Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Five years after war, Sri Lanka refugees reluctant to leave India...

Nearly 70 percent of refugees who fled to India during Sri Lanka's civil war prefer to stay rather than return, even though the conflict in their homeland has ended, according to a survey by a university in Mumbai.

More than 130,000 Sri Lankans are estimated to have sought refuge in southern India during the 26-year conflict between separatist Tamil Tiger rebels and government forces.

Since the war ended in May 2009, Sri Lanka has pumped $6 billion into development of the former war zone in the counltry's north, and some refugees have left India to return home.

Yet around 100,000 refugees remain in India - many living in poor conditions with restricted freedom of movement in 111 government-run camps across Tamil Nadu state.

The survey by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) found that 67 percent of the 368 respondents wanted to stay in India, citing insecurity and a lack of jobs as primary factors for not returning home. Full story...

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  4. Switzerland suspends repatriation of Sri Lanka Tamil asylum seekers...
  5. In post-war Sri Lanka, one person disappears every five days...

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