A Forgotten People ● ● ● by Rajeev Nicholas (Sept 11)
A war is on. Sri-Lanka has fallen back into a terrible civil war. It seems that daily almost a hundred human lives are being lost. Statisticians are unable to keep up as so many people are dying in different parts of the country. During the last month the worst affected area has been the region south of Trincomalee. Believers from the Verugal Mukathuvaram & Verugal assemblies have been displaced and have fled their homes to escape the fighting. They have escaped with little of their personal belongings, just what they could carry on the long walk through the jungles. They have lost their cattle and are now faced with a bleak future as they are unable to farm their lands to generate an income for their livelihood.
Last week myself and a team from the Bethesda assembly spent 6 days staying with these people who have sought refuge at the Valaichenai assembly premises.
Most of the displaced believers have walked in stages to reach Valaichenai. Some have walked all the way from Verugal Mukathuvaram to Valaichenai, a three to four day walk. They had sorrowful tales to relate.
They spoke of what happened to their homes and homeland and how they were displaced, how they moved from place to place to avoid attacks, how the number of displaced people fleeing kept increasing as they moved from one village to another. They spoke sadly of seeing houses destroyed and people getting injured and killed.
They spoke to us of starvation and the lack of safe havens, medical attention and food. They spoke of constantly being terrified about artillery and aerial attacks. They told us of their children’s screams and their elders’ wails. They spoke of missing friends and family members.
Above all they spoke of the destruction of hope and peace. They lamented about the loss of homes and habitat and their way of life. After enjoying the tranquility of a no-war situation for the past few years the renewal of the fighting was a cruel blow. They were frightened and frustrated as never before during the conflict. The brutal ferocity and intensity of the attacks and the callous disregard for human beings seemed to have shocked them.
These believers from the east are tragic figures. They suffer due to no fault of theirs. What is worse is that none of the authorities in this country seem aware or concerned about their plight. Some assistance is available to the displaced from the government via some large relief agencies, but bureaucratic procedures prevent these measures from being implemented as they belong to another district!! As they have moved to Valaichenai (which is in the Batticaloa district) they have been told that they need to move back to the Trincomalee district to obtain the little food help that is available. As a result these displaced believers told us that they feel that they have become “A Forgotten People” within their own country. Many of the international NGO’s that have been working in the North and the East of the country have been leaving the country as it has now become too dangerous to work in these areas.
Everyone had a story to tell of how they escaped/fled from the fighting. I will tell you the story of one family. Bro Mahendran (who is one of the elders at the Verugal Assembly) told me that three bombs fell on his land, two exploded and some shrapnel is embedded in the walls of their home. They had dug a bunker in the ground and fortified it with logs and branches on top. For ten days they were hiding in the bunker, Bro Mahendran crept out on a few occasions to forage for food. His family did not come out of the bunker at anytime during the ten days. The aerial bombardment continued unabated as they prayed and asked the Lord for deliverance. Finally because they were starving they decided to flee through the jungle to seek refuge at the Valaichenai assembly. After four days of travel they finally made it and they were giving thanks to the Lord for answered prayer.
The displaced are anxious to return to their homes and to their normal lives, but for the moment it remains a dream. Intense fighting is carrying on between the various groups that are involved in this conflict and people are too frightened to even step out onto the streets. When we were in Valaichenai the tension in the area was clearly visible. In fact on the first night of our visit the Police/Army camp that is 400 meters away from the assembly premises was attacked and the night was filled with mortar and rocket explosions together with automatic weapon fire. The danger was very real.
There are now 120 adults and 110 children that we are feeding everyday in the Valaichenai assembly premises. We have setup tents/temporary accommodation to house everyone on-site. Believers from different assemblies take turns with the cooking, cleaning etc. We have built new toilets & showers to cater to the increased numbers. We have also increased the water facilities on site. There were quite a few children and a few adults that needed medical attention and last week we were taking care of this during our visit. This week we are looking to setup a temporary school for all the children in the various age groups that are staying on the premises. We are looking for teachers at present to help to teach these children.
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