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War refugees back from India under IOM assistance programme
Thirty five Sri Lankans who fled the country due to war in the north and east will return tomorrow under the assistance programme of the International Organization for Migration, an IOM spokesman said.

On arrival at the Katunayake airport, the refugees will be provided a support package in the form of a reintegration programme with a resettlement allowance of Rs. 5000 per adult and Rs. 2500 per child and logistical support for onward travel to their home towns.

The organisation also provides assistance for livelihood development in areas such as paddy cultivation, fisheries, livestock, masonry or tailoring and job referrals and vocational training, a news release from the IOM said.
Health is also a high priority in the support programme with several medical camps being conducted for returnees and the host community in the Mannar district.

These camps provided people with free eye testing and spectacles and examination for ENT, skin and general health problems. The IOM has also donated medicine, sterilizers, refrigerators, adult and child weighing scales, office weighing scales and bicycles to the Provincial Department of Health Services in Mannar and Jaffna.

In addition to assistance to individuals, the programme also supports the development of the towns the refugees return to, through a variety of community projects. The construction of agro wells, pre-schools, sales outlets, community centres and paddy mills are included in the programme of the organisation.

The programme for refugees returning from India was introduced by IOM after the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE signed the Ceasefire Agreement since a large number of Sri Lankan refugee residents in Southern India wished to return.

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