IDPs brought to Jaffna face adversity

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 November 2009, 19:35 GMT]
Around 20,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) brought to Jaffna from Vavuniyaa camps and handed over to their relatives are experiencing hardships as they are unable to make a living on their own due to lack of funds and government restrictions, civil society sources in Jaffna said. The local and international Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Jaffna are unable to help the IDP families for want of funds, the sources added.

Each IDP family was given a payment of 5,000 rupees and food items worth 3,000 by the government officials in Jaffna when they were released. But the government officials have failed to follow up the care and maintenance of the IDPs.

The relatives of the IDPs and the NGOs are finding hard to support the IDPs.

The IDPs brought to Jaffna had lost everything including the means of livelihood and are unable to engage in any activity to make a living.

Meanwhile, the IDPs are unable to move freely to seek employment due to the control and restrictions of the armed forces in Jaffna peninsula, the sources added.