ADT had 26 change makers clubs in Batticaloa, but due
to that ethnic conflict that is prevailing there, the number of the
clubs has gone down. Most of the Change Makers Clubs are in the
outskirts of Batticaloa, which means we have to travel 3 KM away
from the Batticaloa town in order to reach them. We cover two areas,
one is from the North of Batticaloa, which is from the Batticaloa
town till Valaichchenai and the other is from the south of
Batticaloa which is from the Batticaloa town till Pothuvil.
The major problematic concern is
the number of killings taking place in Batticaloa. There is at least
one killing a day. For instance if we travel to Valaichchenai we
cannot return back to office early and when we arrange any
programmes we are unable to attend them. Due to this the children
are disappointed about us. When we have to attend certain programmes
at the children’s clubs we arrive there late because of the military
checking through which we have to undergo. There is at least a
minimum of 3 security checks. The killings that are carried out are
not towards a particular group that has been targeted, but they are
random killings. Due to this the parents are not willing to send
their children to clubs fearing for their safety and also because
the Change makers clubs are located in the areas where the killings
take place.
We cannot point out a particular
group as being responsible for these killings, because there are
many who are involved, like the Military, paramilitary and militant
forces. There is also a new religious extremist movement which has
been formed which also could be added to this group. We are not able
to take the children out for outdoor activities because of the
military personnel walking about conducting their security checks.
We are in danger of an ambush as well. The new command that the
security personnel have been given is that they can fire at will and
they don’t need to bear the responsibility of whom they shoot.
Meanwhile another group is kidnapping school children in a white
van. There have been other instances where we have escaped with our
lives due to the grace of God being just a few seconds away from the
bomb blast site. Due to this kind of situation the NGO's and INGO's
have withdrawn all their activities from the area.
Since recently the military has
started shelling the area which has put the people into more fear.
The people don’t leave their houses after 7pm and the military does
not have a very good attitude towards the NGO's and INGO's. The
military soldiers round up the houses in the area for security
checks creating disturbances to the occupants of the houses. If we
try to visit the Change Makers Clubs during these days no one can
guarantee the safety for our lives except God. Anything can happen
at any time by anyone; therefore we have withdrawn all our clubs
from the Batticaloa town till Valaichchenai.
The control of the Batticaloa town
is in the hands of the military forces. There is no freedom for us
in our city. Many armed people are mingling with the ordinary
civilians. We seem to have no idea about who they are. The last time
the military shelled an area, it had fallen in the wrong place and
many innocent civilians died. It is the mistake of the military, but
who is there to question them?
The above mentioned problems are
occurring in the north of Batticaloa. In the south it is more of a
communal conflict. The area from the Batticaloa town till Pothuvil
consists of Tamils and Muslims. Among the Muslims are two groups who
oppose and confront each other. If they have a problem they impose a
harthal in that area. They would then block the roads and burn tires
and throw stones and attack the vehicles that would pass through
their area. The areas from Batticaloa town till Pothuvil consist of
a Tamil area then Muslim areas then a Tamil are and so on and so
forth. Sometimes they attack the neighbouring Tamils with woods and
irons. It is very hard to pass through their area. If one sector of
them stops the other will start. The attacks are conducted on
children in order to anger the other party.
What we do is we check over the
phone with our club’s volunteer about the situation in his area and
if it is safe we leave. We stop at many places to inquire about the
security situation. Meanwhile the military and police also check us
on the way. Due to this situation the parents have stopped their
children’s tuition classes and some have even stopped their children
from attending school. This is the current situation of Batticaloa. |
