Emotional ties and personal aspirations of Sri Lankan refugees living in India drew them back to their homeland.
About 40 refugees from various camps in Tamil Nadu voluntarily left for the island from Tiruchi early on Thursday morning with the assistance of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
S. Karuppiah came to India in an illegal boat. After a wait of over 19 years, the 65-year-old is on his way to Mannar now. Thirty-year-old K. Rajeswari left the Island in 2008, leaving one of her sons behind with her mother.
“My father is hospitalised in Colombo. He wants to see me badly. And we are missing our elder son,” she says.
She wants to complete the construction of their house in Chettikulam in Vavuniya District, which she had left unfinished in 2008.
A 20-year-old refugee, who wished to be anonymous, is returning home to be with his childhood friends and find a job ther.
It took more than eight months for this post-graduate in commerce to get a passport, relevant documents, after he completed his studies in May last year. He is anxious to meet his parents and siblings in Mannar.
Sri Lankan Deputy High Commissioner in Chennai A. Sabarullah Khan told The Hindu, “ Repatriation of the refugees is an ongoing process and we assist them with documentation and passports, besides birth certificates and other registration.”
Asked whether there was a spurt in the return of refugees after the change of government in the island, he said, “There has not been a change in the policy and we continue to assist refugees to return home.”
