A Voice For the Voiceless

MISSION

The Advocacy Project seeks to help community-based advocates produce, disseminate and use information, and so become more effective advocates for human rights and social justice

Batticaloa Under Water, January 5, 2005

The following was written by the staff of the Home for Human Rights (HHR).

Batticaloa: Batticaloa is an important city in the eastern province Sri Lanka. In fact, many people refer to it as the capital of the area. The city was once famed for its sand, sun and the singing fish found in its lagoon. It is surrounded by water on three sides. However the serenity and beauty of the city has been dramatically altered by the 20-year conflict. The situation has deteriorated even further to an almost unimaginable level due to the devastation caused by the tsunami. The area has been completely ravaged and has caused a rupture in the social fabric of the communities that were trying to recuperate from the conflict.


Another picture of the stagnant sea and rain water.

The Batticaloa region is populated predominately by Tamils; however, a large population of Muslims and a small group of Singhalese also live there.
Agriculture and fishing are the main means of sustenance of people in the region.

The tsunami has brought near-complete death and destruction. In Batticoala alone, nearly 4,000 people have died and another 1,000 are missing. Even more have been injured and thousands have lost their homes and property. Many of them are being forced to live in refugee camps, comprising make shift shelters and schools. They need both immediate and long-term assistance. A large number of the coastally inhabited areas have been completely washed away. Where fishing villages once stood, only memories of the past remain.

The aid received thus far is primarily being given through the active involvement of international humanitarian and local nongovernmental organizations. However, aid that has been promised by individual donors has not yet been allocated to the region, leaving the populace in dire straits.
Navatkudah is an example of this situation. It is one of the colonies located by the side of the ocean within the city limits of Batticaloa (in Wards 4, 5 and 6) where some of the most disadvantaged people live.


A group of families live in this small hut in Poonochchimunai.

 Four hundred displaced families settled in this area due to communal problems during the conflict. These families were displaced from Kathankudy, a Muslim village. They are among the poorest of the poor and are being temporally housed in a refugee camp at Music College in Batticaloa. Discrimination is a major reason for their struggle, and because of it there are not receiving any aid whatsoever. Within this camp, you will find 61 infants, ranging in age from one month to one year that do not have any food. The children are dressed in the same clothes they were wearing the day that the tsunami hit.

The mothers, including ones that are breast-feeding, are given just one meal a day. They sleep on the floor without a mattress or bed sheets. When we interviewed 171 mothers with children, they told us stories of starvation and the horrifying incidents they have had to endure.

Consequently, it is essential that aid reach this area immediately and begins to alleviate their suffering and misery.