HERSTORIES

I was pregnant when I fled my village. I am now living with my mother. I have two children who are 8 and 2 years old. My mother and brother look after us. We get some aid from NGOs. NGOs also made us aware of landmines and that saved us.

We have so much we want to forget. Sometimes when we were being shelled we had to step over people who were injured but still alive. This is something I can’t forget. But it keeps coming back. There are so many things that affect our minds. We need to deal with all of that. This is not something that’s happened just to me. In every home people have experienced this.

My husband was arrested. Now he’s undergoing rehabilitation at the camp. He will be out in October 2013. He came this month for a 5-day break and then he went back. It’s difficult because when we lose our husbands we also have to face certain social challenges.

We’ve finished with the fighting. It’s pointless now. We need to live, not die. We’ve had a life full of pain. I would like it to be different for our children. I want to educate my children

Earlier we had very little interaction with Sinhala people, now that has changed. We think it’s a good thing. We understand them better. The government has promised us that they will help us recover and improve our economy. I believe that they will do that.