Used to it

My family is from Polikandi, in Jaffna. From there we went to Thalaiyadi, but there also the government was shelling villages. So three weeks ago we decided to come here, to this church. During the last war we were displaced from Jaffna because of the Army bombing and so we fled to Puthukudiyiruppu.

I am used to this lifestyle, but the trip was difficult for my two daughters. One is one year old, and the other is three years old. My husband went to Kilinochchi to find work, and he has been working as a woodsman for 15 days, but we have still not received a paycheck. We already sold our possessions for food, so I don't know what we will do now. There are no toilet facilities here, so it is very difficult. Also the raining season has begun. The most difficult aspect of our lives here is that there are no classes for the kids. They can't go to nursery to study the alphabet and play with each other, like other children can. Living here is very hard for them.

-Manjula Sivakumar, 31 years