COI Report March 2012 - UK Border Agency - Home Office
COI Report March 2012 - UK Border Agency - Home Office
COI Report March 2012 - UK Border Agency - Home Office
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SRI LANKA 7 MARCH <strong>2012</strong><br />
• All were willing to return home as soon as possible and their primary issue is<br />
their release date.<br />
• Although involved in various activities, many were still traumatised and required<br />
psychosocial support.<br />
• Boredom and isolation from family/friends/partners were significant factors.<br />
Wider use of telephone facilities and placing them in camps closer to their<br />
homes would ease this.‖<br />
3.43 The same source 53 went on to add that: ―On 8 August 2010 IOM [International<br />
Organisation for Migration] visited two garment factories in Ratmalana and Homagama<br />
to meet female ex-combatants who were ‗housed‘ there. There were a total of 261<br />
females on the premises, aged between 18 and 44 years old. They noted:<br />
―• All basic amenities are provided by the factory. The ex-combatant‘s living<br />
quarters were separate from non ex-combatant workers, but they worked<br />
together.<br />
• Most women responded positively when asked about their general well-being,<br />
although it was felt that in a more private setting, a wider range of opinions<br />
might have been heard.<br />
• All women were paid a basic salary of between [US]$80-100 a month for a 6day<br />
week. This is transferred to individual bank accounts but the women are<br />
unable to access these funds until they are released.<br />
• All women were generally positive of their situation but were anxious to know<br />
their release dates. A government representative present said that they would<br />
be released by the end of September 2010.<br />
• Most were positively disposed to starting home-based tailoring businesses,<br />
either alone or in groups, once they returned to their home villages, as a result<br />
of the work/training they were now undertaking.<br />
• The women had been informed that they would be given National Identity Cards<br />
once they had provided their birth certificates.<br />
• Sunday was a visiting day for family members.<br />
• The ex-combatants commented that they had expected to have received visits<br />
from international humanitarian groups much earlier during their time in<br />
rehabilitation.‖<br />
3.44 On 17 December 2010 the official website of the government of Sri Lanka 54 reported that:<br />
―Former LTTE combatants at rehabilitation centres are well looked after and there had<br />
been no complaints, International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Chief of Mission in<br />
Sri Lanka, Richard Danziger stated.<br />
―Addressing the media at the IOM Colombo office, on the eve of the International<br />
Migrants‘ Day, Danziger said that the IOM had provided opportunity for ex-LTTE<br />
combatants to reintegrate into civilian society by providing job opportunities and training<br />
in different vocations.<br />
53<br />
British High Commission Colombo, letter to the <strong>UK</strong>BA <strong>COI</strong> Service, dated 9 November 2011<br />
54<br />
Official website of the Government of Sri Lanka, Ex-LTTE cadres well looked after – IOM Chief, 17<br />
December 2010<br />
http://www.priu.gov.lk/news_update/Current_Affairs/ca201012/20101217ex_ltte_cadres_well_looked_af<br />
ter.htm date accessed 1 June 2011<br />
34 The main text of this <strong>COI</strong> <strong>Report</strong> contains the most up to date publicly available information as at 3 February <strong>2012</strong>.<br />
Further brief information on recent events and reports has been provided in the Latest News section<br />
to 2 <strong>March</strong> <strong>2012</strong>.
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