Our village used to be called the village of fifty fifty. Both Tamils and Sinhalese were together. It was the height of the war. The STF shot at our village thinking it was a Tamil village. Our sister’s house was on fire. They had thrown a bomb at my sister’s husband and fortunately it had…
During the war, everyone who remained in this village left the village and went to Mullivaikal as per the army notification. On September 14, 2009, we surrendered to the army. We lived in overcrowded camps and had to stand in queues even for basic needs. We were brought back to Keppapilaw from the camps. Then…
This is the place our father and Mother left behind. This was the place where I grew up. I have been staying here for the past 60 years . There is no place for our neighbors to live next to us. The army has taken over their lands. The army is always watching us. We…
I was born in Matale. I came to Kepapilau because of this land. I have 25 acres of land with 22 mango trees, 18 acres of coconut trees, a house and a well. There was a big tamarind tree on the side of the lagoon as well. Now the army is settled there. We told…
I am 81 years old. I own 22 acres of land. I had my own house on my land. But now we are landless and living on the road. There are no basic facilities. I am now at my grandchildren’s house. They are also very poor so it is difficult for them to take care…
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…