Interview with Mrs. Alisa S. Mirza, Palaviya, Puttlam

This camp occupies approx. 70 families evicted from Jaffna in 1990. For the past 17 years we have been completely ignored. If I am to talk about the plight of many families, a book could be composed on this behalf.

In Jaffna we had self employment and there were many resources, but here almost all men are laborers and even the small children have become bread winners trying to make ends meet in many families. There aren’t enough toilets for the site, same with the shelters; you would find cases of 4 to 5 families living under one small roof. The sanitary facilities and the hygienic conditions are at a very sad situation. There would be instances when we actually have to pay to get a bucket of drinking water. Most women travel as far as 60km per day for labour work, and they are given Rs:200 per day, out of which Rs.100 has to be spent on the bus fare. Many children drop out from school, since there’s no proper school for them to attend.

In 1990 when we were evicted, all our valuables, important documents, properties were forcibly taken away; we had basically nothing except the clothes we were wearing. We lost EVERYTHING together with our ‘human dignity’. Every one talks about Human Rights these days but I feel that the word itself doesn’t exist in the Sri Lankan vocabulary. Some people protested when Tamil’s were removed from the lodges in Colombo recently, but when we were chased away from our own lands NO BODY raised a voice on behalf of us. Almost all work was done to fulfill their hidden agendas.

We suffered 17 long years, still with the hope for a better future. This is an ardent plea to all people concerned; do NOT treat us like traumatized, helpless victims who belong NO WHERE. Treat us with respect, give us opportunities to sustainable development to get back on our feet, and please do NOT label us as “IDPs”.

Resettled in – Palaviya camp Woman Headed family

Re- Settler : Mrs. Alisa S. Mirza
Place : Palaviya, Puttlam
Family Details:
Mrs. Alisa S. Mirza, Age: 36 years
Miss Amriya Mirza, Age: 16 years
Miss Fazeena, Age: 11 years
Mast. Sajith, Age: 6 years