Sri Lankan Families Flee Violence

Since January 2005, Mercy Corps has helped over 610,000 Sri Lankans. Photo: Cassandra Nelson/Mercy Corps

Over the last month, renewed violence between the Sri Lankan Army and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (Tamil Tigers) has forced thousands of families to flee their homes and villages. Estimates place the number of displaced persons at over 170,000, at least 70,000 of whom are currently inaccessible to humanitarian agencies due to security conditions. Many of the displaced families are tsunami survivors that Mercy Corps has been helping over the last year and a half.

Mercy Corps is working to provide for these families' most urgent needs, and closely monitoring the worsening situation.

Between August 9th and 12th, Mercy Corps distributed 40 truckloads of critical household and shelter items to displaced families. Our emergency team is also delivering bottled water to families living in makeshift refuges.

Meanwhile, the violence continues to rage in Sri Lanka.

The heaviest fighting between the Sri Lankan Army and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam has centered around the town of Muttur. Most of that town's population, as well as families from surrounding villages, has fled on foot towards the towns of Kantale, Kinnaya, Mullipothana, Seruwawila and Trincomalee.

Mercy Corps' emergency teams in the Trincomalee District have been delivering essential relief items such as hygiene supplies, tarpaulins, mosquito nets, mattresses, camp stoves and milk powder for infants. Mercy Corps also provides support to Sri Lankan non-governmental organizations involved in relief efforts. The agency is committed to serving the short- and long-term needs of vulnerable Sri Lankan children and families.

Mercy Corps has helped over 610,000 vulnerable Sri Lankans rebuild their homes, return to school and restore local economies. Our post-tsunami rehabilitation programs have drawn praise and support from local citizens, organizations and international benefactors including Oprah Winfrey. Current program activities support relief, rehabilitation and development activities for over 70,000 people affected by the tsunami and/or ethnic conflict.