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While
euphoric Sri Lanka celebrates its victory over LTTE,
Christian relief agencies warn the humanitarian crisis
created by the conflict is far from over.
"Now that the Sri Lankan government has won the war,
they must ensure that they win the peace," says Robin
Greenwood, director of Christian Aid's Asia division.
According to Greenwood, the "priority now is to help
those who have had to flee their homes to rebuild their
lives.
"Tens of thousands more are likely to arrive in the
coming days. But these camps are already severely over
crowded and unable to meet the basic food and shelter
needs of those who are arriving.
Indicating the need for specialised counseling and
psychological support, Greenwood said, "Many children
have witnessed terrible scenes as they escaped with
their parents to safety. Some saw their parents killed
or were separated from them during the journey. These
children will need intensive counseling in the months to
come.
According to Christian Aid, "so far, no counseling has
been available for those traumatised by the war." The
relief agency hopes to "provide that in the coming
months if the government allows outsiders to enter the
camps.
Meanwhile, another international relief agency, World
Vision, in a statement said the influx of last survivors
of the conflict could overwhelm stretched aid agencies.
At the end of April, there were already ten camps that
were housing between two and five times their capacity,
said Suresh Bartlett, World Vision's national director
in Sri Lanka.
He says "over the last few days another 50,000 persons
have come out" and "there are now almost 250,000 people
in the displacement camps, which are already at breaking
point. Among these are an estimated 80,000 children.
The shortage of water has also compounded relief woes,
he says. World Vision has provided more than 3 million
liters of water over the past month, but the water table
in the area was already low we are being forced further
and further afield to find water.
In addition to providing water, World Vision has
provided 57 metric tons of food, 3,000 tarpaulins and
more than 85,000 packs of cooked food.
Bartlett urged the international community to help break
the cycle of violence that has gripped the country for
so long, by funding both immediate relief efforts and
longer term recovery and rehabilitation.
It is important that donor nations look beyond the
financial crisis and the politics of giving or not
giving to Sri Lanka. We have already lost the futures of
two generations of children to nearly three decades of
war. This must not be allowed to continue.
The Sri Lankan government on Monday declared that it had
"successfully ended the war" after the killing of LTTE
leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.
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