Bishop's plea for Vanni refugees

[TamilNet, Saturday, 26 September 1998, 17:20 GMT]
The Jaffna Diocese of the Catholic Church has called upon its members to forego a meal so that they can contribute its value in money to aid the people in the Vanni who have been affected by the severe food shortages.

A spokesman of the Church said this afternoon that a recent visit by the Jaffna Bishop had revealed the dire conditions in which the people of the Vanni have been compelled to live after the government cut off dry rations to the majority of the refugees in the region.

He said it is the moral duty of those living in better circumstances in Jaffna today to share in the hardships of their suffering brethren in the Vanni.