Mannar (AsiaNews) - For the first time since they were forced to live in a jungle, the Mullikulam refugees have received a huge load of aid, thanks to the Sisters of the Holy Family. Through a collection that involved several people in the Colombo Province, on 2 August Sr. Deepa Fernando and Sr. Pearly Augusta brought 215 families, rice, sugar, flour and different types of cereal, milk and powdered tea, biscuits and noodles, soap, medicines and first aid materials. "This - they told the displaced, all Tamil Catholics - is only the first of many visits. We will return, and not only with needed assistance."

Sister Deepa Fernando, from the Congregation's convent in Colombo, says: "When we discovered these people's story, I heard something snap inside of me. I wanted to give practical meaning to the prayer 'Our Father', which we recite every day. So I informed my sisters in the Colombo Province, who encouraged me. Together, we have been given to do this. "Through word of mouth in their communities, the sisters were able to collect the goods, food and medical aid they delivered on 2 August.

Driven from their village 20 years ago, for over a month these IDPs (Internally Displaced People) have been relegated to the jungle Marichchikattu, home to mosquitoes, elephants and snakes, with no possibility of fishing or cultivating the land. In theory, their transfer to this forest is part of the Government resettlement program provided for civil war refugees.