Kids fear army, navy and LTTE
Mannar civilians cry for peace as war clouds gather
By Manique Mendis
An eerie screech of a siren…..Lights off….Black out…
Policemen rushed into the room….
“We are being attacked!, announced a policeman.
The Senior Superintendent of Police who was at his desk remained calm.
“Where is the attack? Any casualties?” the SSP questioned.
The policeman mentioned a nearby location close to where we were.
“That’s news! Shall we go out there now?” my companion, Ashoka Peiris asked me.
“It’s not safe for us to be here. Let’s get out and return in the morning”, observed my other companion, Driver Jeyaraj.
“We can’t leave now. We are under detention by the police,” I replied.
Date: June 26, 2006.
Time: approx 8.00 pm
Location: Mannar Police station.
I was in Mannar with award winning photojournalist Ashoka Peiris, who now runs an international Sinhala news agency and website- isnasrilanka.com. We were accompanied by a Tamil speaking driver, Jeyaraj, from Gandhi Tours.
We were in Mannar on assignment to check out the ground situation, following the recent spate of violent incidents that have dragged Mannar into the spotlight of the war.
We were detained at the police station as Jeyaraj had gone in the van to a nearby road in search of a cup of tea while Ashoka and I were at a meeting down the lane.
Jeyaraj was detained at the police check point, attracting suspicion as Ashoka’s camera bag happened to be lying on the back seat of the van. Ashoka and I too were summoned by the police.
We were being cross examined by SSP Tennakoon, when the attack on the sentry point close by took place and the police station was taken on alert.
The SSP was cordial and polite. We were released when we convinced him of our identity and mission.
Sam Ratnarajah, the fatherly proprietor of the guest house we were staying at, “Manjula Inns” and his charming wife, were at the door step anxiously waiting for us. They welcomed us in relief.
“We heard the sounds of the attack. We were so worried because you were out at the police station”, said Sam.
I last visited Mannar two years ago to conduct a workshop on Media Professionalism and Ethics for journalists. Mannar then was peaceful, calm and quiet. My memories of Mannar two years ago are linked with majestic churches, lazy donkeys, busy fisherfolk, sunny beaches, fish laid out to dry, delicious sea food, the warm hospitality at Manjula Inns….
Today the cruel tentacles of war have spread over Mannar.
The people are paralysed with fear. Children are clinging to their mothers. Women are afraid to go out. As dusk falls, people flock to the churches to take refuge. They huddle on mats on the church floor. Civilian vehicles do not ply on the roads in the dark.
Booming sounds of guns and the bursting of shells frequently shatter the strange solitude.
By 7.00pm. the town was dead. Doors and windows of the houses along the streets were bolted. Only the military presence was visible. A few men were winding up operations at a small restaurant.
“Our shop used to be open till the early hours of morning those days. Now we close by 7.00 pm”, said the shop keeper.
“Has anyone instructed you to close the shop?” we questioned.
“No, we are afraid. In the past we had cordial relations with the military. Now, when they are attacked by the LTTE, they retaliate. Innocent civilians are the victims,” he replied.
Visiting the famous Mannar fish market in the morning, we saw empty stalls and idle fishermen with burdened faces. The restrictions on fishing had their toll.
“How can we live and fend for our families if we are not allowed to engage in our occupation?” they lamented.
We met a group of mothers, teachers and children of Mannar at the Methodist Church Sunday school get- together at St Xavier’s Girls school.
“We are caught in a current of fear. We can only derive strength to face this situation through religious programmes”, said Krista, the Directress of the Sunday School.
The children flocked around us and talked about the current situation.
“A new check point has been constructed near my house. I am frightened!” exclaimed 10- year-old Ravi.
The little ones raised various concerns.
“People are arrested often these days!”, “In Vankalai two little children were killed!”, “People are internally displaced!”, “There is a big army camp!’, “They found a body inside a bag at Keeri. Later on they discovered it was a man from Vankalai!”, “Mulaitivu was bombed!”, “Lots of children died through the claymore mine in Kebethigollawa!”… These were some of the utterances of the children.
“We want peace. We like Sinhalese children. We want to be friends with Sinhalese children. We are only afraid of God and the army and the navy and the LTTE” they exclaimed.
St Xavier’s Principal, Sr. J Rodrigo, said although school activities were going on uninterrupted, the children were living in a state of fear.
Mr. N. Jeyabalasingham, Secretary, Citizens Committee of Mannar voiced concern over the recent incidents that had disturbed the lives of the people of Mannar. He also referred to the fear of the people due to increased military presence and the poor relations between the military personnel on the streets and the people.
“The Commanding Officer of the Army in Mannar, Major General Munasinghe is however an understanding and friendly person. We respect him and have high regard for him. The Citizens Committee has frequent contact with him,” said Mr. Jeyabalasingham.
The Citizens Committee staged a protest march as an appeal to the government and the LTTE to put an end to violence, to adhere to the Ceasefire Agreement and resume peace talks.
“We have regard for President Mahinda Rajapakse and believe that he is sincere in trying to bring back peace. However he is obstructed by extremist elements. The Tamils have many problems and grievances. We hope that our grievances will be looked into. War should be somehow avoided,” he said.
Mrs Jessie Arasaratnam, District Co-ordinator, Mannar Womens’ Development Federation said the women were especially afraid after the alleged rape and murder of Mary Madeleine of Vankalai, Mannar and her family.
“This type of violence must stop. Women must be allowed to live without fear of sexual violence and brutality!” she maintained. She explained that after the incident women who lived in isolated locations left their homes and took refuge in safer places at night.
“We can do very little. We are even afraid to talk. The women are severely traumatised. They need counselling. However even the few counsellors we have are women. They are afraid to travel to remote areas,” she added.
Mr. A.S. Johanthasan, Chairman of the Sri Lanka Red Cross project office, Mannar said things have drastically changed.
“People are afraid to sleep in their homes. Even if someone knocks on the door, we are frightened to open the door, in case we are killed,” he said.
“People of all communities have lived peacefully together for centuries in Mannar. We have nowhere else to go. If the peace talks don’t resume, the situation will deteriorate further,” he added.
Dr. Mrs S. R. Jude, Deputy Provincial Director of Health Services said that the Mannar General Hospital is faced with a severe lack of medical specialists including VOG, Physician, Surgeon and Paediatrician.
“Patients have to be taken to Anuradhapura or Vavuniya for emergency or specialised treatment. When they go to Anuradhapura, they have a communication problem due to language barriers. Also after the Kebethigollewa incident, most Tamil patients are afraid to go to Anuradhapura,” she said.
Dr. Mrs Jude also voiced concern over the lack of counselling facilities in the Mannar Hospital. The people, especially women and children are severely traumatised. There is little we can do to help them”, she lamented.
Dr Suganthy Kalaichelvan, who is in charge of the Outdoor Patients Department and Mental Health said that many patients, especially women and children are afraid to come to the hospital for treatment.
“After a blast, the military came with guns into the hospital,” she said. After the Vankalai incident, five patients suffering from psychosis who had been cured and were leading normal lives had relapses and were readmitted for treatment to the hospital,” she said.
Dr Kalaichelvan said children have seen photographs of the children murdered in Vankalai published in newspapers and are afraid that the same fate will befall them.
Dr. Kathiragamanathan, Divisional Director of Health Services who is also the President of the Consortium of Hindu Temples said they run an orphanage for Hindu girls.
The orphanage is close to the Army Brigade Headquarters. He said the children are living in a state of fear as they hear the sound of firing.
We visited Talaimanar to meet refugees from Trincomalee who had come there in a bid to escape to South India. Rev. Anthonythas Dalima of St. Lawrence’s Church, Thalaimanar was faced with the challenge of providing humanitarian assistance to the large number of people from Trincomalee who had flocked to his church. “We don’t want war. Innocent people must not be punished like this. Our Bishop is trying to make Mannar a peace zone. He is appealing to both the Government and the LTTE to co-operate to bring back peace,” said Rev. Dalima.
“We do not want war. We are suffering so much. Peace talks must be resumed”, declared a group of Talaimanar fishermen in unison.
“The NGOs in Mannar and the people of Thalaimanar did their best to help these innocent people who were tremendously traumatised. When the Governor of the North East ordered that they should be sent back to Trincomalee, they threatened to end their lives by drowning in the sea rather than return”, he said.
As the Talaimanar school, where the refugees were housed, was reopened the refugees have been shifted to Pesalai.
We visited the church of Our Lady of Victory, Pesalai which was the centre of attack while 3000 villagers took refuge, in the aftermath of a battle at sea between the LTTE and the Sri Lanka Navy.
Even a week after the attack on the church, the helpless people remained huddled on mats on the floor. They pointed at gaping holes left by bullets around the church walls. They pointed at broken glass at the church altar. They pointed at the spot where an elderly grand mother, Klaramma Josephine lost her life when the church was attacked. The people flocked around their priest, Fr Vincent Patrick. Their only solace was the church.
Walking down the seashore, we saw the charred remains of boats and huts that had been destroyed in the nearby village. A few lonely fishermen gazed at the ashes that remained.
Travelling to the little hamlet of Vankalai, we went in search of the house of Mary Madeleine who was brutally raped and murdered along with her husband Sinnaiah Moorthy Martin and children Anne Lakshika (9) and Dillakshan (7). It is alleged that they had been tortured, beaten and hacked to death.
The family lived in a housing scheme “Thomaspuri”, in a remote location. We found “Thomaspuri” with difficulty. “Thomaspuri” was a strange sight indeed! Even at 11.00 am, the village was incredibly devoid of life. No people were visible in the houses or on the roads. Doors and windows were shut.
As we were trying to locate the house, two men emerged from oblivion. They made their way towards our van on push bicycles. The two men presented a menacing sight. They were burlesque, bare-bodied and clad in sarongs. One brandished in his hand an enormous knife, its glinting blade shimmered wickedly. The other had a sturdy knife tucked into the waist of his sarong.
They interrogated us with suspicion. We explained our mission. They offered to show us the ill-fated house. They requested us to get out of our van and follow them on foot.
We followed them with trepidation. They showed us the house. Only the cadjan roof and the wooden poles that supported the roof remained. A solitary black plastic flag was the only grim reminder of the tragedy.
“The cadjan walls were removed as the funeral of the family of four was held here,” they explained.
“Where are the people in the village?”we questioned.
“Some have gone away. Some are hiding. They are afraid!” explained our guides.
Ashoka quickly clicked his camera. We made a hasty retreat.
“There is tremendous deterioration in the cordial relations that had been developed between the military and civil society over the last few years. This is a dangerous trend. There is an urgent need to introduce confidence building measures. Those who commit crimes should be penalised. Not innocent people,” maintained Raga Alphonsus, Project Manager of ZOA Refugee Care.
The Mannar Women for Human Rights and Democracy strongly condemned all attacks on civilians—Tamils, Muslims or Sinhalese—and called upon all warring parties to immediately stop hostilities and resume peace talks with a genuine commitment to finding a lasting political solution.
In spite of the deteriorating relations between the military and the civilians, they had one thing in common: They were all craving for peace. “We do not want war! Peace talks should be resumed!” was the unanimous plea of all.
The gloomy clouds of war lurking over Sri Lanka are getting darker and darker. The horrendous acts of violence are escalating, from Trincomalee to Thammutegama, from Mannar, to the heart of Colombo. [Courtesy: Nation.lk]
