Revisiting the Story of the IDP Camps, 2009 et seq: ONE

Michael Roberts

As with Eelam War IV the Western media juggernaut, primed and fed by the extensive LTTE networks abroad, mounted an effective disinformation campaign on this topic. One illustration was when Jeremy Page of the BBC reported in June 2009 that 1400 persons were dying per week in the Manik Farm camps.

Coping with the influx of internal Tamil IDPS from late 2008 onwards was in fact a huge administrative and humanitarian problem with security implications. The task was faced by the Government of Sri Lanka and a collection of INGOS and NGOs with the support of monetary aid provided by the Western governments and UN agencies and with a Coordinating Committee chaired by Mahinda Samarasinghe keeping an eye on proceedings.

Annet Royce (standing) and Sewalanak Cooking team at Omanthai transit camp in mid-May 2009 preparing food packets for IDPS bussed in from war front on way to Manik Farm Camps

I begin by listing

  • the UN/ICRC and I/NGOs working with New IDPs – Access to Camps – Vavuniya” and
  • adding details on the agencies provide by ANNET ROYCE, head of SEWALANKA, at Vavuniya (a Catholic Tamil aid worker from Jaffna whose husband was an officer with the World Food Programme.

I note here that I interviewed Annette Royce on 2nd June 2010 amidst several other interviews in Vavuniya and that many aid workers (of several nationalities/ethnicities) had been working their butts out for many months since early 2009.

Ia. UN/ICRC and I/NGOs working with New IDPs – Access to Camps – Vavuniya

# Acronym Name of Agency Working in New  IDP Camps Have Access to Camps
  United Nations Access provided from the beginning    
1 UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Y Y
2 UNICEF United Nations Children Fund Y Y
3 UNOCHA United Nations  Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Y Y
4 UNWFP United Nations  World Food Programme Y Y
IOs Access provided from the beginning    
5 IOM International Organization for Migration Y Y
6 ICRC International Committee for Red Cross Y Y
7 GRC German Red Cross Y Y
8 CRC Canadian Red Cross Y Y
      08 agencies All have access
  INGOs Access to camps provided under the supervision of he Government Agent as implementing partners of the UN/IOs    
1 ACTED Y Y
2 CAM Y Y
3 CARE CARE International Y Y
4 DRC Danish Refugee Council Y Y
5 FORUT FORUT International Y Y
6 HI Handicap International Y Y
7 RI Relief International Y Y- some sites
8 MSF Medecins Sans Frontieres Y Y
9 MA Muslin Aid Y Y
10 NRC Norwegian Refugee Council Y Y
11 OXFAM OXFAM GB Y Y
12 SCiSL Save the Children – Sri Lanka Y Y
13 SOLIDAR SOLIDAR Y Y
14 UMCOR United Methodist Committee on Relief Y Y
15 Welthungerhife Welthungerhife Y Y
16 World Vision World Vision Lanka Y Y
17 WUSC World University Service of Canada Y Y
18 ZOA ZOA Refugee care Netherlands Y Y
      18 agencies All have access
  NGOs Limited staff have access  to camps with permission from Government Agent    
1 ADT Alliance Development  Trust Y Y
2 CARITAS/Valvuthayam Y Y
3 CEFCO Y Y
4 CCCWD Y Y
5 CHA Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies Y Y
6 CTF Y Y
7  FIRM Y Y
8 FOSDOO Y Y
9 FPA Y Y
10 FRC Y Y
11 JRS Y Y
12 HRC Human Rights Commission Y Y
13 LEADS Y Y
14 NGACDO Y Y
15 OfERR Y Y
16 ORHAN Y Y
17 RDF Y Y
18 Sarvodaya, Y Y
19 SA Y Y
20 Sewalanka Sewalanka Foundation Y Y
21 SEED Y Y
22 SHADE Y Y
23 SLRCS Sri Lanka Red Cross Society Y Y
24 WDC Y Y
25 Y Gro Y Y
26 Youth for Christ Y Y
      26 agencies All have access
  Total   52 agencies All have access

Note: Access to camps provided under prior approval of Government Agent

Ib.  SUMMARY LIST provided by ANNET ROYCE, head of Sewalanka, Vavuniya …..  email to Roberts, 19 July 2010 ..….with a note indicating that this list is incomplete.

UN Agencies – UNHCR, UNICEF, World Health Organization (WHO), UNWFP(World food Program),UNOCHA,IOM

International Organizations – ZOA, World Vision, CARE, Welthungerhilfe, UMCOR, ASB, Relief International, DRC,  NRC, Mercy Malaysia, Muslim Aid, LEADS, Caritas, JRS, OXFAM GB, OXFAM Australia, ACTED, Save the Children, FORUT, ADSL, CORDAID, UMCOR Medical Team,
Red Cross community – ICRC, SLRC, GRC
National  Organization – Sarvodaya, Sewalanka Foundation, RDF, SEED
District Based organization – FOSDOO, NGAGDO, WDC, ORHAN, VOCOD

ALSO SEE

Michael Roberts: “Omanthai! Omanthai! Succour for the Tamil Thousands,‘ 9 August 2010, https://thuppahi.wordpress.com/2010/08/09/omanthai-omanthai-succour-for-the-tamil-thousands/

Wikipedia: “Internally displaced persons in Sri Lanka,” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internally_displaced_persons_in_Sri_Lanka

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