20 January 2010
More than one million landmines are believed to have been laid in Sri Lanka during a 27-year-long civil war.
They were planted widely in the north and east of the country, particularly in the Mullaittivu, Kilinochchi and Mannar districts.
DFID is supporting The Mines Advisory Group (MAG) to help with mine surveillance, mapping and - where appropriate - clearance work.
Seventy-year-old Pilippu Sinthathurai once enjoyed a good living working as a carpenter and farmer in Adampan, one of the most prosperous parts of Sri Lanka’s Mannar region.
That was before the war.
Since the mid-1980s, heavy fighting and threat of being forcibly recruited by rebel group, the LTTE, have forced his community to flee their village repeatedly.
Since September 2007, Mr Sinthathurai has moved between displacement camps across northern Sri Lanka, ending up at a huge camp in Vavuniya.
Returning to the village was not easy. His home had been badly damaged and his family was reliant on the little money given to them by the government as returnees.
UKaid, through DFID, is funding mine-clearance work by the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) to make that return a safe and prosperous one.
“It is up to us to get our lives back on track,” said Mr Sinthathurai. MAG is currently clearing my paddy field area and once it is safe we will start farming again as only through cultivation can we begin to develop and increase our income.”
After almost three years living in camps, 123 families have been able to return to their homes in Sri Lanka’s Rice Bowl region thanks to MAG.
Last October, MAG Sri Lanka’s survey and clearance teams began working in Adampan, a district famed for its paddy fields.
They found 109 items of unexploded ordnance (UXO), as well as 155 anti-personnel landmines. All were removed and destroyed.
Mr Seemanpillai Sagayarasa, the government’s representative for Adampan district, has lived there all his life.
He says, “People are facing many problems as their houses and much of the infrastructure have been damaged during the war,” he said.
“The paddy fields are mined and people suffer from low incomes because of this. But the Agricultural Department has said they will plough two acres of land for each family free of charge when it is safe from mines, and they will provide water pumps at low prices,” he added.
With thanks to the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) for providing this case study.
Facts and stats
- One million landmines are thought to have been planted throughout Sri Lanka during the 27-year-long civil war.
- Before the conflict, the fertile “rice bowl” area of Sri Lanka produced around 50 bags of rice per hectare, or 10,000m² of land. Each bag is worth roughly 2,000 rupees. For a family with five hectares of land this could provide earnings of 1 million rupees (around $9,000) over the next two harvests, a huge increase in income.