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For much of the last 20 years Sri Lanka has suffered fighting between government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), an armed group who want an independent homeland in the north and east of the country.
The village is littered with empty shells of houses; families who grew tired of being displaced time and time again, losing their livelihoods and assets, or were too afraid to return. It gives the village a ghost-like feel.
Cruel conflict
Like all of the residents of Palai Nagar, Jasima and Asanar were forced to flee during a recent bout of conflict. In a cruel twist of fate, just before the conflict erupted, a foreigner offered to buy their small shop and eight-acre plot of land. They said no, because carrying on their business was important to them. In the end, they lost everything.
“We had our own shop, worth around 500,000 rupees (£2,620),” Asanar said, “But we had to abandon it and we fled to Vaharai. When we returned, everything was gone. We didn’t know what to do. We were at a loss, until the British Red Cross came along and saved our lives.”
New business
Jasima and Asanar were one family who did return to the village. Recently, Jasima has built up an excellent reputation for making good quality floor mats after receiving a household grant from the British Red Cross, through her local village development committee.
She sits on the floor of her home weaving brightly coloured mats, in stark contrast with the dry, arid surroundings. Jasima describes how her business is expanding: “We received the grant in October 2006 and since then have been able to slowly build up our business. With the profits we have now purchased poultry to diversify our livelihoods.
“Our lives and those of our community have been restored. Thanks to these new assets, we are now able to survive.”
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