Putlam Refugee Relief Project (1990-1997)
During the latter half of 1990 the Sri Lankan ethnic conflict took a new turn further complicating the complex problem, The Muslim population who were living amidst the Tamils in the north of Sri Lanka were forced to flee, at gun point, by the LTTE. They were given 24 hours notice to leave and all their belongings were looted. Nearly a million people were displaced in this episode and all of them arrived in other parts of the country. The majority of them arrived in Puttalam, a Muslim majority township, in the North East of Sri Lanka. This was very sudden and unexpected and was the first time that the country experienced such a mass exodus of people. Neither the government nor the NGOs were prepared or equipped to meet such an emergency and it was a great challenge. SCI Sri Lanka was one of the NGOs that took immediate action to meet this emergency situation. SCI joined hands with other NGOs and the government to provide relief and to look after the welfare of the victims. During the initial stages we helped in the construction of temporary shelters and toilets through several workcamps. We also conducted health camps with the help of qualified SCI members. In this way we were able to establish good rapport with the refugees, local population, others NGOs and government officials and to demonstrate the role of practical work in bringing about peace and mutual understanding. Our work was in total contrast to other NGOs who were distributing material things and had no personal contact with the refugees. Our initial work was supported by CEBEMO- A Dutch funding agency, later our programme was continued with assistance of Oxfam, the Australian High Commission, SCF (UK) and SCI international branches.
During 1994 many NGOs started withdrawing from Puttalam. However SCI decided to continue for a few more years as by this time we had established good rapport with the refugees, the local population and the government authorities. More importantly we had commenced an education awareness raising programme so that the refugees would be able to manage their own affairs. There was the need for education awareness creation of their rights and privileges which were being grossly violated. Our appeal for funds from the EU, through the good offices of the Belgium branch of the SCI was successful and were able to continue with our project till end of 1997.
With funds from the EU we were able to help 1296 families with a total population of 5396 in the areas of housing, sanitation, water supply, health and income generation. A considerable part of the work was done through workcamps. Handpicked volunteers from SCI branches, representatives from other like-minded NGOs, government officials and volunteers from the Asian and European branches of the SCI camped with the refugees for periods ranging from 3-4 weeks at one time. During the morning session, they joined the refugees in manual work. In the afternoon, discussions and deliberations were held on the various aspects of the problem. Participants described their country experiences, the strategies that were adopted, and their successes and failures. Some afternoons there were guest speakers who shared their expert opinion on different topics. In the evening cultural events depicted different cultural backgrounds like songs, dances, dramas etc. Nearly 100 local volunteers, 20 foreign volunteers and 75 refugees were fully and directly involved in the workcapms. The presence of the foreign volunteers attracted a lot of attention and they played a vital role in promoting international understanding and creating awareness of the global nature of the problem. Refugees and locals from Puttalam had the opportunity of participating in workcamps held in other parts of the country. One refugee was also selected to participate in the regional workshop held in Nepal during December 1996.
SCI being gender-conscious, it did not take us long to discover that the refugee woman were confined to their huts and bearing the brunt of the suffering and misery. They were bearing and caring children, cooking, cleaning, fetching water and carrying fire-wood. The men were idling away most of the time gambling, drinking and smoking. In view of the strict cultural restrictions the male field workers could not establish a dialogue with them or involve them in our activities. To overcome this barrier female mobilizes were recruited who visited the refugees camps daily and were able to establish good communication links. The process of awareness building was done mainly through interpersonal exchanges. Through this process various problems ranging from family planning to human rights and child bearing to income generation. These interventions proved very successful and the results were visible. One example was the participation of 10 young girls from the refugee community in a month long training programme held in Colombo. To persuade this strictly conservative society, with extreme religious and cultural barriers where young girls were rarely allowed to venture out of their homes, was indeed a difficult task.
During 1994 many NGOs started withdrawing from Puttalam. However SCI decided to continue for a few more years as by this time we had established good rapport with the refugees, the local population and the government authorities. More importantly we had commenced an education awareness raising programme so that the refugees would be able to manage their own affairs. There was the need for education awareness creation of their rights and privileges which were being grossly violated. Our appeal for funds from the EU, through the good offices of the Belgium branch of the SCI was successful and were able to continue with our project till end of 1997.
With funds from the EU we were able to help 1296 families with a total population of 5396 in the areas of housing, sanitation, water supply, health and income generation. A considerable part of the work was done through workcamps. Handpicked volunteers from SCI branches, representatives from other like-minded NGOs, government officials and volunteers from the Asian and European branches of the SCI camped with the refugees for periods ranging from 3-4 weeks at one time. During the morning session, they joined the refugees in manual work. In the afternoon, discussions and deliberations were held on the various aspects of the problem. Participants described their country experiences, the strategies that were adopted, and their successes and failures. Some afternoons there were guest speakers who shared their expert opinion on different topics. In the evening cultural events depicted different cultural backgrounds like songs, dances, dramas etc. Nearly 100 local volunteers, 20 foreign volunteers and 75 refugees were fully and directly involved in the workcapms. The presence of the foreign volunteers attracted a lot of attention and they played a vital role in promoting international understanding and creating awareness of the global nature of the problem. Refugees and locals from Puttalam had the opportunity of participating in workcamps held in other parts of the country. One refugee was also selected to participate in the regional workshop held in Nepal during December 1996.
SCI being gender-conscious, it did not take us long to discover that the refugee woman were confined to their huts and bearing the brunt of the suffering and misery. They were bearing and caring children, cooking, cleaning, fetching water and carrying fire-wood. The men were idling away most of the time gambling, drinking and smoking. In view of the strict cultural restrictions the male field workers could not establish a dialogue with them or involve them in our activities. To overcome this barrier female mobilizes were recruited who visited the refugees camps daily and were able to establish good communication links. The process of awareness building was done mainly through interpersonal exchanges. Through this process various problems ranging from family planning to human rights and child bearing to income generation. These interventions proved very successful and the results were visible. One example was the participation of 10 young girls from the refugee community in a month long training programme held in Colombo. To persuade this strictly conservative society, with extreme religious and cultural barriers where young girls were rarely allowed to venture out of their homes, was indeed a difficult task.
