The forgotten victims of WAR and Peace - Vavunia
By Keerthi Jayasuriya, Melbourne, Australia
Recently I spent a period of eight months in Sri Lanka. During this time I had
the opportunity and made it my business to associate and work with people from
every walk of life. Our family lived in Colombo for over forty years and most of
my friends and associates are from the Colombo affluent and middle class
families. At the beginning of the year when I spoke to these people, majority of
them were very happy and praising the Wickremasinghe government. By the time I
left the majority of them were not so generous with their praises of the
government. However it is a sad fact that the majority of the Sri Lankans fail
to see beneath the surface. Political decisions are made on the basis of what
personal economic and other advantages can be gained in the short term by voting
either of the two main political parties to power. From the point of the nation
this attitude is suicidal.
Using the huge government owned media machine and with the help of their mates
in the supposedly independent media organisations the government was successful
in selling the MoU to the public. Simultaneously the government very cleverly
managed to silence certain influential elements of the society with bribes and
blackmail. Also using other manipulative methods such as conducting regular
workshops the government has been successful in convincing sections of the armed
forces into believing that this is the best solution. The combined effect of all
these propaganda work and the work of the previous governments have now changed
the Sri Lankan’s psychic to accept that we have to give into the terrorist in
order to live in peace in Sri Lanka. Thus handing on a plate, a major victory to
Prabhakaran and his terrorist group.
In this process the Sri Lankan’s in general and the Sinhalese in particular
have forgotten completely the fellow Sinhalese displaced and living in refugee
camps in the North and the East of Sri Lanka. In Melbourne Australia where I
live it used to be a common feature in the Sinhalese community to hold various
fundraising events to help these refugees. I cannot remember when the last such
event was held in Melbourne. During a visit to one of the villages I was
informed that there are over 200 NGO’s helping the Tamils and rebuilding
villages but there wasn’t a single NGO to help the displaced Sinhalese. If in
the rare occasion where an NGO is active in these areas that is with the
ulterior motive of converting these refugees into other religious faiths.
In contrast and in spite of the popular perception the Buddhist monks are not
doing enough in this hour of need I met a number of very dedicated monks doing
yeoman service to Sinhalese communities in particular and all communities in
general. They put to shame the Bikkhu Mudalali’s residing in their palatial
temples whom we meet and hear about in our day to day lives.
While in Sri Lanka, one of the first visits I made was to the town of Vauniya in
the North. This is the last major town before entering the terrorist controlled
areas. In Vauniya our first stop was at the Madukanda Raja Maha Vihara, where
the, very energetic and dedicated young resident monk of the vihara Ven Ananda
greeted us. According to history we learnt that this temple was a resting place
for the legendry Prince Dantha and Princess Hemamala the duo who carried most
sacred tooth relic of Lord Buddha to Sri Lanka. The monk conducts a pre school
in the premises of the temple for children in the area with the help of
volunteers. With the monk, from there we went to visit a number other such
temples and schools where assistance is given to disadvantaged and displaced
children in these areas. No assistance is given by the government or by the
NGOs. During our journey, the monk tells us that before 1983 there were a
community of about 4000 Sinhalese in the Jaffna peninsula today except for the
members of the armed forces and the temple there aren’t any Sinhalese anymore
in Jaffna or in its environs. Vauniya is the last town where a Sinhala community
can be found in the north. The so much trumpeted peace agreement has had no
effect in restoring rights of these Sinhalese displaced from their homes in the
north.
As a young engineer I worked in Madukanda and Killinochchi area constructing
television stations in 1981. At the time I used to tell my wife it is good we
are here now, the next time you would need a passport to visit these areas!!
Then we went to the only Sinhala School in Vavuniya, Gami Maha Vidyalaya. This
was a school where there were more than 2000 children. Today there are only 125
students. It is a mixed school and existing only due to the dedication of its
staff and the principal. All the Sinhalese live in surrounding villages. Hardly
any Sinhalese live in the Vauniya town. There are no other schools where
Sinhalese children can attend The principal pays regular visits to the homes of
the villagers urging them to send their children to school. The school has
requested two additional teaches from the government. The government says there
aren’t enough students to justify the additional students. To get students you
need teachers. So it is a ‘Catch 22’ situation for the principal and the
school. The principal has requested the help from volunteer organisations to pay
for two additional teachers so that student numbers can be increased.
Nearby there are two other government schools, a Muslim school and a Tamil
school. Both schools have a student population in excess of 4000. Gamini Maha
Vidyalaya is under great pressure to handover its playground to these two
schools.
From here we travelled about 20km to the east along the Settikulam Road to visit
a village known as ARAWANTHULAWA (Not Aranthalawa). On the way to village we
passed through many Tamil and Muslim villages but not a single Sinhala village
even to ask for road directions. At the turn off from the main road there is a
gravel road with thick jungle on either side. Along this road we drove
about 4km and the first sign of any human existence was a battle scared temple.
Again this is an ancient temple with a historic significance where monk
explained about terrorist attacks and how they survived in the jungle. The roof
of the shrine is completely blown off. Another 1 Km from the temple and we
arrived at the hamlet of ARAWANTHULAWA. Here we met charismatic leader of
the villagers MALLIKA Akka, who explained to us how they were chased away on
five occasions by the terrorists and brutality of terrorist’s action where the
villages were hacked and chopped to death. These villages have lived in refugee
camps for nearly ten years. They were helped by two very dedicated young people
working in the area to resettle. The cost of this resettlement was about Rs.
250,000.00. All from donations by expatriates. At the start there were only
about 10 families willing to return now there are about 75 families in the
village. In a very defiant tone Mallika Akka reiterates that they will not
leave this village ever again.
It is very important for every Sinhalese and every Sri Lankan who opposes
terrorism to help and protect these villages. It is not only economic help that
we need to give these people but teach how to resist and survive a terror
attack. Unlike our present day leaders these poor and brave villages have
defied the threats of the terrorists and held on to one front.
If anyone wants to get more information please contact the the Vanni Jana Sahana
Sansadiya, Madukanda Raja Maha Vihara, Madukanda, Vauniya, Tel +0011 94 24
20454.
Note : If you wish to know more information on Madukanda Raja Maha Vihara, please contact Keerthi Jayasuriya.
Related Stories ..........
My Visit to Kiniyawa and Welgamvehera (By Harsha Perera, Melbourne, Australia)
“Foot-soldiers” and “Unsung” heroes of War and Peace in Sri Lanka (By Keerthi Jayasuriya, Melbourne, Australia)
An Appeal to Readers - If you have any first- hand information on " The forgotten victims of WAR and Peace in Sri Lanka", please send your contributions to kawantissa@hotmail.com for publication of this column.