Chandra had a reason to smile. The Sri Lankan Tamil at the refugee camp in Vembakottai, Virudhunagar district, on Saturday received the birth certificate of her daughter Sitradevi from the Government of Sri Lanka after 16 long years.
This was made possible by mobile consular services, a new initiative jointly organised by the Deputy High Commission of Sri Lanka and the Government of Tamil Nadu, with the assistance of the Organisation for Eelam Refugees' Rehabilitation (OfERR).
Among the services offered at these special camps are issue of birth certificates and registration for Sri Lankan citizenship. The special camp organised here will issue birth certificates to 238 children of six refugee camps on Saturday and Sunday, Deputy High Commissioner of Sri Lanka in Southern India, Vadivel Krishnamoorthy, said.
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A similar camp organised in Madurai saw 251 out of 303 applicants getting birth certificates of their children on the day of submitting the application. “The certificates for the rest are now ready,” said Mr. Krishnamoorthy. Such camps would be conducted in every district wherever there were refugee camps.
“This (birth certificate issued by Sri Lankan Government) is an important document which every child born (to Sri Lankan parents) overseas should possess to return to the motherland,” Mr. Krishnamoorthy said.
It is a mandatory document for getting Sri Lankan citizenship, passport and admission in schools there once they go back to Sri Lanka.
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“Though they were getting the birth certificates by visiting our office in Chennai, they have to bear travelling expenses. Hence, we are providing these services near their camps,” said Mr. Krishnamoorthy. They come free. “Otherwise, they will have to pay Rs.3,770 per person,” he said. A total of 70,754 persons of 19,934 families are living in 122 camps in the State.
Treasurer of OfERR S. C. Chandrahasan claimed that the mobile consular service was the first of its kind for refugees from various countries living across the globe. “Elsewhere, these services are offered only after they go back to their motherland. Here, it is given much before they would return home.”
A total of 21,000 children were born to Sri Lankan refugees in Tamil Nadu ever since their influx started in 1983. “But, only a little over 1,000 children got the birth certificates till recently. But, in the last special camp conducted in Madurai itself 300 children got it,” he said.