Sri Lanka

Survivors of Sri Lanka’s massive flood from heavy monsoon rains last week protested at a government office in the eastern part of the country on Monday over slow food aid.

More than 1,000 people surrounded the office in the village of Ariyampathy in Batticaloa district and smashed windows, accusing officials of mismanaging relief supplies. Victims accused local politicians of giving food to their supporters rather than distributing supplies fairly.

Police eventually dispersed the protesters, but not after at least one staff member was wounded. more >>

One of the largest Christian relief and development agencies in the world is “gravely concerned” that impending monsoon rains and inadequate sanitation will place tens of thousands of people at risk from disease in displacement camps in northern Sri Lanka.

The sanitation facilities in the largest camps where most of the displaced are living are “woefully inadequate,” according to World Vision, and at least 11,500 more latrines are needed in the camps to comply with international minimum standards.

And with the monsoon expected to arrive within the next two weeks, the organization says at least 2,500 are needed immediately to meet even the most basic needs and to prevent a potential health crisis. more >>

The international director of the World Evangelical Alliance is calling on Christians worldwide to support the Sri Lankan Christian community in their efforts to meet the desperate needs of thousands in the conflict-ravaged country.

According to reports, around 300,000 displaced people – including 90,000 children – are in desperate need of food, medical assistance and other basic needs in the aftermath of a 26-year-long conflict between the Sri Lankan government and a separatist terrorist group that ended last month.

To provide food and water alone for all the survivors, it would require $1 million each day, reported World Vision last month, just days after Sri Lanka’s president declared the conflict over. And the roughly $3.50 per person per day doesn't take into account the provision of shelter, medical care, or children's schooling for those in the camps. more >>

There is an urgent need to ward off outbreaks of disease among the hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankan Tamils living in relief camps, an international Christian development agency warned.

Development charity Christian Aid says that with hundreds of new arrivals flooding into the camps every day, the camps are "an epidemic waiting to happen."

Robin Greenwood, director of Christian Aid’s Asia program, warned that the combination of monsoon rains, poor drainage and overcrowding was threatening camps with diseases like cholera and typhoid. more >>

A staggering one million dollars is required daily to provide food and water to almost 300,000 conflict survivors who are housed in a string of camp settlements in northern Sri Lanka, says World Vision.

“Funding is becoming a huge concern for aid agencies. Most have already used up a large chunk of their existing relief budgets responding to the crisis,” said Suresh Bartlett, national director of World Vision Sri Lanka.

The 26-year-long conflict between the Sri Lanka government and the separatist Liberation Tamil Tiger Eelam (LTTE) ended on May 17, with the capture of the last strip of coastland occupied by the rebels in northeast Sri Lanka and the deaths of the separatist leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and other senior leaders. more >>

Even after a visit from the top U.N official, the Sri Lankan government has refused to budge on its disallowance of aid agencies to relief camps, in spite of repeated calls made by the agencies.

On Sunday, responding to U.N Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's urgent plea for complete access to relief camps, Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa said he would not yet lift restrictions until security formalities on refugees were complete.

Ban made the appeal during his Saturday visit to Manik Farm – one of the largest displacement camps in the world. more >>