Finally, we contacted the coast guard through the local fishermen,” she said.
E Sosikala, who arrived on April 10, said, they made the journey in the hope of accessing a better life. “We were dropped off on a sandbar (Near Kothandaramar temple), from where we had to walk several metres in hip-deep sea water with our children and our belongings to reach the shore,” she recalled.
According to statements, the refugees made to Marine police, many had not eaten for two to three days before making the trip. “They reach here exhausted. Initially, we were conducting an inquiry and then
shifting them but now we are giving them food and shifting them directly to the camp. We start the inquiry after that,” a senior Marine police official said. Although the first batch of refugees was booked by police, the State issued an advisory to ensure no legal action is initiated against the Lankan Tamils.
“The State government has written to the Union government asking that refugee status be provided to Sri Lankan Tamils arriving in India due to the economic crisis,” said Jacintha Lazarus, Commissioner of Rehabilitation and Welfare of Non-Resident Tamils. S Venkatesan, Lok Sabha MP from Madurai, has written to the Ministry of External Affairs on the issue.
“The number of refugees may increase in the coming days. It is a humanitarian issue that requires urgent attention and sympathetic consideration. Thus, I have requested the Union government provide permission for requisitions made by the TN chief minister and proper shelter and essential commodities for the Sri Lankan Tamils,” he said.
Meanwhile, other long-time refugees at Mandapam said more of their relatives in Lanka were planning to return to India. “We arrived nearly 20 years ago during the war. Though several of our relatives returned to Sri Lanka, we stayed back. Now, many of them are planning to return,” said one woman. “Though life is good here, a lack of job opportunities remains a concern. Despite finishing professional degrees in India, still we are left to do daily wage jobs,” she rued.