Landing on Indian Shores

About 20,000 Tamil refugees have arrived in Tamil Nadu, India over the last one year. This is the period which has seen renewed fierce fighting in the North and East of Sri Lanka.

Over 140,000 people have been internally displaced in Sri Lanka in just the past three months. Most of the them in the eastern district of Batticaloa.

This group of 21 refugees are relieved as they arrive in India.

" There is heavy deployment of the Indian and Sri Lankan navies. We were scared all the time we where on the boat. We could have been shot by the Sri Lankan Navy or turned back by the Indian Navy. The sea was rough...we could have just fallen off the boat. I am relieved my family is safe." Kanan a fisherman from Trincomalee district tells me after he arrived.

The youngest in the group is just 43 days old. A day before another group came in with a 3 day old baby.

" Things are desperate in Sri Lanka for Tamil civilians. I am a fisherman, the Navy has not allowed me to fish for 8 months. I have had no work for 8 months. We had to sell all all we had to buy food. The government has failed to ensure adequate supplies of food and essentials to Jaffna. Rice is selling for 200 rupees a kilo, sugar is 200 rupees a kilo. To top it all armed groups in while vans without registration numbers pick up Tamil civilians at random. We all live in fear, it is no wonder people are selling all they have to get here and they are making this dangerous journey with women and very young children." another refugee told me.