Refugee kids in Chennai face disruption of studies

Chennai: Asha Perinbanayagam is worried that the safe shelter over her head as she pursued studies as a Sri Lankan Tamil refugee girl could collapse under red tape.

The 19-year-old student of computer science at the Saraswati College at Konerikuppam returned to the hostel Saturday evening only to be told by her father, who works as the warden at the hostel run by a charitable trust called the Bright Society, that the local officials have threatened to close down the facility as it did not meet with the requirements of the Juvenile Justice Act.

“Our semester exam started today and will go on till December 2. Now I do not know whether I would be able to finish my studies. My brother is ninth class in nearby R. C. higher secondary school and we have always been good students. It’s our misfortune that we are Sri Lankan Tamil refugees and most doors are shut to us”, said the girl trying hard to fight back tears.

There are 30 boys and 21 girls housed in the hostel run by Bright Society at Acharapakkam and with the local child protection committee along with the district administration deciding to close it down, the future of these kids appears really bleak.

“We are three siblings and we have no parents. This hostel provides us with food and shelter, and more importantly the opportunity to pursue studies. But now we learn that there is some move to close down the hostel. Where will we go and how can we continue studies?” asked Sivaranjan, 17, computer student.

Bright Society has been running hostels in Bengaluru for Sri Lankan Tamil refugee children since early 90s and recently shifted to Acharapakkam due to severe financial crunch. The society is administered by Rajan, leader of ENDLF, an Eelam militant outfit that had given up arms to support the Indo-Lanka accord of July 1987. Rajan got on to the hit-list of the LTTE and decided to set up the schools and hostels for the refugee kids at Bengaluru.

“We got a letter from the Kancheepuram district child protection officer threatening to close down our hostel because we could not find separate building for the boys. Even now, the boys have separate quarters. We have been running hostels for several years and never faced such critical problems”, Rajan told DC. “Most of these children are orphans or have single parent. Where will they go?”

According to Dr G. Babu, advocate practicing at the Madras high court, the Indian juvenile justice act does not apply to the Sri Lankan refugee kid. “The JJ act aims at regulating our children and should not interfere with the Lankan refugee kids”.