TECH Australia TECH Canada TECH Germany TECH Norway TECH UK

   

DEVASTATION OF OUR MOTHER LAND

Several years of political strife, strangulation and the last two decades of war in Sri Lanka have destroyed the once flourishing North-East of Sri Lanka in many aspects. Consequently, the reality imposed upon our land is faced with many challenges today.


Characteristics of the Strangulation

On the basis of their characteristics, we can classify the act of strangulation as follows.

Marginalization: Ethnically biased institutionalised policies.
Destruction: Systematic and militarised annihilation of social and physical infrastructure
Deprivation: Opportunistic suppression of legitimate rights in social welfare and development

Reality and Challenges
It is neither an imagination nor any exaggeration to say that the reality is that the war has caused a severe impact on human lives, social development and the infrastructure of the land. Further it has caused a catastrophic loss over agricultural, fisheries and various other resources of the land.

The War impact on Human lives and social development in the North-East

  • Internal displacement
  • Disabled persons - both adults and children
  • Widows
  • Orphaned children
  • Elders without family support
  • Children out of school

The War impact on Infrastructure in the North -East

  • Many health institutions are destroyed and being non-functional.
  • A considerable number of Schools and Classrooms are totally damaged and abandoned.
  • Hundreds of thousand homes are damaged, while the reality demands additional homes for thousands of new families.
  • Only a few roads are intact, whereas many other existing roads are not commutable.
  • Destroyed electricity grids, thus the insufficient electricity supply to households.
  • Access to safe drinking water is poor.
  • Insufficient sanitation facilities
  • Poor waste management and recycling of used resources.

The War impact on available resources in the North-East

  • Lack of water resource management affects agricultural projects.
  • A vast amount of population in the North-East is reliant on agricultural sectors, yet the participation is very poor compared to other parts of the Nation.
  • The number of livestock in the North-East is halved after the conflicts.
  • Major loss of assets in fisheries sectors. And many coastal households are damaged.

In order to reconstruct and restore the value of our land, and the lives of our people, it is crucial that we understand the destructions, deficiencies and current dilemmas observed and experienced by us in the North-East province of Sri Lanka.

TECH serves to raise a global awareness of the deficiencies, needs demands that are encountered by our people presently. Hence we all can give our share to the development of our motherland.