I returned on Wednsday from Mannar. The bus journey was really a tough. We got into the bust at 6.30 in the morning and reached Murungan at about 4.00 in the evening. We spent the night at Don Bosco Institute where there are about 150 boys being looked after from the affected areas. Although we did not meet any of the priests that evening the boys extended to us their cordial hospitality. Many children there were attending the village school and about 20 others are being given vocational training such as in computer skills, carpentry, motor mechanism and so on. I found the children there live a very free and happy life.
As I did not know Tamil (Fr. Terrence can speak little Tamil) I had a communication problem in the absence of anyone who could speak English. But then two senior students from the computer class met me. I really admire their courage to communicate with me in English.
On the following morning we met Fr. Pius, a Salesian priest who has just returned from India after seeing his ailing mother. He was very welcoming us and treated us with very friendly and warm hospitality.
We heard also about another community in a place called Kunchikulam, opposite to Madhu Rd, there is a community of 300 families, who traditionally have lived on hunting, bee honey collection and so on. But they are now been been forbidden to go hunting for security reasons since the army has now come in there. As a result, their means of livelihoods is seriously affected. This has caused serious problem to those people. The priest whom we met would like to have even some dry rations for distribution.
If for security reasons the army forbids them from engaging in their means of living, the authorities should be able to provide them an alternative means of living.
I was happy to hear that about 15 people from the Kalimoddai camp where the people arrived from the uncleared areas are detained, have been freed.
After breakfast, we went to Nattan and spoke to the priests there. In the Nanttan camp the displaced people from Arippu and Selavaturai are living. We had a long conversation with a displaced family from Arippu. This family has been engaged in sale of prawns and crabs before they were removed from there. Thy are awaiting the day when they could return to Arippu and start their livelihood.
They all still wondering why they can't return to their homes and engage in their fishing, since Mannar is now a 'liberated area'. If liberated people must be able to live a freer life than before.
We met on the second day, several other priests in the Cathedral. The parish priest told us a very interesting story. With the permission of the bishop, he has gone to collect a lorry load of sand from a property belonging the bishop. Prior to that he has received letters of permission from the grama sevaka, the district secretary and also from the SSP. But, when he started cutting and loading sand into the lorry, an army official has objected to it and prevented his actions and told him that that the permission given by the Police is not valid and he should have permission from the area commander. He has failed all his efforts to reason out with the officer showing his the permits already in possession. Finally, he has stopped his work that day and has got permission from area commander to bring sand from the bishop's own property to the cathedral site. The priests during that week have been engaged in burying 7 dead bodies killed by unknown gunmen in the Mannar area.
The priests citing this examples asked us, 'Is this democracy in the so called liberated area' and 'Why are we made slaves in this country'?
In Mannar town the SLT telephones except the mobile phones have not been functioning for about a week. So communication was extremely difficult. Finally when we returned from Mannar to Colombo on Wendsday, we were checked at 10 places, the last was at Waikkal. At every occasion we had to get down from the bus with our bags and walk a distance.
When we got down from the Mannar bus at Medawachchiya, we had to come a long way to get the Colombo bus. The three wheeler charge was Rs. 80.00. We started at 6.30am from Mannar and it was 4.30pm when I got down at Peliyagoda. The question that the priests asked why we are treated as slaves is still haunting me.
Fr. Sarath Iddamalgoda
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