Photo from Groundviews
Everyone’s predicted that the rains would wreak havoc in the IDP camps, and they have. Groundviews has some of the only photos coming out of there and the Sunday Leader has a story today. I talked to someone in Menik Farm and there is indeed flooding, displacing people once again. It simply isn’t possible to support a city-sized population in these conditions. A city of 250,000 has water and sanitation needs you can’t construct overnight, or even over months. As the rains come in the place will flood, the latrines will overflow and you’ll get another round of water-borne diseases. They’ve got to start letting people out.
I’m not sure exactly why they’re not letting more people out now. I suppose the Rajapakse’s just took a decision and they’re sticking to it. I don’t get how long the orders are going to override practical concerns. Laying concrete under all the tents in Menik Farm is a expensive and gargantuan task. Building semi-permanent housing there would be like rebuilding Kandy plus Galle in a matter of months. More to the point, nobody wants to fund what will be a ghost town.
There are many people in the camps who have family that will take them in. There are many with money to provide for themselves. There are some that would choose to stay. There are some who are LTTE affiliated who I suppose would have to stay. Getting the first two groups out would greatly reduce the congestion in the camps and enable livable conditions for the ones that stay.
This is, in a way, lipstick on a pig. I mean, you can’t actually detain people without charging them. For the women and children especially it’s just morally noxious. Mahinda says he wants to avoid another Iraq where post-war security collapses. Some of those security measures are going below and beyond the law, with much public support. That’s the political reality.
Within that political reality, however, there’s also the physical reality that the camps are overcrowded and the rains are going to cause serious problems. The options are either to improve conditions, let some people out and improve conditions, or let everyone out. I think letting some people out is a path which acknowledges both physical and political reality, but it’s all shit in the end.
this is a molehill to mountain story. all the relatively limited number of idps who were affected were given alternative shelter quickly , from a plight similar to many cases of flooding in sri lanka every year.
that is why it was not in local media state and private. there is not much to report
anyway we will see how it develops
we will see whether bc of this , gosl will lift limits that have prevented ngos ability interact with idps and thus use plight of idps to raise funds ( ngos say for idps’ own good of course . lol. trust us they say, even when we don’t produce accounts ) .we remember what ngos did ( or did not do )after tsunami .
these same ngos never supported effort to defeat ltte terrorists, and helped ltte (unwittingly they say . lol ) as was evident from material found in terrorist camps.
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btw groudviews have true photos? after what happened during last days of terrorists with fake photos that slandered military ? lol
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idp camps are legal under international law . they are in operation in many parts of the world where emergencies occur and in general those who administer them ( gvts or un) prevent most ngos ( esp ones with dubious histories) from taking active roles. this is true of such camps from italy( still there after earthquake ) to africa etc.
to say they are illegal is silly .
however purely from a moral point of view they should be ended as soon as possible and ppl allowed to go .
however there is no reason doubt gvt want to do exactly that ( what else do gvt want? may be some conspiracy theorist here will enlighten us why gvt want to keep ppl in camp for ever? ) .
opposition to them should look at delays due to red tape etc ( always the main faults of gvts ) and gvt belief in doing everything to help when it should do minimum(imo), than to silly conspiracy theories or silly allegations about illegality .
This is the same thing I’ve been thinking….why not just let the innocents out and reduce cost? However, when you look at it from another angle (possibly Mahinda’s angle), what if LTTE cadres are among the ‘innocents’? It’s all just messed up! :(
it is a sad day when a government stooge writes a post like this. are you tired of the abuse by aadhavan and others?
I’m not a government or an NGO stooge, I don’t think either side likes me. I try to understand both sides and thus get hammered by both. I’ve always said we should start letting people out ASAP. I’ve been worried about the rains since the beginning, as has anyone who’s been there. It’s simply not habitable
for someone with whom i’ve had debates about the legality and policy of detaining an entire region of people, this latest position is a change of heart, and a very welcome one at that. charity was old from day one indi. these people need justice, not ActLanka. I reckon a good 75% have friends or relatives in Sri Lanka, and a lot many have the means or the diaspora relatives to fund them. still more will get asylum in foreign countries. the detention of all these people is unconscionable, not just a policy mistake. i look forward to the day you will say that. i think it will. i never thought today would come, but it did.
“Rajapakse’s just took a decision”…? I think the decision making goes much deeper than that. Mines need to be cleared and the last hidden weapons unearthed. It’s difficult to say what really is going on, but there has to be a rational reason. With the monsoons coming up, I really feel for these people, all we can do is hope and help in anyway we can. http://www.childprotection.gov.lk/idpcamps.html
Ever noticed how weapons hauls turn up close to the 10th of the month? Just before the emergency needs to be passed? I think we’ll be digging up weapons for a while yet….
This government’s motivation is security first, second and third. They’re keeping the people that traveled with the LTTE, who almost all have family or friends in the LTTE, etc. But that’s actually not actually being LTTE in itself, and at some point you have to reach a balance between humanity and security. You can’t imprison 280,000 people indefinitely, especially as conditions get uninhabitable.
There’s simply way too much risk of disease in such a congested, undeveloped place. People in most IDP camps are allowed to leave, they generally choose to stay until they’re resettled.
Opening the roads to Kili and Mullativu isn’t really an option yet, but people should be allowed free movement, at least around Vavuniya. There are checkpoints every which way if they want to control movement.
Fucking bastard. What makes you think these Photoshop works are real?
I think it’s a wonderful thing if the government finally?decided to take you on. Coward that you are, you’ll try and find a way out of it.?You are a proponent of yellow journalism and accusations against government.?Someone should avenge your slanders. Let’s see how soon you cave in.?Certainly Kottu cannot be blamed for this: it is you Indi Stupid Samarajiva who must?be singled out for your defamations, and given the maximum sentence ?permissible under the law. Looking forward to seeing you crying in court. ?Jail life in Srilanka isn’t as rosy as it seems, Samarajiva. You’ll see. Care to comment?
Jail would certainly suck. I think it’s OK to criticize the government when it’s doing wrong. I try to praise it when it’s doing right. I think we’re all able to do that as citizens without threatening each other.
threaten Indi and you threaten us all. I have satellite-directed semen-bomblets at the ready. Sling-shot-borne cat-piss balloons in strategic caches. Watch out.