Click on photo for caption. [Photos: Bekim Shala, MAG Sri Lanka]
"I am going to my school now and I am going to learn so much, until I am like my mum, a teacher. "
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Seven-year-old Ahalya smiles widely as she bounces between seats, excited that the bus will finally leave Menik Farm IDP (internally displaced persons) camp and take her home.
Her family, and many others, fled Sinnapandivirichchan village, in Madhu Division of Mannar District in April 2007 to escape the country's civil war.
Although the conflict ended in May 2009 and security was restored, people could still not go back to their village. The fighting that took place in Sinnapandivirichchan left behind a fear of landmines – not without good reason.
MAG’s survey teams visited the area and confirmed the presence of hazardous areas. Clearance teams then worked tirelessly to remove 1,260 landmines and 12 items of unexploded ordnance (UXO). It was only after this effort that people were able to return.
The exterior of the village remains mined, meaning that for the time being returnees have no access to fertile agriculture land to enable them to restart farming their paddy field.
Until MAG clears these areas, the United Nations World Food Programme is helping with food rations, while the Government provides cash for work, Unicef helps with the school and other NGOs offer additional assistance.
As Ahalya and her fellow travellers headed home, thousands of IDPs remained in the camp waiting until their villages are cleared from landmines so they too can return.
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Reporting and photos by Bekim Shala, MAG Sri Lanka.
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Menik Farm IDP (internally displaced persons) camp, where thousands of people live, waiting until their villages are cleared from landmines so they can return home. |
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Preparing to leave the camp. |
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Buses head for home. |
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(Left) As these IDPs make their way home by bus, thousands others remain back in the camp waiting until their villages are cleared. This boy is one of those waiting. (Right) Seven-year-old Ahalya, excited that the bus will finally leave Menik Farm and take her home. |
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The convoy arrives at Sinnapandivirichchan. |
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Ahalya and her fellow travellers get off the bus at her school, where they will spend the night. |
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Ahalya with her grandmother, who she didn't see for three years after fleeing the conflict. |
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(Left) Ahalya with her mother and brother. (Right) The school has reopened and the playground is now safe. |
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Ahalya with her new school uniform. |
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Related articles: Palliakuli
village, a year on |
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Families return home after bomb-making factory is cleared |
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Links:
19 May 2010
MAG thanks the following donors to the Sri Lanka programme: AusAID; Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA); Stichting Vluchteling; Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, US Department of State. Click on Tags below for related articles.
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