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PHOTO ESSAY: Sri Lankans struggle to rebuild lives after war

by Nita Bhalla | @nitabhalla | Thomson Reuters Foundation
Friday, 30 September 2011 14:27 GMT

AlertNet South Asia correspondent Nita Bhalla witnessed the impact of Sri Lanka's war, and how shattered communities are rebuilding their lives two years after it ended.

It has been more than two years since the end of Sri Lanka’s 25-year-old war, which pitted separatist Tamil Tigers against government forces. Yet tens of thousands of survivors in the war-ravaged north of the Indian Ocean island are still struggling to rebuild their lives and recover from the loss of their loved ones.

AlertNet’s South Asia correspondent Nita Bhalla travelled to the Vanni region to witness the impact of the war, and how communities, who lost their homes, assets and families during the violence are coping amid Sri Lanka’s new-found peace.

 


An empty tin of food aid from USAID lies on a path in war-hit Kilinochchi town, Sri Lanka, September 7, 2011. President Mahinda Rajapaksa's policy is to rebuild the north economically and spur growth after the devastation of the 25-year-old civil war waged by  separatist Tamil Tigers. But charities say aid remains a reality for the thousands of survivors who are still trying to rebuild their homes and lives more than two years after the conflict.


A pickup truck carrying food aid drives along Sri Lanka’s  A9 highway towards Kilinochchi town, September 6, 2011.

A bullet-ridden wall is all that remains of a church in Kilinochchi town, September 7, 2011. More than two years after the island’s 25-year-old civil war, which pitted separatist Tamil Tigers against government forces ended, survivors are still struggling to rebuild their lives after the fighting.


A construction worker walks past a bullet-ridden, bombed-out building in Kilinochchi town, September 7, 2011.

A temporary shelter in Panikkaniravi village in Vavuniya district, September 9, 2011.


A make-shift temporary shelter in Sri Lanka’s Panikkaniravi village in Vavuniya district on September 9, 2011.


A man cycles past construction workers building a road in Kilinochchi town, September 7, 2011. Following the war, aid workers say survivors who lost their loved ones, homes and livelihoods need more support in the form of jobs and other opportunities to help them rebuild their lives.


A stall in Kilinochchi town, September 7, 2011. More than two years after the 25-year-old war waged by separatist Tamil Tigers ended, signs of normality are returning to north of the island, and markets, schools and government offices are functioning. But many communities say they need jobs and opportunities to help them generate income after the fighting destroyed their homes and livelihoods.

A newly built Hindu temple in Kilinochchi town, September 7, 2011.

Schoolgirls cycle home after class in Sri Lanka’s war-hit Kilinochchi town on September 7, 2011.

Sri Lankan school children in a primary school in Kollerpuliyanjulam village, Vavuniya district, September 9, 2011. More than two years since the war ended, experts say thousands of survivors, including children, are still tormented by nightmares, flashbacks and hallucinations after witnessing the deaths of their families.

A poster with a picture of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa reads: “Taking you and country towards prosperity” in Kilinochchi town, September 7, 2011. Aid workers say the invisible psychological wounds of the war remain unrepaired - leaving communities suffering in silence, unable to move on from their violent past.


All pictures: AlertNet/Nita Bhalla

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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