No Land In Place Called Home

Covid-19 diary

- Ravi Nagahawatte

These are days when small batches of Sri Lankan emigrants are heading home due to the threat posed by COVID-19. The return of these batches is facilitated by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. In such an environment one wonders what the future would be for thousands of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees living in India and wishing to return to home. Most of them are in Tamil Nadu, one of the worst effected Indian states by COVID-19.

But the Sri Lankan Tamil refugee issue calls for more attention from Colombo. This is because these people chose to be refugees largely due to a civil war. Their need to return to Sri Lanka existed even before the coronavirus surfaced last year.

Most migrants have opted to return to Sri Lanka because the health care offered in state hospitals to COVID-19 patients has been superior to what’s offered in a good number of European countries. But there could be political headaches if the scores of stranded Sri Lankan Tamil refugees are given the green light to return to the island in the wake of the COVID-19 threat.

Where would these Tamils returning from India be put up after they finish their quarantine period at a military camp?

Returnees belonging to other races would have homes to return to. But the majority of Tamils, who went to India to escape from the civil war, might not have that privilege anymore. The reason? Their lands have been occupied by government security forces or people who have encroached into these lands.