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…
Indian-Sri Lankan temporary citizenship was granted during my father’s time. I worked in the plantation as a tea plucker. Ordinary share certificate was given to us in 1997. This document was proof that we have worked in the plantation. We do not have land ownership. If we have land ownership, we can renovate this house….
Before coming to this hut, we were living in the line houses. There was no facility there and we used to stay in a rented house. There was no electricity and no toilet facilities either. This place belongs to the estate. Another person was living here and we paid money to buy this place. We…
There are five of us. I have three children. My wife goes to work in the estate. I go to work in the private vegetable estate here. When we say income, it is only the day’s work. My wife gets 1500 rupees, out of which she spends 500 rupees on bus transportation and the remaining…
Both me and my wife are working in the plantation. Our community has lived over 200 years but we can’t enjoy most of the rights mentioned in the laws of this country, since we belong to the minority. Even if we have lived 200 years we don’t have our own land. We are unable to…
The letters we receive are posted to the name of the estate since we don’t have our own personal address. People have lost university opportunities, job opportunities etc because we do not have permanent addresses. It is a big problem for us since we are unable to receive the letters posted by the school for…
Anti- Muslim violence was erupted in the southern Sri Lankan towns of Aluthgama, Dharga Town, Valipanna and Beruwela in June 2014. A large public meeting held by the Bodu Bala Sena, led by its General Secretary, Galabodaththe Gnanasara Thero. His racist and inflammatory statements encouraged violence against Muslims. The violence against Muslims erupted on that…
On 26th February, 2018, a group of Sinhalese youth stormed into restaurants owned by Muslims in Ampara, falsely alleging that the food sold at these restaurants contained a sterilisation pill aimed at Sinhala Buddhists customers. The youth threatened the owners and caused damage to the restaurants. In addition to several shops, a mosque was also…