Displaced Tamil returnees yearn to rebuild lives amid multiple hurdles
Rasaiyah Pathmanathan had many plans for restarting a life in Sri Lanka when one day he wanted to return after spending more than three decades in Puzal, a suburban town some 14 kilometres from Chennai, Tamil Nadu. But the coronavirus disease pandemic spread in late 2019 and his return journey was postponed indefinitely.
“We planned to return home in March, 2019, before the pandemic, but all of our plans had to be put on hold,” said Mr. Pathmanathan, who is now doing social work among the Sri Lankan origin refugees.
He was 14 when the whole family of five decided to leave the country in 1990 after multiple displacements across the Northern Province, he told the Sunday Times.
More than 100,000 Sri Lankan refugees are still living in temporary camps and rented homes across Tamil Nadu even after 13 years had passed since the end of the separatist war.
After the war, a process was set in motion to repatriate Sri Lankan refugees under United Nation High Commission for Refugee Agency supervision. But the global pandemic disrupted the process briefly.
Since 2011, some 9,542 people belonging to some 3,760 families have returned home. For the first two months of this year, 117 people from 59 families have signed up for voluntary repatriation.
Mr. Pathmanathan’s parents returned to their ancestral home in Visuwamadu, Mullaithivu after the war came to an end in May 2009, but he and his two brothers stayed back to complete their studies.
“After the pandemic, there has been lot of changes back home. The cost of living is incredibly high compared with the situation in Tamil Nadu and there are fewer job opportunities for graduates like myself and others in Sri Lanka,” said Mr. Pathmanathan, while expressing uncertainty about what lies ahead. “As of now, we are planning to schedule our trip by May or June considering all these things.”
He graduated from a private college in Tamil Nadu.
Another critical concern from the youths among refugee families is the lack of recognition from the University Grants Commission (UGC) of Sri Lanka for the educational certificates and degrees obtained from private colleges in India.
“Many of them are not sure whether they would be able to get decent employment for their degrees or state jobs at all,” Mr. Pathmanathan said.
“Since we have a piece of agricultural land, I can support my family through farming for some time. I would also like to do something for the community back home as well.’’
Every month, at least a dozen Sri Lankan origin families in state sponsored camps and other areas such as Thiruchchi, Ramanathapuram, Erode, where families were given special permission to reside, signed up for voluntary repatriation back home with the passage facilitated by UNHCR and the Foreign Ministry.
Even during the height of the pandemic, more than a dozen refugee families took up return passage back home without going through an official documentation process. They were tracked by local police and subjected to legal action.
Considering the plight of Sri Lankan origin refugees, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin announced welfare measures in August last year by allocating 3170 million Indian rupees (about US$ 4.1 million).
One of the measures was appointing an advisory committee to look into the difficulties faced by the Sri Lankan refugees and recommending durable solutions. The committee, led by the Minister of Minorities and Welfare of Non-Resident Indians, met for the first time in December.
OfERR (Ceylon), a non-governmental organisation founded by refugees, has been supporting Lankan-origin refugees since 1984. It works tirelessly to ensure that some 24,000 children born to refugees are granted citizenship documents such as birth certificates and national identity cards.
OfERR Treasurer Samuel Chelvanayakam Chandrahasan told the Sunday Times that one of the prime objectives is to ensure the next generation of the refugees do not end up as “stateless”.
“That’s why we are working closely with refugees to register the births of their children by helping them with tracing necessary documents. This would enable them to be a citizen of their parents’ country of origin and consider returning home in future if they want to,” he said.
Many are reluctant to take the air passage because airlines allow a maximum of 40 kg weight for their baggage, so they pin their hopes on the resumption of the Indo-Lanka ferry service, Mr Chandrahasan said.
Prior to the separatist war erupted in 1983, a ferry service operated between Dhanushkodi in Tamil Nadu and Thalaimannar in Sri Lanka, covering a distance of 30 nautical miles.
The Sri Lanka Deputy High Commission in Chennai hosts special consular camps to issue birth and citizenship documents to the refugees in India. Last month, 83 birth certificates and 208 citizenship certificates were issued to Sri Lankans living in Mandapam in Ramanathapuram and Puthupatty, Gopalpatty, Adiyanuthu in Dindigul, Gummidipoondi and Puzhal in Tamil Nadu.
According to the progress report of 2020 and development programmes for 2021 issued by the State Ministry of Rural Housing and Construction & Building Materials Industries Promotion, from 2011 up to September 30, 2020, 9,327 refugees from 3,656 families have returned to the island.
The ministry also said that steps have been taken to resettle them by providing lands for landless families to build houses as well as clearing landmines in areas in which demining is yet to take place.
The ministry said refugees are provided with facilities and offered guidance at the Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake by the officers of the resettlement division and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
In a written response, Keerthi Ranjith Abesiriwardana, Secretary to the State Ministry of Rural Housing and Construction & Building Materials Industries Promotion noted that the Ministry has been providing urgent resettlement assistance to the returnees.
As part of a permanent solutions, the Ministry had built 2,050 houses with sanitation, water, electricity facilities for those who returned from 2016 to 2021, the Ministry said.
Once a returnee reaches the country, Rs 38,000 is given as a grant to cover his/her immediate expenses and secure temporary shelter, in addition to preparing land for resettlement.
Meanwhile, the UNHCR package consists of a free air ticket with 40 Kg baggage allowance and Rs 17,500 in cash. After their arrival, the returnees are required to register themselves at the Divisional Secretariat so that the District Secretary can monitor the resettlement process and provide assistance.
A 2016 UNHCR study indicated that 6.5 percent of returnees did not have a Sri Lankan birth certificate and 15 percent of adult individuals did not have an NIC.
The report also found that unskilled casual labour was the main income-generating source for 33 percent of families, while skilled labour (12%), farming (9%)
and fishing (12%) were the main income-generating sources for another 33 percent of the families.
"Lack of tools (material and financial) was stated as the main impediment in restoring livelihood for 59 percent of the respondents. Overall, 85 percent of the respondents had not received any kind of livelihood assistance," the report added.
A senior official involved in the resettlement programme said that without civil documents many returnees found it difficult to open a bank account or could not even deposit a cheque in their own accounts. "That's why we always give priority to ensure they are provided with necessary civil documentation," he said.
Even those who returned home after decades are facing tremendous difficulties to start from zero in their homeland.
Kathiresan Saarulathan, a father of two, who returned to his native place in Kuchchaveli, Trincomalee last October, said he has not received housing assistance, or any livelihood support from state agencies.
“I’m planning to start farming in the meantime to support my family with the tools given by a non-profit organisation. That’s not enough, but I have to do something,” he said.
Mr Saarulathan’s wife is a graduate from a private college in Tamil Nadu and even secured additional educational qualifications, but is still looking for a decent job.
“Sometimes it’s really frustrating, the government authorities should assist us to ensure proper livelihood schemes to support our families. After all, this is home, where else we could go?” he asked.