There were four and a half lakh cattles and 3200 farmers in Mailaththamadu, Madavanai area. There were 3200 people of which 980 were farmers and the rest lived as their servants and wage earners. Since 2011, Sinhalese people from the Mahaoya area in the Ampara district and Aranganwila, Dehiattakandiya area in the Polonnaruwa district have…
At the time of the army’s arrival there were 34 houses in this area. The army said that they were here temporarily. But they stayed permanently. People staged a demonstration on 08.11.2011. After the demonstration, two soldiers were posted near the protest hut. After the deployment of the army, nine families from this area were…
The people of Ampara district in the Eastern Province have been badly affected by land grabbing. Hingurana sugar factory illegally took away our livelihood and our own land and forcibly kicked us out of that land in Muwangala, Munmari. In addition to that, the sugar factory chased away the people who had the right to…
We lived happily in our own house. I have 9 children, all got married in our own home. We have a big garden around the house. In 1985, my son and son-in-law were taken with another group and killed by the army. In 2009, we were displaced due to the war. When we returned our…
This land issue started in 2009 when the Navy seized 896 acres of cultivated land. On the night of 17.02.2009, a group of men in black clothes with guns, beat up the people living in Ragamwela and set fire to their houses and chased them away. People left with the clothes they were wearing and…
The lands of 69 people have been grabbed by the army. Since we were chased out from our lands we have been living here. We live here amidst many problems, the most burning issue is the elephant problem. We have to live in the midst of extreme hardship. It is difficult to come home from…
Grandpa had bought our land at that time for 25 rupees. We still have the deed. We have 3 acres of land with palm trees, coconut trees, mango trees and a well. Now the army has fenced it and prohibited entry. In 1990, we first moved to Mullivaikal. We came back to our land in…
It is proudly said that Malaiyaha Tamils have a history of 200 years in Sri Lanka. But, even though we have fourteen Grama Niladhari divisions in this area we still have the same four feet rooms as houses. In the same line houses, we are still living as a society that has been experiencing various…