Needs And Aspirations Of Ethnically Cleansed Northernn Muslims
By Shahul Hasbullah
24 October, 2007
Countercurrents.orgThe highlights of the Fact Finding - 2007
FACT FINDING MISSION
In October 2007, a month long campaign to
"restore the rights of the ethnically cleansed
Northern Muslims" of Sri Lanka was launched. In pursuance of
this a team of researchers set up a fact finding
mission to investigate the current conditions,
future needs and aspirations of displaced
Muslims, living mainly in Puttalam district, and
to highlight the above in order to find durable
solutions to this problem. The fact finding
mission attempted to answer the following
questions: What prevents Northern Province
Muslims to return homes? What impact has the 17
year long displacement made in the lives of the
displaced?BACKGROUND
Forcible Expulsion and inability to return home:
Seventeen years ago, the LTTE forcibly evicted
the Muslims of the Northern Province at gunpoint.
Continuing war and conflict in the north and the
absence of meaningful efforts to facilitate
return has meant that the internal displacement
of Northern Muslims has continued to present day.
As a consequence, the probability of return
en-masse in the near future is remote. The
impacts of 17 years of displacement: The
northwestern coastal area of Puttalam district
has been the temporary home of the majority of
the Muslim displaced for the last 17 years. With
an influx of nearly 100,000 displaced, the total
population of this region doubled. Over the
period, displaced Northern Muslims have moved
from temporary shelter (for six months) to camp
lives (for 6 years or more) and then to semi and
permanent self-settlements. While about half of
Puttalam displaced do not own any land, the rest
are confined to a standard land piece which is
commonly 10 perches. The quality and quantity of
relief and rehabilitation assistance to Puttalam
IDPs has declined over a period. The changes in
the strategies in assisting the Puttalam
displaced has forced the displaced seek
alternative income sources which have created
stiff economic competition and tension between
displaced and host communities in the above
areas. The tensions between these two communities
have further spread into larger social,
educational and political spheres as well. The
condition of the place of origin: About 5 per
cent of evicted Muslims returned home to the
government controlled areas of the north.
Movable and immovable properties and other social
and cultural interests left behind in the north
by Muslims after Eviction have now been either
taken by others or have been abandoned. The 2002
Peace Talks did not make any significant
break-through especially concerning the return of
Muslim displaced to their original places. For
Northern Muslims, the strong bond that Northern
Muslims and the majority Northern Tamils had
prior to Eviction continues to provide strong
hopes for the possibility of future return to
their homes.FINDINGS ON THE NEEDS AND
ASPIRATIONS OF NORTHERN MUSLIMSOctober opinion survey reveals that the Northern Muslims want
- To secure and stabilize their lives during this prolonged displacement
- To seek assistance to protect assets and
properties in their place of origin
- The recognition of their right to return
and the facilitation of return when the time is
appropriate.
Key words:
- Secure and stabilize lives during displacement
- Protect assets and properties in the place of origin
- Recognize right to return and
- Facilitate return when appropriateDETAILS OF THE FACT FINDING (DURING DISPLACEMENT)
Reasons to secure and stabilize lives during
displacement: There is little indication of an
end to current displacement. The last seventeen
years has created profound uncertainly about the
future. Unless the war ends and the conflicting parties reach consensus on
ethnic question, the possibility of the return of
all Northern Muslim is remote. To date, those
representing Tamil nationalism (e.g., LTTE) have
not spelled out their stand on the right to
return of expelled Muslims. However, the
displaced cannot continue to live in uncertainty
forever. They were faced with many problems.
One of the major problems has been the
possibility of suitable dwelling places. Nearly
half of the displaced do not possess their own
land for living and continue to live in
camp-style settlements.Those who do own land are restricted to land 10
perches or under. One premise of 10 perches may
contain many families, including parents, married
children and their children. Population has
continued to grow in these displaced settlements through natural
growth and in-migration. At the same time,
displaced people are faced with economic
problems. Jobs are not available for men and
whatever available jobs there are for women
in cash-cropping vegetable gardens are for very
low wages. Local schools are overcrowded and
faced with shortage of educational, physical, and
human resources. While the children of both
communities (displaced and
host) faced immense hardships, the quality of
education of children of those schools has
continued to decline. In addition, displaced
people are faced with social, psychological and
cultural problems. Women and children were
affected most by these. Naturally, displaced
people feel these negative trends must be
arrested. Thus, they wish to secure and stabilize
their lives in the place of displacement until
they return home or find alternatives to return.Challenges faced by displaced in the place of
displacement Shrinking employment opportunities
is one of most important challenges that are
faced by IDPs and the host community together in
Puttalam. Similarly, the non-availability of
land for housing and economic activities, limited
public services such as medical, educational,
transport are also major challenges for both.
This is exacerbated by the fact that both
populations are concentrated in the most limited
resource area of the northwestern coastal areas
of Puttalam.The above issues naturally invite tensions and
confrontation between IDPs and the host community
in Puttalam. So far, the frictions have not
escalated to dangerous levels, but unless the
larger issues are addressed and arrested the
possibility of higher levels of tension and
conflict seem likely. How these problems should
be addressed: In order to prevent further
aggravation in the present situation, there is an
urgent need for development initiatives in the
areas where the IDPs are living. The local
community and the IDPs share not only physical
space but also religious and cultural space in
the region. So far, both communities have found
ways of accommodating each other. This
relationship could be further strengthened if the
increasing tensions between these two communities
over the use of the limited resources and over
the employment opportunities are minimized
through proper economic development initiatives.DETAILS ON THE ASPECT OF RETURN
TO THE PLACE OF ORIGINProtection: The right to return to northern homes
is the inalienable right of displaced Muslims.
The assurance of future protection will make
future return for displaced people more possible.
At the same time, the places
of origin of the Northern Muslims which had been
abandoned for nearly 17 years will have to be
prepared for the return of displaced upon their
decision to return.Challenges in the place of origin: Long term
abandonment has taken its toll on Northern
Muslims' former homes and environments. Thus,
these places of origin require considerable
preparation and development before return can be
effected. Moreover, the social fabric of the
north has also changed in the last seventeen
years. Younger generations of the Northern Tamils
have no memories or experiences of the formerly
multi-ethnic northern communities where Tamils
and Muslims co-existed peacefully for hundreds of
years. There should be attempts to revive such
memories and undertake initiatives to promote the
renewal of relationships between Tamils and
Muslims.The way to address these problems: The
protection and preservation of the assets and
properties of Northern Muslims, the restoration
of political, economical, social and cultural
rights, and the re-establishment of Tamil-Muslim
relationships are some of the steps that should
be taken to ensure the smooth return of Northern
Muslims.DURABLE SOLUTION
The inability of Northern Muslims to return to
their former homes is a national not local
problem and must be solved as such. It is not
advisable to find permanent solution for them in
the resource poor northwestern Puttalam district.
Therefore, the problem of the Muslim refugees has
to be considered as a national problem and a
durable solution has to be found in consultation
with all parties concerned. In this respect, an
effective resolution must be discussed and
politically resolved in a broader arena that
includes displaced Muslims and parties to the
conflict."Peace with justice to all"
* October campaign was undertaken by Shahul
Hasbullah (University of Peradeniya) and his
team, S.H.M. Rizni, M.A.C.Rafeek, A.G. Aneis,
M.M. Thawfeek, M.S. Thameem, A.C. Nawfeer, M.M.
Niyas, D.M. Foumeen, Ms. M.
Juwairiya, Ms. M.S. Janoofa, Ms. K.M. Sifana, Ms.
A.G. Jesmi, Ms. S. Sabeera and Ms. M.K. Sharmila
in association with Research and Action Forum for
Social Development (RAAF), Nuraicholai, Puttalam
and was financially supported mainly by National Peace Council.
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