Jaffna GA seeks NGOs’ help to feed Vanni detainees

[TamilNet, Thursday, 14 May 2009, 17:43 GMT]
Jaffna Government Agent (GA) said that he was forced to seek the help of private and Non-government organizations to provide food and other necessities to the Vanni civilians held in the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) internment camps in Jaffna, in a meeting held Tuesday at Jaffna Secretariat with the representatives of the above organizations and government departmental heads. Jaffna Traders’ Union representatives who participated in the meeting assured the GA that they would do their share in providing assistance to the detainees, Jaffna Secretariat sources said.

The most affected in the SLA internment camps are said to be pregnant and lactating mothers who lack basic nutrients in the food given to them.

168 pregnant mothers, 257 lactating mothers, 320 infants and 387 children between the age from one to five are held in the 12 SLA internment camps in Jaffna district, according to Jaffna Secretariat statistics.

GA informed in the meeting that 4,000 relief packages donated by India are on the way to Jaffna and that they would be distributed to the detainees by Jaffna Secretariat officials jointly with ICRC and SLRC.

Meanwhile, GA said that cooked meals to the detainees are given only by HUDEC and CARITAS organizations.

UNHCR and UNICEF continue to look after the lodging, water supply and educational facilities to the detainees, the GA said.