Sri Lanka War Survivors Stranded in Camps

By Liz O'Neill

The end of Sri Lanka's long civil war has left more than 250,000 civilians stranded in camps, in dire need of food, water and medical attention.

"During the final stages of the conflict, all civilians who had been trapped in the war zone were able to escape," says Mehul Savla, Catholic Relief Services' country manager in Sri Lanka. "That led to a dramatic increase in arrivals at the relief camps in Vavuniya where CRS is working hand in hand with its local partner, Caritas Sri Lanka. The influx has severely strained the resources of the United Nations, the Catholic Church and international relief agencies who are working there."

CRS is working to respond to the most immediate needs of civilians in the relief camps in Vavuniya, Jaffna, Trincomalee and Mannar.

Working through local partners, CRS has established communal kitchens supplying regular meals of dried fish, eggs, vegetables and other food. Thirty thousand people are being fed daily. Hygiene kits and other emergency supplies are being distributed by CRS partners. CRS has also built separate bathing enclosures for men and women in the camps.

CRS has committed $400,000 to two primary partners—Caritas Sri Lanka and Jesuit Refugee Service—during the emergency response. The focus for the immediate future includes new kitchens for feeding centers, kits of household and personal hygiene items, water and sanitation assistance, and management support for local partners.

"We're working closely with our partners to increase their ability to respond to this crisis," says Savla. "We're assisting them as they scale up their operations by recruiting more staff and helping to train them in finance, logistics and other issues. This will lead to a greater efficiency, transparency and accountability as we respond to this massive humanitarian crisis. The fighting may be over, but the scars of this conflict won't go away anytime soon."

Liz O'Neill is CRS' communications officer for Europe, the Middle East and Asia. She is based at the agency's headquarters in Baltimore.