“It is a joyous moment for us. We had never dreamt that a day would come when we would be able to return home,” said S. Sivadharshan, a resident of the Kottapattu refugee camp for Sri Lankan Tamils at Tiruchi since 1990.
“It is time to end the stigma of being a refugee,” remarked 32-year-old N. Maheswari.
Both spent two decades in refugee camps after fleeing their homeland when hostilities broke out.
Of the 47 Sri Lankan Tamils who assembled at the Orange Gate of the passenger terminal at the V.O. Chidambaranar Port here on Tuesday, some could not express their joy in words, as they prepared to sail back to their homeland.
They constituted the second batch of Sri Lankan Tamils repatriated to the island nation by the Tuticorin-Colombo ferry service. The first batch of 37 reached Colombo in October.
Discrimination alleged
Maheswari, a resident of the Rayanur camp in Karur, said that her family faced discrimination in society while their children faced a similar situation in schools.
Added N. Mayuran (26); “Since the age of four, I have been residing at the same camp in Karur. Had the government given Indian citizenship, I would not have opted to return.” Even benefits of the welfare schemes of the State government were not given properly to the refugees, he claimed.
They said they were deeply indebted to the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which facilitated the journey. Since normality had been restored, they expressed their desire to settle down in their hometown.
‘No cause for anxiety'
Through relatives back home, they had ascertained the conditions in their native place and felt that there was no cause for anxiety or uncertainty about their life and safety in post-war Sri Lanka.
Their children's education will not be affected, said Sivadharshan, a resident of Kottapattu camp in Tiruchi, as the academic year would commence only in January.
M. Sasikaran (32), also from the Kottapattu camp, said the repatriation was unexpected and the passport for the journey home was taken only after the UNHCR pledged support.
The refugees are headed for Maharambakulam in Vavuniya, northern Sri Lanka, Tirukadalur in Trincomalee in the east, besides other parts of Sri Lanka.
Fifteen of them were residents of the Tiruchi camp, 15 were from the Karur camp, 13 from Mandapam in Ramanathapuram district and four from Thappathi camp in Tuticorin district.
The group, with their baggage affixed with the tag ‘Returnees' and carrying the logo of the UN refugee agency, embarked on the nine-deck Scotia Prince, the ferry that will take them across the sea in a 14-hour journey.
There were some emotional scenes as relatives bade them a tearful farewell.
Published - November 09, 2011 04:37 am IST
