More Sri Lankan refugees return home from India - UNHCR

With the end of the war in the North last year, increasing numbers of Sri Lankan refugees are returning home from India, A report by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) says.


The UNHCR reported that the number returned in the first half of this year has exceeded the total number for 2009 and expected the trend to continue.
"The numbers of returns are not currently high, but it is significant to see that they have already exceeded that of all 2009. We can expect more refugees will start to consider returning home, reconnecting with their families, and rebuilding their lives in this post-conflict phase," Michael Zwack, UNHCR Representative in Sri Lanka has said.
According to the UNHCR statistics, within the first six months of this year, 852 refugees had returned from India with the UNHCR's help while another 1,005 refugees have returned to Sri Lanka on their own and sought help from UNHCR offices in Sri Lanka. During the same period however, at least 386 refugees have fled to India. In 2009 a total of 823 refugees had returned home.
UNHCR citing Indian government figures say some 73,000 Sri Lankan refugees are living in 112 camps in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu with a further 34,000 outside the camps.
UNHCR says the welfare camps in Manik Farm village of Vavuniya which sheltered 280,000 Internally Displaced Persons at the end of the war in May 2009, now house only about 35,000 displaced people. Every week some 3,000 people are returning to their homes, UNHCR says.
A recent UNHCR report said the security situation has greatly improved in Sri Lanka.
The refugee agency which has been working in Sri Lanka for 20 years helps refugees returning by providing them with non-food items such as mosquito nets, sleeping mats, clothing, kitchen sets, buckets, and lanterns at its offices in Vavuniya, Mannar, Jaffna, and Trincomalee.
According to UNHCR, there are 146,098 Sri Lankan refugees in 64 countries with the majority in India. Sri Lankan refugees in other countries are also starting to express interest to UNHCR offices about returning home voluntarily.
The agency helps most of the refugees to arranging transportation to their home areas. Sri Lankan refugees wanting to return home can approach UNHCR's office in Chennai for assistance, the agency says.