At Election Seasons End, Sri Lankan Tamil

Refugees Forgotten Again

By admin on May 8, 2014
By VIABHAV VATS
PUZHAL, India As Tamil civilians were increasingly caught in the crss!ire "etween the
Indian Peace #ee$ing %rce and the Li"eratin Tigers ! Tamil &elam in the '()*s, Sasitharan
and his $arents !llwed the e+dus !rm the Tamil,ma-rity nrthern and eastern regins !
Sri Lan.a/
As a (,year,ld in '((*, 0r/ Sasitharan,
wh uses nly ne name, was ta.en "y his $arents acrss the Pal. Strait "y "at, the mde !
trans$rt !avred "y thusands ! re!ugees "e!re them/ 0r/ Sasitharan, wh grew u$ in the
sunny and windswe$t har"r city ! Trincmalee, has !ew memries ! his early years in Sri
Lan.a/
In India, his !amily settled near Bengaluru, where 0r/ Sasitharan studied at a schl !r Sri
Lan.an re!ugees/ Unli.e mst ! the re!ugees wh arrived in India, 0r/ Sasitharan attended
cllege, "ut a lac. ! mney !rced him t dr$ ut "e!re he culd graduate/
1hat !llwed was a reverse -urney in scial m"ility/ 0r/ Sasitharan, wh is !luent in
&nglish, gt a -" as a "an. salesman in 2hennai, the ca$ital ! Tamil 3adu/ His em$lyers
!ired him a!ter they discvered he was nt an Indian citi4en/ 5The mment I s$.e in Tamil,
they reali4ed I had a Sri Lan.an accent,6 he said/
7es$ite "eing s.illed and !luent in the &nglish language, a valua"le asset in India8s mdern
ecnmy, 0r/ Sasitharan, nw 9:, wr.s as a $etty la"rer in the cuntry8s in!rmal sectr,
li!ting heavy lads !r a su"sistence wage/
%r the $ast decade, 0r/ Sasitharan has "een living at the #angaravai cam$ in Pu4hal, an hur
nrth ! 2hennai and ne ! ''* such cam$s !r Sri Lan.an re!ugees acrss the state ! Tamil
3adu/ Accrding t :*'9 !igures "y the ;rgani4atin !r &elam <e!ugees <eha"ilitatin, 0r/
Sasitharan is ne ! ==,:)= Sri Lan.an re!ugees wh currently reside in India/
%r the mst $art, $litical leaders in Tamil 3adu, and the rest ! India, $ay little attentin t
the re!ugees8 dire living cnditins/ But every time an electin seasn a$$raches in Tamil
3adu, $arties !rantically cm$ete t $rtray themselves as cham$ins ! the Sri Lan.an Tamils,
an issue that still has sme emtinal resnance in the state/
In %e"ruary, >ayalalithaa >ayaram, the chie! minister ! Tamil 3adu, declared that her
gvernment wuld release the cnvicted assassins ! !rmer Prime 0inister <a-iv ?andhi/ 0r/
?andhi8s assassinatin in '((' was $ltted and e+ecuted "y the Li"eratin Tigers ! Tamil
&elam/
0s/ >ayaram8s decisin t !ree 0r/ ?andhi8s assassins was annunced shrtly a!ter an
emergency ca"inet meeting that !llwed the Su$reme 2urt8s cmmuting ! the death
sentences ! 0r/ ?andhi8s assassins t li!e im$risnment, leaving their !ate in the hands ! the
state gvernment/
0s/ >ayaram8s mve was seen "y $litical "servers as an attem$t t $sitin hersel! as the
leader mst sym$athetic t the cause ! Sri Lan.an Tamils, wh share ethnicity and language
with the Tamils ! India/ 1ith this mve, 0s/ >ayaram, $reviusly a "itter critic ! the
Li"eratin Tigers ! Tamil &elam, als inaugurated the electin,seasn chest,"eating ver the
issue/
0/ #arunanidhi, the )(,year,ld leader ! the $$sitin 7ravida 0unnetra #a4hagam,
accused 0s/ >ayaram ! hy$crisy and $$rtunism/ At an electin rally in 2hennai in A$ril,
0r/ #arunanidhi, wh has devted a large $rtin ! his s$eeches t the Sri Lan.an Tamil issue
thrughut the cam$aign, said 5>ayalalithaa is shedding crcdile tears !r Sri Lan.an Tamils/6
@et this $eridic !ren4y has achieved little !r thusands ! re!ugees li.e 0r/ Sasitharan, wh
e+ist in lim" in Tamil 3adu8s sAualid cam$s/ 5It8s a lt ! gimmic.s and !a.e $sturing,6 said
<hini 0han, an Indian -urnalist whse ". n the Sri Lan.an civil war will a$$ear this
year/ 5It8s an emtive issue, "ut there is nthing t "e gained !rm the "etterment ! Sri Lan.an
re!ugees, es$ecially as the re!ugees themselves can8t vte/6
In Pu4hal, where 0r/ Sasitharan has lived !r the $ast decade, cnditins ! $erilus sanitatin
$revail/ Amid the $en sewage, tiny, unventilated "ric. huses cvered "y tin r!s "a.e in
Tamil 3adu8s scrching summer, creating living cnditins that are anything "ut hs$ita"le/
0st re!ugees are given a meager allwance "y the Tamil 3adu gvernment/ The eldest male
! the !amily receives B'= a mnth, while ther mem"ers ! the !amily a"ve the age ! ': get
B'9/ 2hildren "elw ': are given BC a mnth each/ %amilies ! re!ugees su$$lement this
incme with menial -"s, as huse $ainters and day la"rers in areas neigh"ring the cam$s/
Sri Lan.an re!ugees in India live under cnstant surveillance "y state intelligence and are
restricted in their mvement/ 7ee$a., :C, wh lives at the #angavarai cam$ in Pu4hal, said
residents culd nt even "uy SI0 cards !r their m"ile $hnes/ 51e need t sign every time
we enter r leave,6 he said/ 5And i! the $rime minister ever visits Tamil 3adu, we are all lc.ed
u$ inside the cam$/6
There is evidence t suggest that the heated $litical discurse generated in Tamil 3adu ver
the Sri Lan.an Tamil issue may "e e+acer"ating the situatin/ Smaller $arties li.e the
0arumalarchi 7ravida 0unnetra #a4hagam, which wants an inde$endent Tamil hmeland in
Sri Lan.a, ma.e it harder !r re!ugees in India wh wuld li.e t return hme/
5&+treme $sitins in Tamil 3adu ma.e recnciliatin di!!icult,6 said S/2/ 2handrahasan,
!under and head ! the ;rgani4atin !r &elam <e!ugees <eha"ilitatin/ 51e wuld li.e all
$arties t ta.e mderate $sitins and nt $ut em$hasis n the "rea.ing u$ ! Sri Lan.a/ Hate
s$eeches d us a lt ! harm/6
0r/ 2handrahasan "elieves the re$atriatin ! Sri Lan.an re!ugees in India remains the nly
$ermanent slutin t the $r"lem/
That may nt "e an $tin !r re!ugees li.e 0r/ Sasitharan, t scarred "y the $ast t ever
return/ 0r/ Sasitharan had h$ed t get Indian citi4enshi$, "ut since India is nt a signatry t
the '(D' <e!ugee 2nventin, there is n structured rute t citi4enshi$ !r thse wh see.
asylum/
7es$ite the $rmise ! a less uncertain legal e+istence in Sri Lan.a, 0r/ Sasitharan said he
wuld stay in India/ 51e are sa!e here,6 he said/ 51e are nt sa!e in Sri Lan.a/6
@et the dds remain stac.ed against re!ugees li.e 0r/ Sasitharan/ Since the end ! the Sri
Lan.an civil war in :**(, internatinal attentin has mstly dri!ted away !rm the re!ugees in
India, !cusing instead n the $light ! Tamils within Sri Lan.a/
And Tamil $arties acrss the s$ectrum, having whi$$ed u$ the re!ugees8 cause during electin
seasn, which ended in Tamil 3adu n A$ril :E, have nce again mved n/ F2urtesy the 3ew
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