R Sabesan, a humanitarian worker for CARE Sri Lanka, died yesterday after being struck by a shell which partly severed his leg. He was one of dozens of aid workers trapped in the conflict zone in the north of the country, known as the Vanni. Medical facilities are practically non-existent there and so Sabesan died of his injuries later that day as a consequence.
According to the International Committee of the Red Cross there are also as many as 150,000 other civilians, also stuck in the Vanni, as the Sri Lankan armed forces close in on the last stronghold of the rebels of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The Sri Lankan government dispute the number of civilians still there, but the Red Cross figure is also being used by the United Nations.
Nick Osborne, country director for Care International in Sri Lanka said "We are deeply shocked and saddened by the news of the loss of our friend and colleague Sabesan and extend our heartfelt condolences and thoughts to his family and friends at this very difficult time. The toll this war is taking on civilians is devastating. Humanitarian workers trapped in the conflict zone are just as much at risk as anyone else, and we are receiving regular reports of family members, friends and colleagues who have been injured or killed in the fighting. People need immediate access to medical care, food, and emergency supplies."
I have just returned home after almost a month in Sri Lanka and Timor Leste. Given the political sensitivities I will not be writing about the current political situation and – in truth – the closest I got was the northern town of Vauvuniya where aid organisations are attempting to provide basic relief to the refugees who have escaped from the fighting.
Access to the war zone itself is tightly restricted, although the area is close enough to hear the occasional shelling and missile strikes. The Red Cross has been able to evacuate a few thousand of the worst injured from the Vanni, but many more remain inside. Food and supplies have almost run out. Medical supplies are depleted. Civilians who try to leave are unable to do so, and are instead forced to shelter in rain-filled trenches, exposed to the elements, in a desperate attempt to escape the fighting. No one knows the current death toll, but the situation is getting worse every day.
Many of those attempting to flee are being prevented by the LTTE. The government has also rejected pleas from international observers for a ceasefire and the creation of a humanitarian corridor to allow for the evacuation of civilians.
Among the civilians are many aid workers like Sabesan who are unable to get out and are now acting as volunteers, distributing whatever assistance still reaches the area and providing people with rudimentary first aid and healthcare. Many other aid workers in Vauvuniya still have friends and family trapped in the area and hear their daily phone call reports of the deteriorating situation with mounting anguish. People quite often break down in tears as they are talking and the strained tension during many meetings is palpable.
All the Care staff that I met were exhausted from working flat out to obtain emergency supplies, set up make-shift feeding centres and providing shelter to desperate people. There is also a political storm brewing about the longer-term fate of the hundreds of thousands of people who have been displaced from their homes. For now though, aid workers can only do what they can to try and help people, hope that the meagre aid that they are providing can actually get to those who need it most and pit hope against fear that another day does not bring news of the death of another colleague, friend or loved one.