IDPs trapped in model village fear permanent

exile

By S. Rubatheesan-Sunday, December 27, 2015

Meant to be a temporary stop, Keppapilavu feels like the end of the line
Three years after Thiruchelvan Ketheeswaran arrived in Keppapilavu village in
Mullaitivu to start a new life for his family, his hopes are crumbling.
Ketheeswaran was among the thousands of
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)
resettled in a brand-new village as the final
phase of the governments resettlement
process concluded. He could not return to

The so-called Keppapilavu model village

his own land, 1-2km away.

Born and raised in a farming family, he works now as a mason because his acres of
paddy lands have been acquired by the military following the end of the bloody war in
2009.
A father of two children, he finds it difficult to support his family. With the start of the
monsoon season we have no jobs in the village and there is no-one to employ us
since most of us are living under the poverty line. I have to go other villages in search
of jobs, he said.
The so-called Keppapilavu model village project created in 2012 was a brainchild of
the military and was facilitated by the Resettlement Ministry.
It comprises three villages the Pilakaadhu, Sooriyapuram, and Keppapilavu Grama

Sevaka divisions. At least 300 families lands were taken by the Defence Ministry and
these people were resettled in plots of state lands as a temporary step.
The isolated village is located in the Mullaitivu district, some 20km away from the main
town.
The military and the Resettlement Ministry
built 2410-foot houses for all the families
in the village. The internal roads and minibridges are being built by the military as
permanent structures.
What we need is the return of our land. If
they give back our land we dont have to
depend on the military or any authorities
for our survival.
Were grateful for what they have done in
the past but we dont want to see them
involved in our day-to-day lives,
Muttaiah Alagi: A war widow who looks after her widowed daughter and

Ketheeswaran said.

grandchildren

The Government Agent (GA) of Mullaitivu,

Roobawathy Ketheeswaran, said it was very unlikely that these villagers would go
back to their own lands.
We have decided to give them more state lands for farming activities in the Maligai
Theevu area in lieu of their lands acquired by the military, she said.
Rejecting the allegation that the military is involved in the residents civil activities, she
said the military was being used to provide manpower in construction work only. Their
labour cost is very low.
Thats why we are using them, she said.The head of Keppapilavus Rural

Development Society, Rasaiah Parameswaran, says the government had no intention

of releasing the acres of paddy lands commandeered for the sake of national security
and is trying to resettle the IDPs permanently in the model village.
We took up these matters with the government authorities and the politicians who
claimed to be representing us but so far there has been no positive reply from them.
The last time they visited us was during the presidential election in January, he said.
During the visit of the UN Working Group on Enforced Disappearances to the country
in November, the military put up a new village signboard omitting the words model
village.
Mr. Parameswaran is alarmed by this move
and suspects that the villagers have been
portrayed as permanent residents.
The model village has seen the rise of many
social problems.
Last month, two teenagers allegedly involved in
separate crimes of sexual abuse were sent to a
childrens disciplinary home.
Caste issues are a curse for the community.
Different groups farmers, fishermen and a
mix of lower-caste groups live together in the
model village, which was divided into equal

Rasan Selvam: A bicycle mechanic

plots for every family.

The fisherfolk and others from oppressed groups feel that they have been
marginalised by one group in everything from constructing a well to distribution of
lands.
Students rarely turn up for class at the Keppapilavu Primary School. The Principal, S.
Uthayashankar, said poor attendance was due to the parents lack of education and to

poverty, which plays a big role in whether a child is sent to school.

None of the students in Grade 5 passed the scholarship exam held this year.
We tried awareness programs for the parents but their priority is for the child to grow
old enough to make a living for the family.
Only a handful of students go up to the GCE Ordinary Level in the nearby secondary
school, Mr. Uthayashankar said.
The families headed by women are the most vulnerable: poverty hits them hard.
In Keppapilavu there are 60 families in which the female is the breadwinner and they
are struggling to make a living in the absence of employment opportunities or
alternative income sources.
Most of the women have to travel out of the village in search of work and this creates
family problems, according to the Vice President of the local Womens Development
Co-operative, Sivan Sangeetha.
When they are out there is no one else to look after the family some families break
up, she said, pointing to a recent incident when a father of two eloped with a girl from
the next village.
She said most of the families own lands and coconut estates now under military
control and if they regained their property their lives would change.
Muttaiah Alagi, who lost her husband in the final phase of the war, has to take care of
herself and also her widowed daughter and grandchildren.
She makes about Rs. 300 a day picking cashew nuts during the season and at other
times seeks work as a labourer.
I have two acres of coconut estate as my dowry now it is in the military-controlled
area. If I could have access to it I wouldnt have to go to outsiders to look for jobs, she
said.

Rasan Selvam, a bicycle mechanic in the village, said most people never pay him in
cash for the repairs he carries out. I know almost everyone in the village is going
through difficult times but they also should know I have to support my five-member
family too, he said.
He says he doesnt know any work other than bicycle repair even though others who
have not been able to find sustainable work have turned their hands to other
occupations.
This feels like living in a refugee camp, no better than Menik Farm where we were
detained earlier. I just want to go to my own land and would like to die there because
that is my home, Rasan said.
The military spokesman, Brigadier Jayanath Jayaweera, said the Mullaitivu security
forces commander was not immediately available to respond to the issues raised by
the villagers and would provide information later.
Posted by Thavam