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Neither peace nor peace of mind
The Muslim community from the north who took refuge in Puttalam have little hope of returning home. Frances Bulathsinghala reports
Fugitives, refugees, displaced. None of the above categories seem really applicable to the Muslims originally from the north who left the region during the 1990 exodus at the command of the LTTE. But this is how this Muslim community from the north who made their home in Puttalam is largely known.

Now 14 years after, in this arid region 80 miles from Colombo, they constitute well over 10 percent of the present Puttalam population and depend on this substitute homeland to bestow them with a means of making a living.

Work is scarce, the options ranging from the saltern in the region where men and women queue up from early dawn to obtain work, to the chance labour job that might exist mostly in the town. But except for those who might have relatives abroad to support them financially, the going is tough. Although the A 9 road seemed to open up the prospects of going back home, it was not a complete success. "Less than five percent of the refugees have gone back to the north.

The few who returned are unable to locate their homes lost in the rubble of war. Others who had tried to make a home despite the hardships had not been able to, due to difficulty in starting over again,” says Mohammed Ashraff, Assistant Divisional Secretary, Puttalam. He says there is a total of 4,737 families who hail from Mannar and Jaffna in these areas. The Assistant Divisional Secretary admits that there are delays in the distribution of dry ration stamps worth a maximum of Rs.1,260 (if the family totals five members) allocated from the Poor Relief Department under the Ministry of Samurdhi. The minimum amount granted (if the family consists of two members) is Rs.616.

"We have still not got the stamps for July. This has been the pattern for the past 12 years," he says. But for a community who has known nothing but upheaval the 'usual form' also means 'usual hunger'.

"It may be peace, but for us, there is no difference. We are still in a camp for the displaced," says S. M. Najeeb, showing us a small yet beautiful mosque which the refugees had pitched in to help build. Costing nearly Rs. six million, the mosque is a haven for the 500 residents living in the camps which now consists of closely located houses around the vicinity of a nearby saltern along the Puttalam-Mannar road.

Having initially lived in the same place under different circumstances, when the government supervised the camps at the height of the exodus, now they have their own homes but little has changed in terms of their hopes of getting back to the land where they were born. And nothing has happened to improve their financial circumstances.

Najeeb is one of the luckier ones in his camp known as 'Saltern 3', its name derived from its close proximity to the nearby saltern. He has been able to make three trips to Mannar, his hometown to see how best he could resume his original livelihood of fishing.

“I could not locate my house as the area had been completely flattened.” For him the experiment of returning to his roots had proved to be unsuccessful. "I finally gave up. None of my relations felt that they would feel safe in our hometown if we go back there again," says Najeeb.

His home is a thatched hut. All the 'homes' of his neighbours are similar.A house built of brick and cement is a rare sight. Their days are also alike. Some looking for work at construction sites while others seek work at the saltern situated nearby. The prawn farms that once provided employment to hundreds were completely devastated two years ago by a prawn disease.

"There are over 50 main settlements in Puttalam for the displaced. None of us have found any permanent work. There is no work. Most of the women opt to work at the saltern. Many of the children do not go to school as the parents consider them a potential work force even if it means doing some odd jobs around the house," says Muthur Mohammed who lives in the camp adjacent to Najeeb.

His family consisting of his five brothers and two sisters live cramped up in the hut that has been extended to accommodate all his family members.
"One of our greatest needs was water. We had to walk for miles to obtain drinking water. But it seems we will get pipe-borne water for our camp, he says pointing to the construction work carried out by the Water Board to build anew.

One hundred and twenty five families have received Rs. 25,000 from the government to start life anew in Jaffna, according to the Jaffna District Secretary, C. Padmanathan.Most of them find their houses reduced to rubble but out of the 175 families who went back , 125 have received their allowances which is meant to be a house reconstruction grant. To obtain this they have to provide the necessary documents that they will be permanent residents of Jaffna, such as the children's school transfer forms.

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