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Colombo, May 19: Sri Lanka's civil war between
the government and the Tamil Tigers rebel group is now
over, and it is time to minister to the survivors, says
Gospel for Asia President K.P. Yohannan.
"While the 30 year long conflict has come to an end by
the news of the Tamil Tigers' surrender, in reality this
is the beginning of pain and crisis for hundreds of
thousands of people who are displaced," Dr. Yohannan
said. "There are 25,000 now in refugee camps, a nd the
suffering is especially acute among the children and
elderly.
"This is one of the greatest challenges and
opportunities we have to minister to people in the name
of Christ. We have more than 100 churches in Sri Lanka,
and our people are engaged in doing whatever they can to
help the suffering refugees. This is a drawn out
challenge that will be there for a long time to come.”
The bloody civil war entered its final stages earlier
this year and ended with the government's announcement
Monday that it had killed Tamil leader Velupillai
Prabhakaran and his son. A short time later, the handful
of remaining Tamils surrendered.
With the end of the war, Sri Lanka is now faced with
resettling thousands of refugees who fled their homes in
the wake of the fighting. Many of the refugees are
living in government camps that lack basic hygiene
facilities. They do not have access to adequate food,
water or shelter.
But physical discomfort is not the only thing they have
suffered. Many lost loved ones or were permanently
disfigured in the violent confrontations. The rebels
were accused of using civilians as human shields, and
the government is accused of inadvertently bombing a
hospital in the designated safe zone.
The United Nations estimates that 70,000 civilians were
killed in the fighting during the last 30 years. There
is a concern that the number will increase.
Gospel for Asia supported missionaries have been working
in Sri Lanka for many years. Some are former rebel
fighters, while others come from the majority Sinhalese
population. Most of these missionaries now serve as
pastors of Sri Lankan churches. The fact that Tamil and
Sinhalese Christians work side by side has been a
tremendous witness to the people.
Today these pastors, along with the workers at the
Bridge of Hope children's centers, are mobilizing to
help war survivors. During the next few days they will
be gathering food, clothing and other daily necessities
to help the displaced with their immediate needs.
"I pray that somehow the international community will be
concerned that the government of Sri Lanka will take
care of its Tamil population," Yohannan said. "This
conflict started because of the abuse of the Tamil
population, so I pray that the government will now take
care of its Tamil people as well as the majority
Sinhalese.”
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