Sri Lankan refugees tell of horror

Refugees from Sri Lanka’s conflict with the Tamil Tigers have told how they saw 10 of their group die as they spent nine days drifting at sea on a small boat before being rescued by Indian fishermen last week. The 11 survivors, who say that they fled north eastern Sri Lanka after, are being treated at a hospital in the south eastern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. At least four Tamil refugees have also died in the camps where Sri Lankan authorities are holding almost 190,000 civilians attempting to reach government-held territory. A child was crushed to death and three women were found dead in one camp on Monday, in a stampede last week over scarce food supplies, UN officials said.

The two stories show the choices ordinary Tamil people are forced to take as they try to escape the tiny strip of north eastern coastline where the army has pinned down the Tigers and is poised to defeat them after 26 years of civil war. Those who fled by boat left on April 20, thinking that they could get to India in nine hours, Dr Sharma, who is treating them told The Times newspaper. “They were at sea for almost 10 days,” he said. “They had no water or food. They were all severely dehydrated, but they are OK now. They said they left because they were afraid of both sides.”

One of the refugees, Indra Meenan, 25, an engineer, said the boat’s captain had promised to take enough food and water, but ran out after he got lost and the outboard motor stopped working, rights group Human Rights Watch reported. “We were drinking salt water,” Mr Meenan said. “One by one, the people started dying. First it was the children. My brother’s little daughter died.” Mariyada Yesudas, the boat’s owner, said that his father, sister, nephew, two brothers and uncle — who skippered the boat — all died during the journey.

Sivadasa Jagdeshwaran, a mason, said that his four-year-old son died after four days at sea, then his wife’s father died and her two brothers jumped into the water. “My wife was in shock,” he said. “She was weak and not even able to move. That morning, April 29, she asked for some water. We gave her seawater. She vomited and then she passed away.” Their eight-month-old son survived, having suckled at his mother’s breast until she died.

By Hayley Jarvis for SOS Children