A new lease of life

Ishara MUDUGAMUWA

“Though we have been living together with Sinhala people in this country for a long time the only Sinhala people we had seen were soldiers with guns.” These words of Shanthini a rehabilitated young woman sums up the tragic legacy of a nearly three decade long war in Sri Lanka. Their lives were filled with anger, hatred, cruelty and anxiety. “After I was taken in by the military I could realized that Sinhala people are just as generous, helpful and kind hearted. Only now do we feel that we are living,” says Shanthini.

A large number of innocent people who lived in the North and Eastern Provinces suffered untold misery during the last thirty years in the clutches of the ruthless LTTE. On May 19, 2009, the country achieved a great significant military and moral victory by defeating the LTTE and winning the war against terrorism. After the LTTE was decimated on the banks of the Nandikadal lagoon, the Sri Lankan government started a large number of programmes including rehabilitation and resettlement programmes, despite an economy hard hit by a three decade old war.

Thousands of former LTTE cadres surrendered to the military during the final days of the war and many were taken for rehabilitation with the objective of rehabilitating them into civilised persons, suitable to be reabsorbed into to the community. “The rehabilitation process of former LTTE combatants has now reached its last stage,” said Rehabilitation Ministry Secretary A Dissanayake. “No other country has rehabilitated such a significant number of people in such a short period, in recent history. The government treated the rehabilitees in the most humane way.”

Among 12,296 former LTTE soldiers about 9350 have already been re-integrated into society and the rest will be released before the end of this year. This is response to the requests by the families of former LTTE combatants to release their family members who are still in rehabilitation centres. According to the Secretary before these people were rehabilitated they were separated into six groups under A, B, C, D, E and F. Those who were selected for A, B and C are senior LTTE members while those in C, D and E categories were recruited by force or joined the LTTE as means of living.

Priority was given to former child soldiers when they were released. Then they released women, disabled persons, and fathers of large families with many dependants. The former combatants who were to be rehabilitated included 594 children who had missed out on the opportunity of education due to war. Most of them resumed their studies and 210 students passed their examinations. About 140 students among them got the chance to enter a university, including two to the Medical faculty and three for engineering.

Doors are now open for them to make their future a success. The government has already taken measures to give special loans with interest rates as low as four percent, for them to start various forms of self employment. More than 7,000 people applied for loans for various purposes such as housing, agriculture, business and poultry farming. Language and technical training were given to the former cadres and most of them expressed their intensions to start some sort of self employment.

“I lost my parents due to the war. If the government provides assistance to start self employment using what we learnt at the rehabilitation centre, I can live with my grandmother and brother” said a rehabilitated girl Mahadi.

It is not an easy task to rehabilitate the ex-combatants as their lives are full of bad memories. It is not enough to fulfil their physical needs, mental satisfaction is of utmost importance. Consequently the Rehabilitation Ministry always tries to entertain them by organizing sports meats, musical shows, and art competitions. “We can create a post war literature through the experiences of the rehabilitated people,” Rehabilitation and Prison Reforms Minister Chandrasiri Gajadeera said.

The government has started a project to improve the infrastructure facilities of villages and strengthen the means of living of the people who were rehabilitated. Presently most of the rehabilitated former cadres are ready to forget the past and start a new life.