Head of the family ,Man Rs.400/m
Woman 200/m
Children@Rs.144/m
A family of four thus will have Rs.888/m or Rs 30/day.
Tamil Nadu Police Sniffer dogs allowance Rs 60/day!
This is what the SriLankan Refugees get in Tamil Nadu Refugee camps.
There are 70,374 Refugees in 115 camps.
Over 1,00,000 people live outside the camps.
They work as painters, at stone quarrying and such other jobs.
These jobs are available for people living in Puzhal, Gummidipoondi( near Chennai)
No Toilet facilities worth the name is provided.
Schools worth the name is non-existent.
Even those schools do not have teachers attending regularly.
Entry to the camp is strictly monitored.
If any outsider talks to the refugees they and the refugees are quizzed by ‘Q’ Branch.
Those who have relatives in other camps can not visit them.
Accommodation is 10×10 house ,if it can be called that.
If some one is not found in the camp when officials visit(thrice in a week), their ID card is confiscated.
How are they to work?
Where have the Donations and State Government’s Budget gone?
Thanks,Ananda Vikatan 18/5/2011.
Sources indicate that there are approximately 100,000 Sri Lankan Tamil refugees living in India (US 21 Jan. 2008; USCRI 29 July 2009). The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) World Refugee Survey states that approximately 73,300 Sri Lankan Tamil refugees live in more than 100 camps in the state of Tamil Nadu, while another 26,300 live outside of the camps and are registered with the local police (29 July 2009).
Status
The USCRI Survey states that, in some instances, India grants Sri Lankans asylum under executive policies, “based on strategic, political and humanitarian grounds” (29 July 2009). The United States (US) Department of State Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2008 states that the government of India considers Sri Lankans living in settlements and camps to be refugees (25 Feb. 2009). According to USCRI, though India does not recognize the refugee status designations of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), it “typically does not refoule them either”; UNHCR‘s refugee certificates do not protect refugees from detention for their illegal presence within India (29 July 2009). The USCRI Survey also indicates that Sri Lankans are not entitled to residence permits, but that the government does issue Sri Lankans identity documents (29 July 2009)
According to the “2008 Summary” in the USCRI Survey, “… Sri Lankan refugees in Tamil Nadu can move freely in the neighbourhoods of the camps, but are under police surveillance and must return for roll calls every evening” (29 July 2009). The Country Reports for 2008 indicates that Sri Lankan refugees have to return to their camps for periodic roll calls (US 25 Feb. 2009, Sec. 2d). A November 2009 article in The Hindu reports that roll call takes place every three days (4 Nov. 2009), whereas a December 2009 article in The Hindu reports that “the system of weekly attendance had been dispensed with and the refugees needed to come to camp just once a month” (25 Dec. 2009).
The Country Reports for 2008 indicates that Sri Lankan refugee children were generally enrolled in local schools (US 25 Feb. 2009, Sec. 2d). According to the JRS Regional Director, tertiary education is reportedly permitted in government colleges (which do not charge fees), only if there is a vacancy; as a result, in general, refugee students complete tertiary education in private colleges, for which there is no financial government support (11 Jan. 2010).
Camp Conditions
Though basic health and hygiene facilities are provided by government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Sri Lankan refugee camps, the JRS Regional Director indicated that these are inadequate (ibid.). Country Reports for 2008 states that though the conditions in the camps are acceptable, the housing, water and hygiene facilities are of poor quality (US 25 Feb.2009). The retired senior professor from Madras University indicated that Sri Lankan refugees have communicated that there is a “scarcity of water, poor sanitation facilities and absolutely no privacy in the camps,” as well as indicating that camps and hospitals and schools are located far apart (SAAG 13 Nov. 2009). Sources indicate that increased government spending on the camps is being allocated to improve the condition of housing (Thaindian News 12 Nov. 2009; The Hindu 25 Dec. 2009).
http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4dd23fd82.html
Copyright notice: This document is published with the permission of the copyright holder and producer Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB). The original version of this document may be found on the offical website of the IRB at http://www.irb-cisr.gc.ca/en/. Documents earlier than 2003 may be found only on Refworld.
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