SRI LANKA: Kandiah, “There was shelling every day. We barely escaped with our lives”

Photo: Contributor/IRIN

Thousands of Tamil civilians, such as Kandiah, have been caught up in the crossfire

VAVUNIYA, 19 February 2009 (IRIN) - For Kandiah (not his real name), one of more than 35,000 ethnic Tamils to flee to Vavuniya in northern Sri Lanka in recent weeks, the grim reality of being displaced is now sinking in.

Trapped in the crossfire between government forces and fighters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the 26-year-old’s future is more uncertain than ever. Today he sleeps on the floor of a school classroom with more than 30 others and has no information about what will happen next.

“On 28 January my family and I fled to the no-fire zone. We have been displaced eight times since 15 September. We didn’t know where else to go and things were getting more and more difficult. As the fighting intensified, the LTTE were actively trying to recruit me and others against our will so we left. In the no-fire zone we stayed in the open air with scores of other families. We stayed for more than a week but the shelling was intense. There was shelling every day. We barely escaped with our lives .

“For protection, like other families, we dug a trench, an L-shaped bunker of sorts about 1m deep that we jumped into whenever the shelling began, sometimes for as much as 16 hours a day.

“There were between eight and 10 family members – men, women, children and elderly - at a time, but sometimes people we didn’t even know would join us as well.

“It was especially hard on the children, many of whom have witnessed things unimaginable.

“Each time a shell fell, about five to six people were killed. There were so many people packed in the area, it was inevitable.

“After about 10 days, we couldn’t take it any more and attempted to escape LTTE territory. Upon doing so, however, we were immediately fired upon and three in our group were injured.

“We were warned not to cross over and if we did we would be seen as traitors and shot.

“But despite that we had to think about our children and our lives. We didn’t even have enough food to eat and were sleeping in the open.

“As for the future, I don’t know what will happen next. I have no idea how long I will be here. I have family here, but they aren’t allowed to visit me. I want to go back to my village. I want return to Kilinochchi but they won’t let me leave.”

contributor/ds/mw