In a few weeks, the 40th anniversary of the anti-Tamil pogrom in Sri Lanka, a defining moment in the history of a prolonged ethnic strife, would be marked by Tamils across the globe. The tragic event of 1983 was followed by an exodus of Tamils from Sri Lanka to India, Tamil Nadu in particular.
Rameswaram in the southern coast of the State, which was the key transit point for the migration of the poor from the southern districts to Sri Lanka 200 years ago for employment in the tea estates and for reverse migration in the wake of the 1964 and 1974 bilateral agreements, became the hotbed of the influx of refugees from Sri Lanka. Between July 1983 and August 2012, around 3.04 lakh persons came to the State. At one point, Tamil Nadu had 2 lakh refugees. When an economic crisis hit the neighbouring country early last year, Rameswaram was once again in the limelight with “economic migrants” coming in a modest number from Sri Lanka, reaching the shores of Danushkodi. According to an estimate, there are 258 such persons, all lodged at the Mandapam Rehabilitation Centre.
Not many who came to Tamil Nadu in 1983 continue to live in the State. But a substantial number of the refugees living in rehabilitation camps are those who came here in 1990 after the outbreak of the second phase of the Eelam War, consequent to the withdrawal of Indian troops from Sri Lanka. In the last 30-odd years, their lives — at least in one respect, shelter — underwent several changes. “Originally, the roof [in the camp] was made of tin sheets; then, it became asbestos. Later, we had tiles. Now, we are going to have cement concrete roofing,” M. Thirugnanamoorthy, a camp leader in Kanniyakumari where there are four camps, succinctly captures the evolution of the houses that accommodate the refugees.
