School
For Refugee Kids
Tells The Tale Of Neglect
By K.A. Shaji/ Bangalore
31 May, 2007
Countercurrents.org
It
may not be a matter of paradox to see a portrait of Rajiv Gandhi adorning
the walls of a school for children of Sri Lankan refugees and repatriates
in the changed context of even the dreary Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam terming the killing of the Former Prime Minister as a `monumental
tragedy' and expressing `regret' over the incident. But the `international'
school, conceived originally by Rajiv Gandhi and established by NGO
Bright Society years back in memory of his mother Indira Gandhi at Yelahnaka
in Bangalore, holds no promise for the children of Sri Lankan Tamils
who left their own land on different occasions unable to withstand the
escalation of ethnic violence.
Prayers of about 168 children
of this school before they sit down for noon meal each day seeking lasting
peace in their trouble-torn island, salvation for their parents who
sacrificed themselves in the losing battles against Simhala might and
for the food they eat would tug at your heartstrings because the appeals
are heartfelt. Now, it seems their prayers are going in vain. Life is
in fact a struggle at this school for the refugee children, who hail
from as many as 110 rehabilitation camps located across Tamil Nadu.
Even, the very survival of the school is under threat as it is passing
through a severe crisis due to the lack of any working capital or infrastructure.
On almost all the days,
the only nutritional food they get is the noon meal supplied by International
Society for Krishna Consciousness under its now famous Akshaya Pathra
scheme. For breakfast and dinner, their staple is salted rice porridge.
There is no provision for milk in the diet even in the case of children
at lower primary level. ``I feel hungry in almost all days and that
affects my studies,'' says Gopala Krishnan, a gaunt-looking boy of second
standard.
Some other students of the
school say they go to sleep early at night to forget the hunger pangs.
``Whenever I sit up and study late, I feel really hungry. That forcing
me to sleep early,'' said Sivaranjan, another eight-year-old boy. Poor
nutrition and bad sanitation are causing health problems to these hapless
children, who feel neglected and abandoned by Sri Lankan and Indian
Governments and militant organisations that exploiting their plight
including LTTE. Those who engaged in the training of human bombs and
land mine experts for a separate nation never thought of their own younger
brethren here, who want nothing but peace and co-existence along with
a life with dignity.
``It's actually our strong
inner urge to keep away from all kinds of militancy that preventing
us to return to the native country. No more fights please. We want better
education and job opportunities,'' appealed A.Deni, a teacher with the
school, who actually hails from Delftin in Jaffna. Deni was actually
a product the school. He landed up at the school in 1992 as a seventh
standard student. Later, he took BSc in Chemistry from Government Science
College in Bangalore. Now, he is teaching students of Upper Primary
and High School levels.
Sivaranjan, who reached
the school around two years back from a refugee camp near Puzhal in
Chennai, has no clue about the whereabouts of his parents. His mother
abandoned him in the camp soon after his birth and left. Lina, a nine-year-old
girl from Mandapam camp in Rameswaram, and Nirojina, an eight-year-old
girl from Arachaloor refugee camp near Erode, also have harrowing tales
to tell about their continuing struggle for survival. Hunger is visible
in the sunken cheeks of almost all students.
The school rooms are wired
for electrical appliances such as lights and fans. But one does not
see any of the appliances because there is no electricity either in
the classrooms or in the hostel rooms due to the lack of funds to clear
accumulated bill arrears worth Rs 6 lakh. Only the corridors of the
girls' hostel and the dining area have some amount of light powered
by solar panels. Drinking water is available only because of the benevolence
of a local businessman Chandrappa, who pumps water from his own well
to the school free of cost every day.
Though essential medicines
are available because of philanthropical efforts of students of M.S.Ramaiah
Medical College, poor nutrition and bad sanitation are posing severe
health problems to the children. A large number of children are often
affected with meningitis. The crumbling buildings have large cracks
on the walls. Privacy is at a premium here. Over 30 students are stuffed
into a small bedroom like a tin of sardines. As the school cannot afford
curtains and as many of the window panes are broken, cardboard sheets
have been used to board up the windows.
The Indira Gandhi International
Academy School was established in a two-acre plot in Yelahanka in 1990
with fundings from Bright Society, a non-governmental organisation that
works with Sri Lankan refugees in Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka Government.
Earlier it had about 400 children and the school was following CBSE
syllabus. The unavailability of qualified teachers who ready to work
on meager salary forced the authorities to opt for state government
curriculum. Now, it's an English medium residential school with Tamil
and Kannada as compulsory subjects to learn.
The NGO Bright Society,
which drew inspiration from Rajiv Gandhi's suggestion regarding setting
up of such a school, first approached Tamil Nadu Government to set up
a school there so that the children could be close to their families,
but it refused permission. However, the Karnataka Government stooped
the flow of funds after Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by LTTE in 1991.
Bight society continued to fund the school, but with several other commitments
on hand, its funding dwindled gradually. In the past three years, the
Chennai-based NGO not sent any money. It's now functioning on a day-to-day
basis with aid from philanthropists.
``We are just scraping through.
Every day it is a struggle to set out and try to find someone who will
sympathize with us and be willing to support our cause,'' says N.Alangan,
administrator of the school. ``The maximum salary for staff here is
Rs 2500. So the quality of education also eroding despite the fact that
our children scored 84 per cent victory in the last SSLC examination.
I also have wished to get married and settled somewhere. But, how I
can support a family with a meager income,'' he laments.
Although there is a lot
of open space around the buildings, the children seldom play or do any
form of physical exercise. In fact, the administration discourages them
from talking with anyone from outside and venturing out.
The gates are opened only
to allow our second PUC students outside,'' says Alangan. Playing in
the ground also severely restricted for students after police came around
three years ago to check whether it was a training camp for terrorists.
``They saw all our children practicing Karate in the morning and got
scared that we were training them to become terrorists. They told us
to stop sports activities,'' said Alankan. Some of the former students
of the school have obtained better higher education and managed good
jobs including in IT and BPO firms of Bangalore. But survival is at
stake for most of the children who completes Plus Two course this year.
(This article is part of a media fellowship awarded by National Foundation
for India).
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