Under Global Pressure, Sri Lanka Opens Camps -TIME

(TIME, December 03, 2009) The camps were opened on a limited basis on Dec. 1, and Dharmeshwaran was among the 6,700 who left on the first day. He and his wife had been on the run from late 2007 until this April when they came to Menik Farm. They had two children along the way, the younger one born two months ago inside the camp. "I feel like I have been reborn," Dharmeswaran says. He is visibly relieved, but his freedom is not total. Those who leave the camps will have to return within the time period they indicated before going, and they must give details of where they are staying to camp administrators. Dharmeshwaran went to Vavuniya to find a temporary job. "I can earn some money when I get back," he says. The camps provide basic supplies, but "if we want to buy anything extra it is very expensive." Others had come out to seek medical treatment, locate relatives or meet family members in government run rehabilitation centres for former Tigers.

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