The United Nations’ food agency is worried by the deteriorating situation of hundreds of thousands of internally displaced Tamil people in Sri Lanka’s volatile east.
The World Food Programme (WPF) has urgently appealed for more funds from donors and better access from the Sri Lankan government to provide for over 100,000 refugees languishing in makeshift camps in the Eastern Batticaloa district.
Meanwhile the Sri Lankan government has begun forcibly resettling the frightened refugees, forcing people on to buses taking them back to their homes in the war zones.
On May 18, the WPF said 400,000 people displaced by fighting are in need of food aid and 18,677 tons of food costing US$ 10.7 million is required during the next six months to ensure basic food supplies reach these people.
According to WFP Asia Regional Director Anthony Banbury, current food stocks will only last up to mid-June.
This is the second time in the past two months the agency has called for additional donor funds. In March the agency made a similar urgent call as it only had enough provisions to last up to end of April.
"I am very concerned by the deterioration of the humanitarian situation as a result of the resurgence in the conflict. I am especially concerned about the impact of the conflict on civilians, many of whom have now been displaced multiple times by the fighting," said Banbury.
According to WPF donors are also concerned that the intended beneficiaries are not receiving the aid and suspect some of the food supplies are being diverted to the Sri Lankan military.
"Donors we were just meeting with were asking questions: How do you know your food aid is going to the intended beneficiaries? How do you know it's not being stolen by some of the parties, diverted to the military. These are very legitimate concerns for donors." Banbury said.
According to Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN) a UN news agency, in early May the WFP provided food rations to approximately 70% of 140,000 IDPs (internally displace people) are living in recognised welfare camps and other sites in Batticaloa district.
The remaining 30% of the IDPs are supported by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with the Sri Lankan state providing no or minimal assistance. The WFP rations consist of rice, flour, dahl, sugar, spices and cooking oil.
As IDPs are spread across the district living in nearly 100 refugee camps ensuring food supplies gets to all those in need has become a logistical and bureaucratic nightmare.
For example, WFP reported on 9 May that a 12 percent gap in food assistance in the district, with some 13,000 IDPs not receiving food rations.
In addition to fresh funds the WFP urged for better access to the needy and security for aid workers.
"We have big problems in Sri Lanka. We have an access problem to the most vulnerable people in the north and in the east of the country," said WFP Spokeswoman, Christiane Bertiaume.
"We have got security problems for our local and international staff. Some of them have even been threatened."
Offensives in the first three months of 2007 by the Sri Lankan army aimed at capturing LTTE administered areas in the eastern districts triggered a massive exodus of people creating a humanitarian crisis.
Over 230,000 people who fled their homes in LTTE administered areas to escape the incessant shelling and bombing by the Sri Lankan forces sought refuge in hundreds of refugee camps dotted around Batticaloa town.
Aid agencies say they have struggled to support the large number of refugees and the displaced have continued to suffer due to lack of living space, unhygienic sanitary facilities and scarcity of clean water and food.
In addition the refugees were also subjected to paramilitary intimidations and abductions and some were forced to return to their homes in Vaharai against their will.
Meanwhile the Sri Lankan government last week announced that it will begin resettling about 90,000 of these people to the homes they fled in West Batticaloa.
According to the Assistant Government Agent (a senior civil servant) in Batticaloa, K Mahesan, the government wants all the displaced to have returned to their homes by a deadline of July 31.
This is irrespective of concerns amongst refugees and aid workers that the conflict zones, now dominated by troops and Army-backed paramilitaries, are not safe.
And aid workers fear some of these people may be returning home against their will.
A month ago the Sri Lankan government came under severe criticism from international human rights organisations for forcibly resettling thousands of people in Vaharai which was considered to be unsafe and lacking of basic infrastructure.
The Tamil Relief Organisation (TRO) has appealed to the international community to remind the Sri Lankan state that forcing displaced people to return home is against international humanitarian law.
"The WFP is in principle prepared to provide that assistance as requested by the government. However, our provision of assistance will be conditional on the voluntary nature of the returns," Banbury said.
"We will not provide assistance to anyone who is forced to return against their will, nor will we provide assistance to people who are not part of a formal UNHCR approved return process."
Following forcible resettlement of refugees in March the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) pulled out of all refugee resettlement operations in Sri Lanka’s East.
At the time Amin Awad, head of UN refugee agency UNHCR in Sri Lanka announcing their decision to pull out of resettlement work in the East said "we are saying that we are not involved with this situation, we don't want to give the IDPs the impression that we are assisting or facilitating or promoting return."
"The conditions in Vakarai are not right for resettlement and there is work to be done on services and minimum conditions for return," Awad said.
It is not just the refugees who are not safe. Aid workers, both local and internal, have been harassed, threatened and even killed by security forces and paramilitary groups operating along with them.
In August 2006 17 local aid workers from Action Against Hunger, a French aid organisation, were found shot dead at close range. The ceasefire monitors from the Sri Lankan Monitoring Mission, after investigating the incident held government forces responsible for the killing.
Last month, Army-backed paramilitary Karuna Group demanded all local and international NGOs to register with them and made a veiled threat that if the NGOs did not comply it “would not be responsible for their safety.”
The World Food Programme (WPF) has urgently appealed for more funds from donors and better access from the Sri Lankan government to provide for over 100,000 refugees languishing in makeshift camps in the Eastern Batticaloa district.
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| Thousands of displaced people are living in makeshifts camps. |
On May 18, the WPF said 400,000 people displaced by fighting are in need of food aid and 18,677 tons of food costing US$ 10.7 million is required during the next six months to ensure basic food supplies reach these people.
According to WFP Asia Regional Director Anthony Banbury, current food stocks will only last up to mid-June.
This is the second time in the past two months the agency has called for additional donor funds. In March the agency made a similar urgent call as it only had enough provisions to last up to end of April.
"I am very concerned by the deterioration of the humanitarian situation as a result of the resurgence in the conflict. I am especially concerned about the impact of the conflict on civilians, many of whom have now been displaced multiple times by the fighting," said Banbury.
According to WPF donors are also concerned that the intended beneficiaries are not receiving the aid and suspect some of the food supplies are being diverted to the Sri Lankan military.
"Donors we were just meeting with were asking questions: How do you know your food aid is going to the intended beneficiaries? How do you know it's not being stolen by some of the parties, diverted to the military. These are very legitimate concerns for donors." Banbury said.
According to Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN) a UN news agency, in early May the WFP provided food rations to approximately 70% of 140,000 IDPs (internally displace people) are living in recognised welfare camps and other sites in Batticaloa district.
The remaining 30% of the IDPs are supported by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with the Sri Lankan state providing no or minimal assistance. The WFP rations consist of rice, flour, dahl, sugar, spices and cooking oil.
As IDPs are spread across the district living in nearly 100 refugee camps ensuring food supplies gets to all those in need has become a logistical and bureaucratic nightmare.
For example, WFP reported on 9 May that a 12 percent gap in food assistance in the district, with some 13,000 IDPs not receiving food rations.
In addition to fresh funds the WFP urged for better access to the needy and security for aid workers.
"We have big problems in Sri Lanka. We have an access problem to the most vulnerable people in the north and in the east of the country," said WFP Spokeswoman, Christiane Bertiaume.
"We have got security problems for our local and international staff. Some of them have even been threatened."
Offensives in the first three months of 2007 by the Sri Lankan army aimed at capturing LTTE administered areas in the eastern districts triggered a massive exodus of people creating a humanitarian crisis.
Over 230,000 people who fled their homes in LTTE administered areas to escape the incessant shelling and bombing by the Sri Lankan forces sought refuge in hundreds of refugee camps dotted around Batticaloa town.
Aid agencies say they have struggled to support the large number of refugees and the displaced have continued to suffer due to lack of living space, unhygienic sanitary facilities and scarcity of clean water and food.
In addition the refugees were also subjected to paramilitary intimidations and abductions and some were forced to return to their homes in Vaharai against their will.
Meanwhile the Sri Lankan government last week announced that it will begin resettling about 90,000 of these people to the homes they fled in West Batticaloa.
According to the Assistant Government Agent (a senior civil servant) in Batticaloa, K Mahesan, the government wants all the displaced to have returned to their homes by a deadline of July 31.
This is irrespective of concerns amongst refugees and aid workers that the conflict zones, now dominated by troops and Army-backed paramilitaries, are not safe.
And aid workers fear some of these people may be returning home against their will.
A month ago the Sri Lankan government came under severe criticism from international human rights organisations for forcibly resettling thousands of people in Vaharai which was considered to be unsafe and lacking of basic infrastructure.
The Tamil Relief Organisation (TRO) has appealed to the international community to remind the Sri Lankan state that forcing displaced people to return home is against international humanitarian law.
"The WFP is in principle prepared to provide that assistance as requested by the government. However, our provision of assistance will be conditional on the voluntary nature of the returns," Banbury said.
"We will not provide assistance to anyone who is forced to return against their will, nor will we provide assistance to people who are not part of a formal UNHCR approved return process."
Following forcible resettlement of refugees in March the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) pulled out of all refugee resettlement operations in Sri Lanka’s East.
At the time Amin Awad, head of UN refugee agency UNHCR in Sri Lanka announcing their decision to pull out of resettlement work in the East said "we are saying that we are not involved with this situation, we don't want to give the IDPs the impression that we are assisting or facilitating or promoting return."
"The conditions in Vakarai are not right for resettlement and there is work to be done on services and minimum conditions for return," Awad said.
It is not just the refugees who are not safe. Aid workers, both local and internal, have been harassed, threatened and even killed by security forces and paramilitary groups operating along with them.
In August 2006 17 local aid workers from Action Against Hunger, a French aid organisation, were found shot dead at close range. The ceasefire monitors from the Sri Lankan Monitoring Mission, after investigating the incident held government forces responsible for the killing.
Last month, Army-backed paramilitary Karuna Group demanded all local and international NGOs to register with them and made a veiled threat that if the NGOs did not comply it “would not be responsible for their safety.”
