Life of squalor, very few jobs: Why Lankan refugees are risking their lives to come to India

The economic crisis engulfing Sri Lanka is forcing its citizens to flee the island nation, with at least 16 Tamils seeking refuge in India and many more poised to come in the coming days.

On Tuesday, two groups of Tamils arrived in the country. The first batch of six Tamils was stranded near an island off the coast of Rameswaram and rescued by the Coast Guard. The second group of 10 reached Danushkodi, an abandoned town at the southeastern tip of Pamban Island. They were stranded in the sea for several hours after their engine got damaged, according to a marine police official.

Watch: Decoding Lanka’s economic & refugee crisis

A young couple and their four-month-old son, and another woman and her two children, were in the first batch. Local officials identified them as: Gajendran (24), his wife Mary Clarine (22) and their son Nijath; and Tiori Anistan (28) and her children Moses (6) and Esther (9).

The identities of those in the second group, including three women and five children, are being verified.

“We knew we were taking a huge risk. We were ready to drown,” said Sivasankari. “We cannot survive in Sri Lanka. There are many more people like us who want to reach India to lead a better life.”

The police official said the Sri Lankan nationals entered India without proper documents. “Their entry is being considered as illegal. We have registered cases against eight adults under Sections 3(a) and 6(b) of The Passport (Entry into India) Rules, 1950, and 14C of The Foreigners Act, 1946. They will be produced before a judicial magistrate and lodged in Puzhal Central Jail in Chennai,” the official said.

The children will be handed over to their relatives, who live in refugee camps, once the parents’ approval is taken, he said.

Considered illegal migrants

Future arrivals will also be considered illegals until the Indian government takes a policy decision and grants them refugee status, the official said.

Also read: Sri Lankan Tamils flee to India as economic crisis engulfs island nation

However, an official from Marine Police said they may escape impronment for now. “The five adults who were part of the second batch were not remanded. Instead, they were accommodated at the Mandapam refugee camp (at Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu),” he said. “Similarly, steps are also being taken to cancel the remand warrant issued against the three adults who are part of the first batch.”

The decision comes following unconfirmed information that the Tamil Nadu government is taking steps to consider them as refugees, rather than as illegal migrants.

Life of poverty

Another refugee, Tiori Anistan, told The Federal there were few employment opportunities in Sri Lanka. He said the daily wage was so low that it barely covered the cost of essentials like vegetables, rice and milk powder.

“There is a severe economic crisis in Sri Lanka and we don’t know how they are going to survive. Many more Tamils will start coming to India in the future,” said DMK spokesperson KS Radhakrishnan, who visited Sri Lanka last week. “A cylinder costs LKR 4,390, a litre of petrol and diesel costs LKR 283 and LKR 213, respectively, meat costs LKR 900/kg,” he said. Vegetable are not cheap either — drumstick costs LKR 720, carrot LKR 290 and tomato LKR 330 per kilogram. (As on March 24, 1 LKR = 0.27 INR.)

“They have power cuts lasting more than seven hours and at fuel stations, they have to stand for hours to get fuel. There is a shortage of milk powder and food. There is a shortage of medicine in hospitals,” Radhakrishnan added.

The Sri Lankan government recently imposed import restrictions on 367 “non-essential” items, including milk products, fruit and fish.

India’s line of credit

On March 17, India extended a $1 billion credit facility to Sri Lanka and Colombo is seeking financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund and other countries like China.

“One of the main reasons for the crisis is the failure of the administration, which lacks a proper vision. The financial stability of the country could have been improved if they had concentrated more on tea estates, tourism, agriculture and fisheries,” Radhakrishnan added.

Thirumurugan Gandhi, founder of the May 17 Movement, a Tamil rights organisation, said the crisis would disproportionately affect Tamils in the country.

“[The majority Sinhala government] did not allow Tamils to flourish or contribute to the overall GDP. Tamils were already facing persecution. The economic crisis will lead to another kind of partiality. So they will have no option but to flee to India, especially Tamil Nadu,” he said.