In Sri Lanka, people are forced to leave their country due to uncontrollable inflation and economic crisis. These people are leaving their country and moving to India. On Tuesday, 16 Sri Lankan Tamil citizens left their homeland and reached the coast of Tamil Nadu by boat by paying a lot of money. A four-month-old newborn was also included in these people.
These people reached Tamil Nadu in two groups from Jaffna and Talaimannar in Sri Lanka. The first group consisted of six people, including three children. These people from Sri Lanka included a couple who have a four-month-old son. These people reached the coast by fibre boat, where the Coast Guard rescued them. The second group consisted of 10 people, including five children and three women.
A group of 6 people told the officials in India that the prices of all essential commodities had increased. Unemployment was also at its peak, so he left his country.
Initial interrogation revealed that they are residents of Jaffna and Talaimannar. A senior official interrogating them said that all the six Sri Lankan Tamil nationals boarded a boat from Sri Lanka at around 10 pm. They crossed the International Maritime Boundary after midnight on Monday. The sailor who had brought them left the people on a small island and lied that Rameshwaram would come to pick them up.
Every person gave 10 thousand to come to India.
Gajendran, the 24-year-old son of Ranjit Kumar, who came to Tamil Nadu from Jaffna, said he had given Rs 10,000 for the boat ride. This money was given to him by a relative.
Gajendran told reporters, ‘I am a casual worker in Jaffna. Recently I was fired from my job. The prices of all essential food items are skyrocketing. I don’t have a penny. I have some relatives in Rameswaram. So, I decided to come here…’
‘We have nothing to eat.’
Gajendran’s wife, Mary Clarins, 23, said they had eaten only Monday afternoon. He said, ‘We were waiting for the boat on the shore since 4 pm. My son Nijath is four months old. We didn’t have anything to eat since Monday.
Deori, 28, who was in the group, said she has two children – 9-year-old Esther and 6-year-old Moses. He said, ‘The situation in Sri Lanka was dangerous. The working people have nothing to eat. I wanted to work, but I couldn’t leave my two kids alone. So, I decided to come to India where I have some relatives. The woman said she had to pay 10 thousand rupees to go to India by boat.
The Indian Coast Guard issued a press release at Mandapam, in which the families coming from Sri Lanka were informed. After identifying all the people, the release said they were brought to the mandapam and interrogated. Officials said that all Sri Lankan nationals had been shifted to the refugee camp at Mandapam near Rameswaram, quoting the police.
More people will come to India from Sri Lanka.
Speaking to The Indian Express, VS Sivakaran, an activist from Mannar, warned that this was the beginning of a departure. “Many people I know are planning to flee Sri Lanka,” he said. Relatives of some of these people are present in refugee camps in India, and some known people are living in Tamil Nadu. People are scared about their future.
