As the report has explored so far, October 1990 was a watershed for both Muslim identity and Tamil identity in the north due to the horror of the expulsion. By driving the Muslims out of their homes, the LTTE finally created a mono-ethnic orth. However, the cost of this creation to the Muslim communities of the north and to the multi-ethnic nature of the province is still to be fully appreciated. The stories in this chapter will attempt to contribute towards a greater appreciation of the moment of the expulsion and the horrific mass exodus that it precipitated. As Thiranagama notes “These stories have been rendered invisible not because of the traumatized silence of those involved—any visit to the refugee camps shows the desire of northern Muslims to speak about and narrativize their lives—but because of a rigidity of representation of the conflict and of who are considered its victims and subjects.” (Thiranagama 2011,108). As we discussed in chapter 3, Muslims in Sri Lankan politics have had problems in having their predicament recognized as an aspect of the conflict worthy of record, comment and discussion when negotiating a settlement to the conflict. The primary intention of this project as stated elsewhere is to challenge this rigidity of representation and broaden the general understanding of the conflict as involving the many who were victimized by it—including the northern Muslims.

During the consultative process that the LST engaged in prior to the project, northern Muslims urged that the Commission take into account the manner in which the LTTE used different tactics in expelling the Muslims from the different districts. This chapter is constituted from the 375 expulsion stories that the Commission collected via researchers from the northern Muslim community. It is disaggregated in terms of geographical location and consists mainly of quotes from the testimonies that describe experiences of LTTE brutality during the expulsion, the journey away from the north towards an often unclear destination, and their arrival in Puttalam and elsewhere.

The Mannar Experience

The Mannar district housed the largest concentration of Muslims in the Northern Province and three different areas of Mannar saw different experiences of expulsion due to their location, the population concentration and communities’ relations with the LTTE. Therefore the section on Mannar is divided geographically into three sub-sections: Mantai and Nanaddan, Mannar Island, and Musali.19
19 The practice followed by Hasbullah in Muslim Refugees. The Refugee people of Sri Lanka’s Ethnic Conflict is utilized here.

Manthai and Nannadan Muslims

Located in the northern parts of the Mannar district, this area was home to a large population of Muslims. There were 33 Muslim villages in the area with a population – according to the 1981 census –of 26,161 (26.1% of the population). Some of the larger villages in the area include Vidataltivu, Periyamadu, Minnukkan, Andankulam, Vilankuli, and Vaddakandal. According to Hasbullah, there is an ancient history of Muslim habitation in the Assistant Government Agents’ (AGA) divisions of Nannadan and Manthai. Perhaps founded by Arabs engaged in trade prior to the advent of the Portuguese, there is mention of these settlements in the earliest commentaries. Later Muslims of that area engaged in diving for conch shells and “sea transport.”(Hasbullah, 2001 P. 33) During that time Hasbullah speculates that interior movement could also have taken place due to persecution by the Portuguese. Prior to the expulsion, the Muslims of these areas were mostly engaged in agriculture. According to the refugee survey of 1991, the Muslim communities of Vidataltivu and Periyamadu alone owned 5,700 acres of paddy land irrigated by 7 tanks in the area. This area is in the Northern Part of the Mannar district and includes the coastal village of Vidataltivu as well as the more interior areas of Vaddakandal. (Hasbulla, 2001, p. 33)

Testimonies indicated that there were rumours about a possible chasing away of people by the LTTE well before the actual event. The people of the area had inquired from the LTTE if this was indeed going to be the case. The LTTE had denied this and convinced the people that no such event would take place. Many seem to have eagerly accepted the reprieve. M.C. Ithroos Marikkar of Vidathalthivu states that:

We heard the rumour about a month before. So, as it was ploughing season we went and asked the LTTE what to do. They said go ahead and we will not chase you away. I ploughed 04 acres of land and made the field ready within 13 days. Then as I was returning home, I met my friend who told me that we will not meet anymore. So I asked him why and he said that he has received this news that they were going to ask us to leave. I came home with a heavy heart. It was raining heavily. Then 4 days later, we heard the announcement in the mosque. We were asked to come and hand over all the household things. We were not allowed to take anything. So we had to give all to the LTTE. We left all our things behind. The house took us 5 years to build it was all my hard work and sweat --the things in the house as well. We could not bring anything with us. (302)

As the above indicate, in Vidataltivu, there was some information circulating about the possibility of an expulsion. However, many had taken the LTTE’s assurance that nothing serious would happen to them. On either the 25th or the 27th of October (the date is not clear in the testimonies) the LTTE announced over loudspeakers that the Muslims had to vacate their homes by the 31st of October. Muslims were told that they first had to bring their valuables—everything from their vehicles to the wall clocks—and hand them over to the LTTE at a designated place. This process --of making them bring their valuables and hand them over to the LTTE-- was very disturbing to the population. And they remember it with anger even now. Feroskhan states that:

The worst thing they did was to take all our things from us by asking us to bring everything and to hand it over to them. Even the wall clock was not spared. They asked for things one by one. First they wanted us to bring our vehicle. Then they wanted us to bring the motor equipment. Most of the people in our place were farmers. Many of them owned watering machines. They wanted us to bring them too. They also asked for the sewing machine. At last we were left only with one cycle for ourselves- which we wanted to use to leave the place. On the last day they took that as well. Nalan was the one who was responsible for our area and he himself came crying and told us to vacate. “Don’t scold us. We are “ambu” (only the arrows not the shooters). “We are only conveying what we were told to convey to you”. (191)

It is also noteworthy that Mr. Ferozkhan considers the intervention by the local cadre Nalan – the almost apology-- as also worth recounting in his testimony to the Commission. It speaks to the many other stories about how it was not the local cadre but others from “outside” who were responsible for administering the expulsion in many parts of Mannar (No Author?, 1991, No Page numbers?).

Abthul Raheem stated: My brother unplugged the cables and the wires of the lorries knowing that the LTTE were coming to take the lorries but still they took them away. (0211) these and other minor measures that the Muslims took to prevent the LTTE from confiscating their property were mentioned in several testimonies. Few of these had any effect. (See below for an account of burying valuables).

The Journey

According to the testimonies from the area, the LTTE assisted people with transportation up to Poonthotum. Several testimonies recount this. One states that they stayed overnight at Madhu church where they were provided with food. But after Poonthotum, the people are forced to walk through the jungles with great difficulty to reach Vavuniya.
Talking about the expulsion M.M. Abdul Majeed of Adampan Vaddakandal complained about the inaction of the army: None of the army stopped us; they did not even come to our aid. There was a huge army camp called Thalladi next to the village and there were nearly 3000-4000 soldiers, but none came to our rescue. There was another army camp in Silavathurai. Even when the people of Silvathurai were leaving soldiers were just watching. (254)

A.M. Abdur Rahman of Vaddakandal also commented on the inaction of the army stationed close by:

When we were evacuated neither the LTTE nor the Army was present. There was an army camp at Thallaadi, Mannar. There were thousands of army personnel in that camp. Nobody gave us shelter or security. All the economic resources of the Mannar Muslims were in the Mannar town. The Sri Lankan Army could not even secure that. (163)


A.M. Abdur Rahman describes his experience of the expulsion in the following manner:

The LTTE asked us to leave in 3 days. Some of our villagers asked why they were sending us away. They replied by saying it was only for a few days, and then they could come back. Until then they asked us to count our belongings and give it to them. (For safe keeping) They told us your coming back depends on the decision of your minister, Mr. Ashraff. After that we left. When we were evacuating they stole our vehicles. So we had to get into vehicles of Tamil people who were known to us and reached Poonthotum, Vavuniya. We stayed at a school there. We stayed there for 3 days. We had to stand in queues to get food. It was a time filled with sorrow and heartache. (163)

Of what his family had left behind—Abdur Rahman had this to say:

We did not bring anything from our village. We left behind the pesticide shop, hundreds of cows, goats, hundreds of sacks of grain, the/a water pump and the furniture. We lost close to 8 to 9 lakhs of assets at that time. If we are to recover that we need at least 8 million rupees. (163 Vatddakandal)

Musali

The Musali Assistant Government Agents’ division is the only Muslim majority AGA division in the Northern Province. The population of Musali according to the census of 1981 was 8705 persons. Located in the southern part of the Mannar Gulf, Musali is bounded to the North by the Aruvi river, to the South by the Modera river, to the East by the Wilpattu forest, and the West has a coastline of 30 Km. The Division comprises an area of approximately 500 square kilometers. The area is rich in natural resources. Paddy and livestock farming and fishing were the major economic activities. Prior to the expulsion, more than 75% of the total employed population among Muslims was engaged in agricultural activities. There was also a considerable population engaged in fishing off the coastal villages of Musali (Mohideen, 2004, p. 23).

A major irrigation system, called Akattimurippu, was the base for agricultural activities of the farmers of Musali. This irrigation system had 65 minor sub tanks supplying water through a 12 km stretch of major canals that sufficiently irrigated a total of 5,800 acres of agricultural land. There is also another tank known as Viyayadi scheme used mainly by Muslims in Karadikkuli, Marichchukkaddi and Palaikkkuli (Hasbullah, 1993, 31). Both these schemes are defunct since the Muslims left the area. Historically, the Musali region was noted for pearls, and it is believed that Muslims (Arabs and Indians) came to the Musali coast for pearl diving (Hasbullah, 2001, p. 31). At the time of the expulsion, Muslims comprised 62% of the total population of the Musali Division. Hasbullah, 2001, p. 30) The rest were Tamils, both Christians and Hindus, and a few Sinhalese. Hanifa and Rahman estimate that the population expelled from Musali in 1990 was 12,000 (Hanifa and Rahman, 2010, p. 11).

At the time of the expulsion, there were 4 divisions and 28 villages in Musali. Muslims were a majority in 21 villages in the area (Hasbullah, 2001, p. 30& 31).
At the time of the expulsion—as recorded in an earlier testimony—there was a fairly large army camp at Silawaturai in the Musali DS division. Many of the people of Musali left by boat from Silawaturai and some travelled by land to Anuradhapura and then on to places further south. In Musali too, as in Manthai and Nannadan, people were asked to carry their valuables to designated areas and hand them over to the LTTE. In the Musali area, like in Jaffna, the Commission was informed about the LTTE abducting persons for ransom.

L. Nayeem of Thammatta Musali in Silawaturai had the following to say about his experience:


All were mentally depressed after knowing that we were to be expelled soon. We did not know where to go, they did not allow us to take vehicles and all the people were running here and there without any clue. It was raining heavily during that period. There were many lands at that time and many assets. Most of the time people did not have hard cash in hand during that period. Whenever people got money, they bought assets as they did not want to save in the banks as it is contrary to Islam. We did not bring anything with us when we came from the village and only a few clothes for the children were brought with us. The journey was very hard. We had to come by boats through the sea, when we came to the seashore we stayed for a night, then we asked for help from the army but they refused to help us and they told us to continue on our journey. When boats arrived from Kalpittiya, we got into those and came to Kalpittiya. The people from that village helped us a little; we did not see any LTTE leaders at that time. We thought that we could return within two years. We thought we could return and restart our lives but now it has taken two decades. (0131)

The following is a narrative of the LTTE’s abduction for ransom of Muslim persons even at the time of the expulsion.

Mohamed Sultan Ahamed Lebbe of Poovarasankulam, Murunkan spoke about the manner in which he and some others were kidnapped and held hostage by the LTTE:

The LTTE kidnapped me and six others before the expulsion. Their names were Ahmed, Kareem, Mohammed, Kaasim, Abdul Kassin, Dawood & Wadood. We did not come during the expulsion, they locked us up in sheds and demanded fifty thousand rupees from each of our families to release us, and we were released after four months and twenty days. At the start we did not know why we were kidnapped and when we asked them they said that the Leader would come and tell us the reason. When we were released we asked the LTTE where the Muslims were and they said that they had been chased to Vavuniya. We did not see the Leader but we had seen the person called Kadir who used to come into the place where we were locked up. That place was well secured so that the army men could not come in. Mr. Anthony Pullay arranged the money to secure our release and then I came to Vavuniya after they released me.

I left tons of cultivated paddy, I had 150 cows and a tractor and its parts, and I also had a rice mill and machinery in it, whether we liked it or not we had to leave behind all of these. I even had 35 acres of land in which I did farming. Finally I reached Puttalam with nothing, wearing torn clothes. (189)

When describing the expulsion experience, we were told that in Musali too some of the same tactics were used in other places like Vidathalthivu. Gafoor Raheem of P.P. Potkerni had the following story:

Two LTTE members came and informed our mosque leader that they were going to evacuate all the people. They were told that that all should leave the place without removing their belongings. Further, they told to announce this information to all by loud speaker. Next, they said to evacuate leaving the sewing machines, tractors, cattle etc to their people who were in Veppankulam.

Another testimony from Musali- from a coastal village called Kondachchi in Silavaturai had the following to say about why they left. M.S. Mohamed Ali of Kondachchi stated - I was forty five years old when I was expelled and I had eight children and all of them were studying. They had informed the other villages to vacate and those people were passing our village that’s how we got to know that the LTTE were expelling people. So we knew that we were the next and we could not continue living there since the problems in the village gradually increased day by day. So we decided to vacate too. We came together as one family. We did not carry any of our belongings with us; we had to leave behind all our valuables at home. The journey was very difficult, during the journey we had to go through a lot of hardships as it was by boat. We thought we would return to the village in a month or two but unfortunately it has taken two decades. (129)

Another narrative from Kondachchi captures the mood of the people at the moment that they were leaving – that this was a very temporary move and that they would return soon. Almost every testimony that we read indicated this in some way and we wanted to capture it here. This narrative – by J. Asma Umma of Kondachchi, Silavaturai – states it clearest— We were thinking that this problem would end in a short period of time, and that we could return to our village. That is why we left all the goods at home. We thought it would be like a journey to the neighboring village. My father reminded us to take the mammorty and wood cutter, because we would need them to cut through the forests. We came here with a belief in our heart that we would be able to return. (166)

Mannar Island

Mannar Island is considered one of the oldest and most important Muslim settlements. According to Hasbullah there is evidence of Muslim settlement on Mannar Island going back 13 centuries. At the time of the expulsion, the main settlement areas in Mannar Island were Erukalampiddy, Mannar Town- both Uppukulam and Moor Street, Tharapuram, Puthukudiyiruppu, Keeri, Karisal and Talaimannar. Most of the information that we present in this chapter was gathered from residents of Erukalampiddy and Puthukudiyiruppu.

M. Rukiya of Putukudiyiruppu had this to say:

I was 34 years old at the time and my husband was 35. It was 8 years after my marriage. I never thought we would ever leave our town. The LTTE announced that they wanted us to come to the mosque for a meeting. When we went there they told us that we had to leave immediately and gave us 2 to 3 days to leave. They told us not to take many things as they belonged to them now. At this time some even received death threats. I left everything behind. We left behind furniture, house, lands (I had about 15 acres of farming land), sacks of paddy , 100 cattle, 10 to 15 sovereigns of gold.. The sad thing at our village was that when the army came there was no LTTE to be seen and when the LTTE came there was no army on the streets. (107)

Sameena also of Puthukudi Irippu has a narrative that is interesting for another reason. One of the stories that appeared again and again in Jaffna in the immediate aftermath of the failed ceasefire agreement was of the returning Muslims welcomed by the Tamils and also of them digging up their old gardens and re-discovering their buried gold.

We left on the 25th of October 1990 at 5 pm. The LTTE came to the village and announced through the speaker that we had to leave immediately by the route they showed us. About 40 cadres came into our village and came to all our houses and demanded Rs. 10,000/- or 10 sovereigns or to give the house and leave. They came at the time my husband was having lunch. When they asked me where he was I said he was not at home as I was afraid they would take him away so I did not let them come in. Then I heard from the other people that they came and robbed the houses in the night so I removed all my jewellery and put them in a tin and buried it. (085)

They came again and asked for my jewellery. I told them I don’t have it with me now and told them to take the things from the shop and leave. They said it was there in the morning and how come its not there now? One of them got very angry and shot at the table in the shop and broke all the things. They behaved in a violent manner. From next door they took all the sacks of paddy they had. Then the mosque leaders gathered and decided that we should all leave together and so we left. (085)

The person later stated that they were able to recover the jewellery that they buried when the husband came back in 1996.

Juwairiya of Erukulampidi has this to say about the expulsion

We heard from the other districts about this. By dawn there was tension among our people as well, in case they asked us too to leave, but we didn’t know whom they would ask to leave and or where to. We felt it was very unlikely that the LTTE would say such things to us because they were getting along very well with us all those years. We strongly felt that they would not ask us to vacate.

But around 4 in the evening, the LTTE came in a van and made a public announcement and gave us only 24hrs to vacate the place. It was only then that we realised how violent and dangerous they were

We did not have a roadway at that time. Our only access out of the area was by sea. The roadway was destroyed due to the war.

Just imagine the plight of a whole village which consisted of 5,000 families having to vacate? We didn’t have any boats. We had to walk for 3 to 4 miles before reaching the seashore. There weren’t any boats and we had to wait there for some time. At that time, some Catholic priests went and spoke to the LTTE and requested them to give us another day. Afterward the government heard about this and also some Muslims from other parts of the country sent boats from Kalpitiya to fetch us. At that time, we had to pay around Rs 1,000/- per person. (239)

Nawasdeen’s expulsion story was as follows:

When I was forcibly sent I was 23 years old. The Tigers came in vehicles and informed us directly and through our religious leaders by giving them letters that we should leave the place. It was like the Day of Judgment. In 4 days we left the place. We walked, Some traveled by vehicle. We had to wait at Inthum Thennum Pillayadi from there to come to Kalpitya our village leaders helped us a lot. At that time they were in Colombo, but they discussed the situation and hired boats spending their own money and helped us to come from there. Some families were given rupees 5,000 to rupees 2,000. Even in this situation, some people took advantage and profited by it. When we were coming, some men with guns searched us and took away all our belongings. This affected the people very much. The number of people who got into the boat was very much more than the boat could hold. Allah saved us and nothing happened to us. At that time, it was raining and it felt like our last day. We reached our destination without encountering any problems. It took us 8 hours. We were very thirsty and hungry but we did not care much about it. We were more concerned about our safety. We had to carry our father who was paralyzed. We also carried pregnant women. We did not bring any of our belongings, we left everything behind. We thought at that time that we would be able to return soon. Some of the things we left behind are land, houses, radios, vehicles, shops and the value of it was 15 lakhs. I left books which were worth 5 lakhs. We did not know at that time, that it would take us 20 years to return. If we knew, we would have brought the money and the jewellery. (297)

Ramsiya of Erukalampiddy: speaks of both the sadness and the shock at being told to leave as well as the good relationship that existed between the people and the movement before October 1990.

I was 23 years old when we were displaced. I had 2 children at that time. One child was 2 years old, and the other was one year old. We got to know that people were going to leave the village. They asked us to leave before Friday. We left before that. We came to Mannar and then reached Thirukkethiswaram from the Pallimunai Sea. We didn’t expect that they would ask us to leave. They were very close to the people in the village. They would ask for food, and we gave them. We were very close to them before this incident happened. They stole all our things a few days before they asked us to leave. They stole things from the rich people. We left the place as soon as they asked us to leave. We cried when they asked us to leave. (231)

Sahul Hameeth of Puddikudurippu in his narrative reflects some of the anger and frustration experienced by the people at their inability to resist the LTTE and their expulsion order.
The LTTE cadres in Mannar asked us to vacate our village by saying that “cadres from Batticaloa had arrived 20 and before they come and massacre you, get away from this village…..” They wanted us to leave on the 27th. We were helpless at that time; we did not have weapons in hand. There was a Muslim youth group called “JIHAAD” but was not recognized by the villagers at that time. So we could not do anything against them. The LTTE had also kidnapped two boys from that JIHAAD group in Erukalampiddy and Puddikudurippu. Both of them were very active chaps. All of their weapons were confiscated as they knew our weakness with weaponry, and chased us away. If those boys were there at that time they would never have allowed this to happen to us and defended us until their death.

Our village Puddikudurippu was less in numbers and in the end there were only 6000 families in our village. There were 15,000 families residing in Erukalampiddy which was next to our village. If these families consisting of large numbers put off their departure for few days, we would have done something, but once they left, we being much less in number were helpless and started to vacate the village at the given time. (262)

The Journey

Using the sea for purposes of transportation was not common in the area. But people from Mannar Island due to the destruction of the Thalladi Bridge and causeway had to use boats. Further, people from sections of Musali too, traveled to Kalpitiya by boat. The journey by boat was difficult, foreign and seemed dangerous to many—especially in the heavy monsoon rain.

Sahul Hameeth of Puddikudurippu stated: It was raining heavily in “Thawukadu”, it was at the seashore. With all my small children, it was a struggle to get a boat. Some asked Rs. 15,000/-. Then I decided to give 600 and the boatman said that he could only drop us in “Vankalai,” Mannar, and refused to take us/come with us beyond that point. He was afraid that the Navy would shoot him. Then we came to an agreement and reached “Vankalai” Mannar near the coastal border where everyone left except for a few families. At that time another kind hearted person offered to drop us in “Kuthuraimalai” near the big boat. (Supplied by the navy) For this too we spent around Rs. 500-600. Then everyone got into that and came. There were few older mothers whom we carried and got
20 Other testimonies indicated northern cadres mentioned Karuna’s name when threatening northern Muslims with violence from the eastern cadres

into the big boat. Minister Aboobakkar provided food to those affected people who had traveled by sea in many boats. Some were alive during the journey some had fainted and vomited and suffered a lot until we reached the Kalpitiya Jetty at night. We were clueless about the place where we were dropped, then people from that village helped us and took us to a school. After a week, a few people including my family were sent to Kurunagala by lorry and we stayed there for 10 months. We were without jobs at that time, but the villagers were very helpful. The compensation that we received was insufficient for our needs. (262)

According to Risana of Erukalampidi who was a child during the expulsion: Within/in 3 days we came to “Inthu Thennam Pillaiyadi” by a tractor. We did not carry any items from home except the clothes that we were wearing. They asked us not to carry any goods and jewellery and while on our way they checked us at “Inthu Thennam Pullaiyadi” and then permitted us to leave the place. From there we hired a boat belonging to a Tamil person for Rs. 5,000/-. Nearly three families got into that boat. Half way the boat started to capsize. In the middle of the sea, we were transferred to the other boats which were coming behind us. It was raining heavily at the time of our journey. That was one reason why the boat started to give trouble. The boatman was a known person. The LTTE did not allow any of the Tamils to come to the borders of Mannar. They took a list of all the names including that of the boatman before people climbed into the boat. So he decided to give a Muslim name and we proceeded on our way. While on the way, an LTTE boat came and checked everyone again to see if any Tamils were travelling with us. We thought the boatman would get caught but fortunately they did not identify him. So he dropped all of us safely at the Kalpittiya shore and came back. We started our sea journey at around 11 am and we reached Kalpittiya at 7-9 at night. It got very late due to the rain and also due to the transferring of passengers to the other boat. We had to keep the two boats very close while transferring people from one to the other.. During that time, a woman placed her hand on the edge of the boat and it got jammed with the other boat and she got injured and started to bleed. The journey was very frightening until we reached Kalpitiya. (N.Risana of Erukalampiddy: 389)

Many left all their belongings behind—mostly in the expectation of returning within a week or some months at the most. Therefore, talking about the things that were left behind to which there was no saying goodbye was painful for many. In answer to the question what were the things you left behind, Juwairiya of Erukalampiddy had the following to say: “Those were unlimited. I don’t want to think about it. My father left behind lot of things. Perhaps, things worth millions. Also we left behind vehicles, as well as movable and Immovable properties. Lots and lots of things were left behind. (239)

The Mullaittivu Experience

The Mullaittivu district, one of the five districts of the Northern Province became famous during the final stages of the conflict in Sri Lanka and has in fact been deep within the LTTE stronghold for a greater part of the conflict. One thousand families of Muslims were expelled from the Mullaittivu district by the LTTE in 1990. According to the District Secretariat office, Mullaitivu district was created in 1979 combining areas that were previously covered by Mannar, Trincomalee and Vavuniya districts. This district occupies the Eastern part of the mainland of the Northern Province. The Mullaitivu district has Kilinochchi district on its northern border, Trincomalee district and Vavuniya district and part of the Mannar district in the south, Mannar district in the west and the sea in the east. It covers a land area of approximately 2516.9 sq. Km (including forest area excluding large inland waters). This district accounts for 3.8% of the country’s total area.21

The Commission collected testimonies from Mullaittivu Muslims who were from the villages of Thaniyoothu, Neeravippiddi, Hijrapuram and Mulliyawalai. Many of the testimonies indicated that in the case of most areas of Mullaittivu, Muslims were collectively displaced twice. First in 1987 during the time of the Indian Peace Keeping Force, and finally due to the expulsion in 1990. Many of the testimonies recounted the intense fighting that occurred in areas close to Muslim villages. Almost the entire Muslim population of Mullaittivu, according to our testimonies, was displaced in 1987. Many stayed in places in Vavuniya and Puttalam during that time and returned at different intervals. The displacement to Puttalam in 1987 acted as a prelude to the arrival of the Mullaittivu Muslims to Puttalam in 1990. Many spoke about the fact that the familiarity with Puttalam in 1987, and the fact that many helped them during that time as motivating families to return to Puttalam when the expulsion happened. It should be emphasized, however, that the exodus of 1990 was solely on the directive of the LTTE.

One of the testimonies collected by our researchers—that of Abdeen Mohamed Mustapha of Mulliyawalai stated that “We left our native place once in 1987. Then we were subject to expulsion by the LTTE in 1990. When we left our native place in 1987 we stayed in Madurankuli and returned to Mullaithivu after 6 months. In 1987, there was fighting between the Indian army and the LTTE so we had to move in order to safeguard our lives but in 1990 we did not come voluntarily. It was the LTTE that chased us (029).

The events leading to the displacement of 1987 as well as the experience of leaving had been harrowing for many families and further, some Mullaittivu residents who were displaced in 1987 never went back and remained displaced in Puttalam under dire conditions. A.L.M.I Pakeer Mohitheen of Hijrapuram for instance described the situation in his village in 1987 and the manner in which one of his cows was killed by a shell, and a soldier was killed in front of their house in full view of his children—affecting them deeply, and compelling him to leave. He claimed also to have suffered as a result of chemical poisoning used by the combatants. (He did not specify who) He still remains ill as a consequence of that experience. In his case, leaving Mullaittivu for
21 http://www.ds.gov.lk/dist_mullaitivu/english/location_based_info.html

good happened in 1987. M.L. Sultan of Neeravippiddi stated that he left because he had heard that others were being driven out. Abdeen Mohamed Mustapha stated that he left because of the threat of the Indian Army.

In 1987, we faced a lot of difficulties in terms of food. There was no food, so we moved from our place because of this. We returned after things became normal. The Indian army was there and we returned only after they left; then the LTTE chased us away. (029) The narratives of leaving from the different places in Mullaittivu were very different. For instance, Abdul Gafoor from Vannankulam stated that they left of their own volition in mid 1990, and that the LTTE did not pressurize them in anyway.

We knew it was going to get worse so people were scared for their lives. So they began to leave slowly in 1990. The ones who did not want to leave stayed back but the Tamil people knew what was going to happen and they arranged buses and made all the Muslims to leave as well. We did not face any immediate threat from the LTTE. When we left in 1990, they asked us not to take any assets with us. We took what we could. At that time I was working in Omantai. The LTTE told us not to take the vehicle and there was also a petrol scarcity as well. So we walked from Mullaittivu to PuthukudiIrippu, then from there to Nedunkeni to Vavuniya by foot through the forest. Along the way the people from other villages helped us a lot. (082)

Subaitha Umma who lived in a small village (name not given) close to Hijrapuram also stated that they left of their own volition and not on being pressurized by the LTTE. According to her When there was fighting between them they said if we wanted to save our lives then we should leave. But they didn’t say that we should leave within a specific time period. When everyone was leaving, we too left and joined them. But the Tamils did not do anything. (028)

However, there were some others, whose narratives were very clear about the nature of the two moments of mass displacement; that in one instance, the Muslims left of their own volition due to the increased military presence in the area, and that in the second instance in 1990, they left under compulsion by the LTTE. The following narrative from Abdeen Mohamed Mustapha recounts the manner in which those last moments before the expulsion were experienced.

How was it announced? - Two people from the LTTE announced that everyone must come immediately for a meeting held at a school. We went to the school. There were a few LTTE members who said that all the Muslims in the North must leave immediately. They gave us two days to leave the place. At that time, my cousin Asim who worked as a manager had a tractor. He asked whether he could take 24 families in it. They agreed to this at the meeting, but the following day the LTTE took the tractor away. Then they said that no one can take any property/ wealth that was earned on this soil. This was said by people who used to get along well with us at one time; people whom we knew well. When we questioned them they said that they were merely carrying out the orders from

the top and that they did not have any answers to our questions. They were adamant on subjecting the Muslims to expulsion. Later, they announced over loudspeakers that the Muslims could not take anything with them nor could they sell it to the Tamils. The Tamils were also asked not to take anything from the Muslims so as to safeguard it on their behalf. Before this we used to be on good terms with them and they too were like that with us. During this time, there were 1000 Muslim families in the Mullaithivu district (Neeravippiddi, Thaniyoothu, Hijarapuram and Mulliyawalai). There were Tamil villages around us. When they loaded us into the buses and asked us to leave, the Tamil people were very upset. Even they were unable to reason with them. When the LTTE wanted us to attend their meeting we had to go whether we liked it or not otherwise we would be shot and hung onlampposts. (029)

Abdul Gaffoor had the following to say about the manner in which the expulsion took place in his area of Mullattivu

First the LTTE held a meeting for the Tamils in our area and warned them not to accept any belongings of the Muslims there. Then the next day they held a meeting for us. They told us to evacuate within 24 hours. They also told us that Muslims in Batticaloa had formed a Jihad group so we are asking you to leave our land and go beyond Vavuniya. We were 35 families in all when we left, and could not bring many things. We asked them to give us a vehicle as there were many children. So they hired a CTB bus for us to go to Omantai. Then some of the people who knew Sinhala spoke to the army there and took us to Vavuniya in the army vehicle. (082)

The narrative of Sithy Kamila who lived in Hijrapuram also recounts the fact that the two instances of leaving were different and expresses intense feelings of grief and anger at having to leave behind the life that she had built in Mulaitiwu. I was 30 years old when we were subjected to expulsion in 1990. I was pregnant with a son at that time but I already had 6 children. Furthermore, we were displaced in 1987 before we were subjected to expulsion in 1990. Then we came to Puttalam and to Kadayamodai. After 1 ½ years we returned to our native place. All my 6 children were studying during the expulsion. The people were talking about how everyone had started moving out. Later, they (the LTTE) announced this too. When we got to know that we had to leave we were very upset. How do you think we would have felt when we had to leave everything that we had saved little by little for our children? I locked the door and threw the key into the bush. We didn’t take anything with us and left with a lot of anger. I bought only a set of clothes. We came with our fellow villagers. We brought our children’s school records, land deeds and clothes. (032)

As already recounted, the different cadres in the different areas seem to have used varied approaches in telling people to leave. There were also certain similarities. As was evident in some testimonies from Mannar, in Mullattivu too the threat of cadres from the east—both Karuna and Karikalan are named—is raised. The massacres of Muslims in Kattankudi and Eravur earlier in the year were frequently referenced when asking the people to leave. For instance Kamila of Hijrapuram stated that the “The LTTE told us that there is a Karikalan group in Batticaloa and they might come here and kill you and that is why we are asking you to leave.”(0062)

The Journey from Mullaittivu

The journey from Mullaittivu to Vavuniya was harrowing. And many stories of the horrors that people encountered were recorded in the testimonies. One narrative recounted how while walking the people encountered two male elephants fighting, and how people “ran for their lives.” Many unfortunately recounted the manner in which local Tamil people seemed angry at the Muslims for leaving and refused them even water to drink. One Ummu Kulthum from Hijrapuram stated

“We asked for water from Tamil people but they refused and told us to drink our own urine if we were thirsty. They were angry because once we left the village they were the ones who would have to bear the harassment of the LTTE so that is why they scolded us in that way. We were very hurt. Finally we were so thirsty that we drank the water drunk by bats and crows. (036)

Kamila from Allampil (5th mile post)had the following to say: We walked about 65 miles. We did not have clothes to change. There was no water to drink. We went begging for water and they said they will not give water to Muslims. Then we went in a lorry and stopped at a Tamil house and they gave us water to drink. Then we stayed there for a night. All of us were crying as we did not know what else to do. (062)

Another, Sivathamma from Thaniyoothu stated the following of the journey: On the way we prepared food and ate once. We did not stay in one place because we did not feel safe anywhere. We walked continuously and our legs were swollen and wounded at the end of the journey. We packed what we could in the cycle and brought it along with us. We could not walk fast as we had to see that the children were doing alright. On the way, one of my sons got a chest pain as we had walked a long way. We got water from another family. We could not ask the Tamil families who were in that area as they refused to give us water as they said they would get into unnecessary trouble because of it. (176)

Sivathamma also recounted the manner in which a relative of hers had to even give birth while on the journey. One of my sister’s daughters who was pregnant got her labour pains on the way. So we stopped at a Tamil house and asked for their help but they refused. Then we almost fell at their feet and asked them to at least give a small shed for her to deliver the child. So they gave us the goat barn. After she had the baby, they asked us to leave immediately. The daughter who had just given birth also had to carry the newborn and walk with us. We reached Kakaiyan Kulam and stayed there for 5 days and then came here. It was a hectic 3 day journey which we will never forget in our lives. (176)

The Choice of Puttalam

Puttalam seems to have been known as a place where there was a sizeable Muslim community. Therefore the choice of Puttalam as a place to seek refuge in seems to have been quite clear and simple for most Muslims. In fact, in the 1987 displacement, most had naturally gravitated to Puttalam and the same pattern seems to have been adopted in the wake of the expulsion of 1990. Many of the testimonies (057 and 062 for instance) referred to a Rahim who had come to Puttalam in 1987 from Mullaittivu who organized transportation for expelled Muslims to travel from Vavuniya and provided relief assistance in Nuraichcholai. As S.M. Ismail of Neeravippiddi said, “They got us to settle down in a place near Nuraichcholai called Lanka Rani Gardens that was owned by the government. Noraicholai locals got us food by seeking help from everyone possible. In that way we must show our gratitude to the people of Nuraichcholai” (057).

The Kilinochchi Experience

The Kilinochchi district had one of the smaller concentrations of Muslims in the Northern Province. Located in the sparsely populated Vanni region, the Muslim communities of the district consisted of ancient villages like those of the coastal Nachchikudah as well as the more interior recent government settlements like Vaddakkachchi. Hasbullah names three other locations from which Muslims were expelled in 1990. These are Pooneryn Moonampiddi and Kilinochchi town. The people of Kilinochchi engaged mainly in fishing and agriculture. The village of Nachchikuda had a significant fishing industry and was famous historically for pearl and conch shell diving. (Hasbullah 2001,37) The stories from the smaller communities of Kilinochchi are a little different from those of Mannar and Jaffna. The sizes of the communities were much smaller and it seems as if the level of threat that the LTTE had to bring to bare on the community to make them move was less. The communities were far more vulnerable. While the fairly widespread practice of abduction for ransom was evident in Kilinochchi, in some communities the LTTE had refrained from confiscating people’s money and jewellery. The rules seem to have been relaxed further away from the Movement’s administrative centres and when applied to poor and vulnerable rural communities.

Nachchikuda

S. Safiya Umma of Pallawarayankaddu, Nachchikuda described her expulsion experience as follows. It is quoted at length here since it is a textured story that gives us an idea of life in Nachchikuda at the time. For instance, it references the fact that the Jaffna Muslims had been displaced there at some point, then the close interaction between the Nachchikuda people and the LTTE, and also the harrowing experience of being told to leave, the kidnapping of her husband for ransom, and having to leave in lorries “like animals.”
I was forty three years old when I was expelled. I had eleven children and a few grandchildren. Two of my daughters and sons were married. Other children were studying. During the troubles, the people from Jaffna and Chavakacheri came to our village. Around eight o’ clock one man told us that the LTTE had expelled people from such places. Therefore, the next day our men asked the LTTE whether they had any such plans for us but the LTTE said there wasn’t any such problem. I even told my father about the incident but my father did not believe me. But the very next day, in the morning, the LTTE announced to us that we were not to worry as they would give us a fair decision, but at the same time, they asked us to surrender our cattle and other valuables so we were really not sure. They took away all our cattle and fishing equipment. We gave a lot of stuff to them and they also ordered the Tamils not to take any of the valuables of the Muslims. On Friday, after Jummah they announced in the mosque that Karigaalan had asked to cut the Muslims into two, but they told us that they didn’t want to do so because they had taken food from us, so they asked us to vacate the village before six in the evening. The Tamil villagers were very happy to know that we were vacating but they did not show that they were happy. All villagers including us had to suffer in a lorry like animals. We did not bring anything except the clothes, we had the house keys and a few other valuables but they took everything away from us by setting up checkpoints. They sent us out by taking everything away. Everyone was screaming and most of them were very depressed to leave the village. It was a night journey and it was raining heavily and many places were flooded, so we suffered badly. We first came to Periyamadu that’s where we first stopped. The LTTE had kidnapped my husband and some of the other people, so we told them that we would not leave until they released our people. All these people were kidnapped due to money and other property issues; however, since we protested they released them in Pallamadusanthi. During the journey, no one helped us, but after we came to Vavuniya, the men from the army helped us. The LTTE told us that we will be able to return within one or two months. It is with that trust that we left the village. They even told us that they will take care of our valuables and the belongings. We were happy because we could all leave together however, the journey was horrific. Now it’s been twenty years since the Expulsion. (134)

The story of Masoona also from Nachchikuda contains some of the same elements, but also speaks, in addition, of assistance given by Tamil neighbours.

I was 35 years old when this event took place. My children were studying. We got to know that all the villagers were leaving and they informed us too. Before this incident took place, people from Jaffna came to our village and settled here with their belongings. Then they announced that we should leave in 2 hours, and asked us to give them all our cattle and other valuable goods. So we gave all to them. We gave a lot of our belongings, and they promised us that they would return them. When they asked us to leave, we didn’t know what to do. We had to protect our lives and our children. It was the rainy season and it was raining heavily. This happened in the month of October. With the idea of saving our children, we took all their certificates and two or three other things. Since the Tamil people stayed back we gave them some of our belongings. Those Tamil people behaved in a very decent manner. They were concerned as well. What could they have done? Who can they worry about? Us or them? They could not stand up to the LTTE. (M. Masoona, 232)

Vaddakachchi, another settlement village in Kilinochchi from which the Muslims were expelled had a different experience.

I was 42 years old. My life there was only for 42 years. All my children were born back in the village and my wife was expecting my youngest daughter at that time. My wife was 9 months pregnant. 11 days after arriving here my daughter was born.

They chased us out from there on the 25th of October 1990. They chased people from Jaffna on the 30th. They gave us only 2 days prior notice. The LTTE told us that if we don’t leave the place in 2 days that they could not guarantee our lives. They said that they would give us a vehicle to go, but they didn’t. We hired a vehicle out of our own money and left that same night. We had to leave before 12.00 that was the reason we had to leave in the night. The LTTE told to go beyond Vavuniya and not to return. During that period, I used to travel to Jaffna and back. The people in Chavakacheri were moving out. They left all their houses and lands, and took only a small bag with them. I was afraid looking at them. I wondered whether they would ask us to go as well. And then they chased us out. (217)

They asked us all to come to the mosque. There were 3 LTTE cadres there. They told us “all of you have to leave this place and we are giving you 2 days time for you to leave.” When we asked why we had to leave, they told us “you go and ask Ashraff this” and they also added another sentence to this They said that all the things that we had toiled and earned in this land now belonged only to them., So we were asked to leave everything and go. They told us to only take our clothes and depart. They wanted us to lock our houses and hand over all the things and the keys to them. The LTTE stayed in one house and started collecting all the things. I went there to see what was happening, and they asked me if we had any money or jewellery. (217)

We left all our furniture, house, land and 15 hens back in the village. We didn’t have vehicles. We had a new bicycle and since we didn’t have money to travel we sold that to a Tamil man. He gave us Rs. 3,000/- he was a good man. This man also asked me to take the bicycle up to Vavuniya and later to return it to him. He was such a good man. After I had taken the money from him how could I take the cycle back? That was the money that helped us. (217)

The following is a story from yet another location in Kilinochchi – Iranamadu. Here, notably, the LTTE did not confiscate people’s money and jewellery. This was the one exception that we encountered. This was probably because the community was small – only 18 families.

M. Jasmin of Iranamadu. I was thirty two years old when I was expelled; I had three children then. Two sons and one daughter, all three were schooling. My husband’s relatives lived in Chavakacheri, and the LTTE had asked the people of Chavakacheri to move out, my husband’s brothers told us to find another place to live as there were lots of problems. But my husband said that there would not be any problems as such, but within fifteen days of the warning, they expelled us. At that period there was an organization named RDF and I was a member of the women’s association of that organization. I asked them about this problem, and they told us that there was a problem in Batticaloa. However, they told us that they did not know the exact issue. We asked some of the known LTTE cadres, but they told us that they would not do such a thing to us. But on the fifteenth day, LTTE cadres came to the village. They called all the men and women and checked them. They told us that Karigaalan had asked us to meet him. They also asked us to vacate the village as it belongs to them; they told us that they need to redeem their lands. They did not allow us to take any of our valuables or other belongings; they promised that they would give our valuables to us as soon as they redeem their lands. They told us that they didn’t have any problems with us but the leaders of the LTTE had issued stern orders for us to vacate the village. Initially, the LTTE had planned to kill us, but fortunately they spared our lives. There were only eighteen families in that region at that time. They ordered the Tamil families not to take any of our belongings. The took away the ration coupons too. They told us that they would give the coupons back to us when we return to the village. Some of them were sad to see our departure from the village because they had a good relationship with us. They told us that they would guide us up to Vavuniya. They did not grab our Jewels or money. All the families came together, and we did not bring anything except the money and the jewellery. We were expelled on the 25th of October 1990. Our journey was not too difficult as we had money. But after we came here it was difficult, we met some of the LTTE cadres but they did not cause any hindrance to us. However, no one helped us as they knew we had money and jewellery with us. We thought that we could go back to the village within six months or a maximum of one year because the LTTE promised us that they would call us back to the village, but it did not happen that way. (133)

Expulsion Stories: Jaffna

According to our testimonies, local Tamil people in Jaffna too were aware that the LTTE had plans to expel the Muslims. In early October, there were meetings and discussions about the possible expulsion. Muslims had even visited the LTTE offices in Jaffna and inquired about the imminent threat of expulsion. They were told that they had nothing to worry about. But on 25th October the expulsion took place in Jaffna. M.S. Muhseen of 8th Cross Street in the new Moor Street area (who ran a bicycle repair shop) described the expulsion order in the following manner:

I was 24 at the time. 6 months before we left, my family had moved to Puttlam and I was not married at the time. The office of the LTTE was just in front of my shop and it was a friend there that informed me about the plan. At 7 in the morning, they made an announcement, requesting all the Muslims to gather in the Jinna playground. By 11 am Anjaneyar22, the leader for the LTTE group there arrived in a motor bike. He climbed on it and told us that we need to evacuate within 2 hours and that we can take the money we have and go to the land that Ashraff is giving you. There were some who were kidnapped by the LTTE at the time and we asked them as to what they are going to do with them. “We will release them later” was the answer we received and they commanded us to leave. I gave away all my cycles to the people who were leaving as I knew it would be helpful to them. Most left on the same day hiding their money and the cash in the cycle bars. Those who did not leave were taken to the Manohara theatre and kept as captives there and I was one of them. (018)

On 25th October 1990, the Muslims of Moor Street (Sonaha Theru) in Jaffna were asked by the LTTE to gather at 8.00 am at the Jinnah grounds that were part of Jaffna’s foremost Muslim school, Osmaniya College.At that meeting, the LTTE leaders state that the Muslims should leave the place within two hours. According to our testimonies, people were told to leave or stay and hand over their children to the LTTE—in other words, to commit themselves to the struggle for Eelam. Our testimonies also referred to the fact that they said the people of Jaffna were allowed to leave, whereas the people of Batticaloa were not given that option. They were killed.

In the testimony of Hameem of Manipay road, we have him quoting the LTTE eastern area leader Karikalan. And the manner in which he announced what he called the shocking news:

He stated “due to some reasons we are going to send you out from your places….. If you fail to leave your area, we are not responsible for your young girls, your belongings and your lives” (090)

In another testimony, that of Nazeem of New Moor Street Jaffna, we were told of a section of people who were told to gather at the 5th junction (Ainthu Sandhi)and who were addressed by another of the LTTE leaders – Anjaneyyar. He had told them that Karikalan wanted them to leave. Anjaneyyar had also stated, “Your minister Ashraff will give you a land and a house to live there” (141).

Usuf Sameen of Osmania road mentioned how the LTTE gave them the choice of staying and contributing their children to the struggle. He said “they told us that if you choose to stay, give your children to us and stay.” Sameen continued “They also said if all of you do not leave, later do not say they slaughtered you and they killed all of you like in Batticaloa”(097).

22 Some testimonies refer to Karikalan as also being present here.

As stated earlier, we encountered many stories of multiple displacements. A. Subaitha of Kamal Lane Jaffna described the reason for leaving Jaffna before the expulsion.

Our house was located near the fort so my husband was unable to bear with the sound of shelling and he got a heart attack as well, so we left very early. We stayed in Karaitheevu for some time and then returned to Jaffna. Soon after that, the evacuation happened and we left Jaffna once again in July 1990. (0314)

M.S. Muhseen quoted above also recounts the manner in which he handed over his house keys to an LTTE cadre that he knew.

I had given my house key to an LTTE cadre whom I knew, but he refused to give it (back) but later he gave it, and then I took whatever things I could and gave it to my neighbours, and since I had forgotten to take the documents I asked for the key again but they refused to give the key. I then came alone to Puttalam in a lorry and did not bring anything with me. (018)

Muhseen’s account above illustrates a variety of points that have achieved the status of folklore regarding the expulsion-- that Muslims handed over their house keys to the LTTE for safekeeping and that they handed over various valuables to their Tamil neighbours. . It is also a poignant reference point to the moment where the LTTE cadre whom he knew could not find the compassion within himself to let Muhseen collect his documents from the house before he left and the actual moment where Muhseen himself perhaps encounters the reality of the expulsion; that his home is no longer his.

M.T. Saleem of Jinnah road has a similar account of being asked to leave. Saleem was already almost 50 years old at the time of the expulsion. He had spent most of his life in Jaffna and having to leave at that time was a harrowing experience and his testimony speaks of his state of mind. When this happened I was 49 years old and married for 22 years. They announced this over the speaker. They asked us to gather in the Jinna playground. When we went there, the LTTE were heavily armed. They asked us to leave within 2 hours. Then we said: “ we associated with all of you like brothers so why are you doing this to us”. They replied by saying that we had been given Ampara and Puttalam, so we should go there. They wanted us to leave behind all our belongings with them. They said if you have two things of the same kind, take one, and leave the other. We took what we could and walked to the 5th mile post. (249)

In Mankumpan, the people were not aware of the brewing tensions between the Muslims and the LTTE, and the fact that some in Jaffna had expected the expulsion. Therefore, they refused to leave when the LTTE asked them to. At that point the cadres threatened them with weapons. In one of our testimonies from a person from Mankumpan, K. Jameela states:

“When we were asked to leave, we stood strongly opposed to it. Then they came equipped with bombs and guns, which scared us. We had never seen such things in our lives”. (0257)

There were many accounts of how money was confiscated and jewellery taken off women and girls. For instance, A. Sulthana of New Moor street stated “They were very unfair to us as we left. We were not the only ones, there were many others with a lot of jewellery and they confiscated all of it. The people were scared so that they mixed milk in a bottle and put the jewellerry into it and fried adai with bangles in them, but they took those away from them too. (0025)

Usuf Sameen of Osmaniya road also mentioned the manner in which the LTTE took goods away from him and his family at the checkpoints:

Portable things were allowed to be taken. We took our cycle, mat and the clothes we were wearing. I had 6000 rupees in my pocket while coming, they took that money and returned 500 rupees to me and said it would be enough. They had lorries and asked us to leave in them it. They locked us in a theatre called Manohara. They allowed us out only the next day. We were allowed to go the next day after we were checked. It was raining. Even my children’s earrings were removed. Female Tigers checked women personally to see whether they were carrying anything inside. We had bought an Indian sarong for the son who was kidnapped in case he returned, even that was taken away. (0097)

In one account by A.R.M. Mansoor of Mankumpan, there was a report of some Muslims complaining to LTTE leader Niresh about this, while at the Manohara theatre. Niresh had said that the cadres were not told to do this. Then, the people say that they realized that this was a form of looting that the cadres were/was? engaged in without perhaps the consent of the leadership. This report was just one instance. (094)

M.S. Isatheen’s narrative spoke of the rushed manner in which the expulsion was conducted in Jaffna. While the men were at the meeting at the Jinna stadium, cadres had already entered the houses and were compelling even the women to leave. The narrative also mentions how even the children’s milk powder was taken by the Tigers.

I was 35 years and married with 3 children when it happened. That morning I had gone to the shop, while I was in the shop I heard the announcement made on speakers that all Jaffna Muslims were to go to the Jinna stadium. We were very disturbed about the reason they called us, and also by what they wanted from us. When we went there, a person called Anjanayer, an LTTE head conducted the meeting asking us to leave within two hours. Some of us asked them why they wanted us to leave, and their reply was they don’t need to answer such questions. As the only hope, we asked for more time but they refused. Unable to do anything, but making up our mind to leave we returned home to collect our things. But unfortunately even before we left, Tigers were occupying our lands and houses and screaming at everyone to leave. Since our children were small we did not know what to take. So we took only the milk powder for the children. When we were leaving, we were checked once again at the 5th junction, where they grabbed the children’s milk powder. I asked them to at least return the little ones’ milk powder; they said you can take it from the other side. But they never returned it. There was one guy screaming at everyone to get in. (255)

In some narratives of the moment of expulsion, the anger at the LTTE for the expulsion order and for the government for taking very minimal action to facilitate the movement of people was palpable. J. Samsunnisa of Jinna road, in New Moor street Jaffna had this to say: None of the LTTE is alive today, it is our curse that destroyed) them and made them vanish. We came with my whole family and all were brought in the lorry like animals. Firstly we were dropped at Karaitheevu and from there we took buses to Vavuniya. Later, the Army checked us and then settled us in Poonthottam. There were many diseases caused as it was overcrowded in Poonthottam and the government of that period did not take any action regarding these issues. (204)

J. Samsunnisa’s testimony also speaks of another of the unfortunate consequences of the expulsion, the lives that many had painstakingly built—in this instance, through having to work abroad, had to be abandoned. My husband was working in Iraq. All the valuables which my husband brought from abroad had to be left behind. And even the van which my husband bought had to be kept there. We did not have our own house ,but we bought three acres of land. We lived in a rented house (204)

The Journey

The next section of the chapter concentrates on narratives of the harrowing journey out of Jaffna to Puttalam and in some cases to stops in Vavuniya and even in Colombo.

M. Mansoora of Arali Road describes the journey and encountering armed cadres as follows:

“While we were walking, we heard the army on the side of the road say that this is a good lesson for us. Some soldiers were worrying about our state. Some were saying let them talk these matters with Ashraff. We didn’t utter a word. We were scared. They were with weapons. We couldn’t really figure out whether they were the LTTE or the Army. (226) It seems likely that these were LTTE cadres and not the military. The statement is perhaps prompted by the fact that Mansoora like many women of Jaffna left the house only rarely and therefore was not in a position to encounter either the LTTE or the military on a regular basis—at least not enough to distinguish between them when encountered during a highly stressful and very threatening situation. It seems also likely that they were speaking in Tamil and therefore they were LTTE cadres rather than the military. This also speaks of the general harassment meted out to the expelled Muslims by the LTTE.

The following account of M.S. Isatheen, of being unable to provide water for his young children, and being compelled to ask a “sherbet shop” and being refused water and then finally of a young Tamil buying them soft drinks is full of pathos and only one of many that we encountered. One incident that I should recall is there was a sherbet shop in Sangupitti. All my children were small at that time, so they were thirsty , and so we went and asked for water and they refused to give any. Then a Tamil boy came running and bought Soda and fed it to the children. That was unforgettable. (255)

The rest of M. Mansoora’s narrative provides an illustration of the nature of the journey by foot that many of the expelled from Jaffna undertook as well as the manner in which the military assisted in managing the problem of so many people:

We suffered incomparable problems while we were walking. It is not easy to bring small children when having to travel such a long distance. It was very difficult. My eldest daughter carried my second daughter. I carried my youngest son. We exchanged the children on the way. A Tamil lady saw me suffering with my child, so she asked me whether she could help me to carry the child. I was reluctant to give the child to her. She took the child and went in front. I was dead scared at that time, and only God knows how afraid I was. I hurried towards her and took the child from her. I had only one boy, I just took him from her and walked away. We didn’t even feel that our feet were on the ground. That is the amount of distance that we walked. We started our journey after praying in the morning (before dawn). When we made it to Vavuniya it was 10 in the night. You can imagine how much we walked. My elder brother’s wife was pregnant when she was coming with us. She was going through great difficulty, but continued to walk. Even my elder brother broke his leg in Jaffna. He suffered a lot. Somehow we made it. I would say that God helped us to get a room there. The army showed us a room to stay. They asked everybody who came here to stay there. They asked us to wash ourselves. Later they asked the people who came here yesterday and day before to gather in a certain place. Then they asked them to get into the bus. I was a bit scared after they said this. I thought to myself what they might do to all these people. At that time, we were scared even if people were kind or tried to help us. One soldier told us that there was a lorry waiting for us, and he asked us to get into it. We didn’t even stay there for one day. They sent us away pretty soon. We should thank God, somehow we managed to reach Madawaachchi. We took another vehicle. It was loaded with a lot of people, so the people would step on our hands and feet. Some started to shout in pain, saying someone’s stepping on my feet. Some cried saying someone’s stepping on my hand. We got off at Ikrikollawa after being crushed like that. We got there on a Friday. (226)

The account of Meerana of Manipay Road in Jaffna captures the experience of two women who left with their children without the company of a male. Her description of the journey is worth noting:

My sister was close by. We left with them. When we left they snatched all our belongings. It was very sad. We did not bring anything when we left. We brought only the Children’s Birth Certificates. Even that got soaked in at Vavuniya. We left on the 10th month. It was raining and the B C got soaked and torn. When mentioning about our travelling, it must be noted that we endured much hardship. We were loaded into a lorry like cattle and the children were howling and crying, they soiled their clothes with urine and all their clothes were wet. We suffered and faced many difficulties. What could we do?. We had to get somewhere somehow or the other, that was our plight. (238)

The testimony of M.S. Jowfer of New Moor street presents a much more harrowing account of the suffering of the journey that involved many deaths.

When we were coming here my cousin’s wife delivered a child in the jungle. It was a difficult experience. For our bad luck the child died. The elders were the ones who helped in delivering the baby. We didn’t know how to conduct a proper burial. What could we have done? We were helpless and we suffered so much. The people who passed away were buried there itself. They performed our rituals and buried them. I knew of a such an incident. Then there was this elderly person, he was struck by a bomb right in his chest. We were resting when this happened. He died on the spot. Since they could not bring his body, they buried it behind the mosque. They performed all the rituals. The other person was a friend of mine. He had no problems, it was his wife. She was traveling in a lorry. She was pregnant as well. Suddenly a bomb hit the top of the lorry and pieces of the bomb fell on her stomach. Blood started pouring out. She fainted and died on the spot. I can never forget this incident. (225)

Usuf Sameen’s account is also one of death on the journey. He stated:

The LTTE said they had arranged lorries from Poonakary to Pandivirichchan and they asked for money. We gave them 7500 rupees . While coming my mother- in- law got caught in the flood and she drowned. So we buried her there and came. We were so scared, and we feared for our lives. (097)

M. Sareefa of Azath road has a different account of a long journey that took them as far as Akbar Mosque in Colombo 2. It also makes reference to illness during the journey due to the masses of people being confined to small spaces, and the manner in which individual Muslims were mobilized to help the northern Muslims that arrived at a time when state services were notably absent.

“We got into a lorry and came to Vauniya. It took days to reach Vauniya and it was raining heavily. With greatest difficulty we came to a school in Vavuniya and there all of us got sore eyes. The army gave us medicine. After that they sent us by train to Colombo. We came to the Akbar mosque in Colombo 2.Then we were given meals, tea and a place to sleep. In Colombo, we got down at the fort railway station in the night. When we were at the station, young three wheeler drivers came and asked if we had come from Jaffna and when we said yes, they asked us to get into the auto saying that they will drop us at the mosque saying that it is a safe place. It was 8 or 9 pm that night. We got into the trishaw and with the help of Allah and the drivers did not charge any money. They had come to the station to help the displaced people. They took us to the Akbar mosque in Colombo 2. (315)

Conclusion
This chapter has attempted to illustrate the different harrowing tales that the northern Muslims had to recount about the expulsion in October 1990, the journey towards an often unnamed destination and finally the arrival. It illustrates both the closeness of the LTTE in the everyday lives of the Northern Muslims, and also the shock that they experience at the moment of the expulsion because of this closeness. Statements like – “we moved like brothers,” “we ate from you,” that are attributed to both the LTTE and the Northern Muslims reflects the closeness. However, the expulsion itself together with the confiscation of goods and money, the kidnapping for ransom and the cruelty in the way in which the expulsion was administered in Jaffna speak to the LTTE’s final betrayal of the Northern Muslims. The expulsion of close to 75,000 people, their mass movement caused stress on resources and facilities. The fact that the expulsion occurred within a war zone while fighting was ongoing, and the fact that it was raining and flooding in certain areas meant that the journey was harrowing. The chapter attempts to illustrate this aspect of the expulsion as well.

The chapter, due to space constraints has only used some of the narratives that the Commission collected to provide only an indication of the people’s experience. However, the Commissioners are also aware that the chapter perhaps has more narratives than it merits. One of the intentions of this exercise is also to give expression to the stories of as many people as possible and this chapter, the longest in the report, straddles its two intentions with some difficulty. We do not have sufficient information or expulsion stories from the Vavuniya district. At the time that this work was conducted a large percentage of those expelled from the Vavuniya district had already returned. In fact, Dr. Hasbullah’s 2000 publication claims that at that time 60% of those expelled from Vavuniya had returned. Therefore this chapter does not have a detailed exploration of those displaced from Vavuniya