US FUNDS HEALTHCARE FOR SRI LANKA'S DEPRIVED MUSLIMS

OneWorld South Asia
http://www.oneworld.net
April 02, 2004

Champika Liyanaarachchi,
OneWorld South Asia

COLOMBO, Apr 2 (OneWorld) - Fourteen years after theywere displaced from their homes by a civil war, around800 Muslim families in northwestern Sri Lanka finallyhave access to free medical facilities, thanks to a largely US initiative.

The impoverished Muslims had to flee their lands inthe northern part of the country because of thetwo-decades old conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The victims of war, referred to asInternally Displaced Persons (IDPs), were relocated to11 villages in the arid Kalpitiya peninsula in thenorthwestern district of Puttlam.

The new free polyclinic there, established with agrant of US $34,000 from the USAID and the help of local nongovernmental organizations, is a boon for the
IDPs. Some recount horror stories of having to travel45 kilometers to the nearest maternity clinic. Mostpeople went to hospital only for vaccinations, usinghome remedies to cure other ailments.

Significantly, the clinic was built through a labor of love, helping to bridge differences between the IDPsand original residents. A local mosque donated land, local residents from three ethnic groups -- Tamils, Sinhalas and Muslims -- provided the labor, while the ministry of health financed the furniture and promised to bear future expenses.

Apart from the 800 IDPs, Kalpitiya is home to 740 Muslim native families, nearly 100 Sinhalese and 80 Tamil native families.

In a unique partnership effort, women in the area collected money for electricity and youths helped clear the site and plant trees and shrubs around the
polyclinic.

The clinic, which opened last month, is located in one of the most arid zones in the country, where the primary occupation is fishing and casual labor. The
average daily income in Kalpitiya is $1.5.

The donors of the project, who were keen for it to be a community effort, are pleased with the results. Observes Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy
here, James F. Entwistle, "The collaborative effort is an example of how diverse communities working together can overcome obstacles. It clearly demonstrates the benefits of peace."

He adds that while the polyclinic fulfills a criticalneed for the people of Kalpitiya, it also strengthens the relationship between the IDPs and native
communities.

The areas covered by the project include ante and postmaternal care, family planning, nutrition and healtheducation, much to the relief of people in the area.

Reminisces Fathima Tasneem, an IDP mother of fourresiding in Palliwasalthurei village where the clinic is located, "I had to go through immense hardships due to the absence of a proper maternal care clinic in the
area. All my children were born after we were expelled from Jaffna and while we were in the IDP camps. Theclinic was a crying need."

Agrees Siththi Rahuman, a mother of three and native of the area, "Lack of healthcare facilities in the area was a big problem for the natives and IDPs. We
depended on whatever we learnt from our elders, and the majority of us went to hospital only to get vaccinated, as we had to travel about 45 kilometers
even to reach the nearest maternity hospital."

The polyclinic project was funded through the USAID's Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI), whose prime goal is to reduce conflict.

According to the OTI, providing better health care for women and children is just one of the clinic's goals.

Says program development officer of the OTI, R.H.M. Safrullah, "The other, and perhaps most important, goal was to get the IDPs to work in unison with the
natives. There was tension due to the eternal struggle between the IDPs and natives for the bare minimum resources and opportunities in the area, like water
and jobs. We wanted the project to build solidarity between the two parties."

The welfare of Muslims, the second largest minority who constitute nine percent of Sri Lanka's population, has attracted US attention for sometime now. The country has earned the reputation of being a leading champion of Sri Lanka's Muslims.

Remarks chairman of the local NGO Muslim Rights Organization (MRO), M.I.M. Mohideen, "The US has been a tower of strength for Sri Lanka's Muslims, who faced the worst consequences of the war. Our only hope is
the US will continue its good work here."

A month after the February 2002 truce between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE, the US issued a strongly worded statement asking the guerrillas to
stop harassing Muslims. On the other hand, the United National Front (UNF) government was accused of keeping silent about the treatment of Muslims by the rebels, apparently in a bid to preserve the truce.

The US move prompted the LTTE to issue a counter statement accusing the country of favoring Muslims here.

In August 2003, the US became the first country to reprimand the LTTE for establishing a camp in the government controlled, predominantly Muslim
Karungupanchan area in the eastern district of Trincomalee. The controversial camp was set up on the ruins of a mosque destroyed by the LTTE in 1990.

Besides this, last year the USAID began funding a project by the MRO to compile a registry of lands that belonged to Muslims in the northern and eastern districts and were snatched from them by the LTTE.

The survey found that in the east, the LTTE had forcibly occupied 62,000 acres of land that belonged to 14,674 families.

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