Image courtesy of Tamilwin
Asokakumar Lalitha, an Eelam Tamil refugee who had been seeking asylum status in Indonesia since 2012, passed away on June 19.
Lalitha had been living with her husband and two children in a refugee camp in Medan, Indonesia. She had been suffering from severe diabetes and had been denied access to adequate medical facilities to treat her condition.
As a result of her illness, Lalitha's health deteriorated and she passed away earlier this week. Despite a thriving community of Hindus living in Medan, Tamilwin reported that her body was not allowed to be cremated in a Hindu cemetery. However, the Sikh community in Medan allowed her remains to be cremated in their cemetery on humanitarian grounds.
Eelam Tamils have been fleeing Sri Lanka for decades due to human rights abuses, violence from the security forces and impunity for crimes. More recently, there has been a rise in the number of Tamils trying to flee due to the economic crisis.
