09/12/2005

In response to the rising violence, more than 2,800 people have fled from Sri Lanka to India since the beginning of 2006. In desperation, some people are paying traffickers their lifetime savings to get on board fishing vessels to India. The boats are packed with people and traveling at night, with no radar or modern equipment, to avoid navy patrols. Those on board face risks such as abandonment at sea and capsized vessels. In May, ten people died when the boat carrying them to India capsized.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) recently released a statement urging those planning on making the journey to India to consider the serious dangers they may face. Most of the Sri Lankan asylum seekers head for the southern Indian state of Tamilnadu, an area that has hosted Tamil refugees since 1983 when large-scale violence broke out in their country between the majority Sinhalese and the minority Tamils. Although many refugees returned to Sri Lanka during the ceasefire, approximately 60,000 still live in about 100 government-run camps in Tamilnadu. At least another 20,000 refugees live outside the camps.