Complexities old and new beset Batticaloa

And nearly eight years after the war, Batticaloa reflects problems that overlap with the war-torn North, as well those peculiar to the island’s Eastern Province.

January 23, 2017 12:01 am | Updated 11:13 am IST - BATTICALOA:

Symbolism on shores:  The Mahatma Gandhi statue is among the most-visited spots in Batticaloa.

Symbolism on shores: The Mahatma Gandhi statue is among the most-visited spots in Batticaloa.

From coping with the legacy of a brutal war to confronting a severe drought to falling into the menacing trap of micro-credit, the Tamil-majority district of Batticaloa is faced with problems old and new.

Located on Sri Lanka’s east coast and flanked by Trincomalee and Ampara districts, Batticaloa is home to nearly five lakh, largely Tamil-speaking, Sri Lankans. This includes Muslims who make up a fourth of the district’s population.

And nearly eight years after the war, Batticaloa reflects problems that overlap with the war-torn North, as well those peculiar to the island’s Eastern Province.

Land in military control

Sathasivam Viyalendran, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian representing the district, said land has remained a key, contentious issue for Tamils ever since the war ended in 2009. “Even now, a major portion of school land, cultivable land and private land belonging to the Tamils are under military control, though the government has released some land in a few places.”

“Most tourists coming to Batticaloa town marvel at its beauty and assume that the whole district is prosperous. If you come some 100 kms away from the coast, you will see people in abject poverty,” he said.

While the government claims to have rehabilitated former combatants who fought the LTTE’s battle, they have few livelihood options, he noted.

“They are not eligible for the same programmes as those in the forces.”

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka is also experiencing a severe drought, pressuring farmers in the district to consider alternatives.

Thousands of people remain missing since the war, and their families continue the search for them. Women, particularly those who lost their husbands during the war, struggle to make ends meet, with hardly any job creation and a growing culture of micro-credit trapping them in debt.

Micro-credit trap

Local journalist Sharmila says micro-credit has become “the single biggest problem” that the women of Batticaloa face. “Almost every woman has borrowed or purchased gadgets on lease… it is not as if they had a choice. These companies came into their villages and thrust the loans on them. With no income, the women succumbed.”

Over 20 new finance companies were set up in the district following the war, each charging from 26 to 30 per cent interest on the borrowed sums, a group of women community workers said.

Tamil-Muslim divisions

Even as the Tamil polity continues demanding a merger of North and East in the new Constitution — as was the case until 2006 when the North-Eastern Province split — the Muslim community, which is politically significant, is reluctant. “We completely reject the idea of a merger. The North should be North, the East should be East,” said A.L.M. Sabeel, secretary of the Federation of Mosques in Kattankudy, a Muslim settlement.

Tamil-Muslim relations are yet to improve significantly after the war, though both communities grapple with challenges of resettlement. In the early 1990s, the LTTE killed over 100 Muslim men in Kattankudy. The same year, they ordered 1,00,000 Muslim residents of Jaffna to vacate, souring years of cordial ties.

“[T]he Tamils opposed oppression by the Sinhalese, but in turn oppressed us.” said Mr. Sabeel.

The distrust appears mutual. According to Eastern Province Agriculture Minister K. Thurairajasingam, the Muslims fear that a merger would bring down their percentage in the total population. “After the split [in 2006] they have been dominating the East. They do not want that to change,” he said, alleging that Muslim parties have a “tendency to get favours” from the Colombo government.

While the politicians among Tamils and Muslims may have differences, relations among the Tamils, Muslims and the Sinhalese on the ground are mostly cordial, according to Batticaloa-based disability activist K. Kandeepan. It is the nationalist forces that complicate ties, he said.

“As the state delays taking steps towards reconciliation, the ultra-nationalist and racist elements in all communities make it harder to move ahead.”

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.