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Sri Lanka

We had the opportunity to speak to some of those involved in the three schemes in the north, but focused our attention primarily on the work that they were doing to rehabilitate and reconstruct following the tsunami. In all honesty, we did not get on to concerns about kidnapping, although I have heard similar reports to those cited by my hon. Friend. During our visit, we also spoke at length to the reconstruction and development agency in Sri Lanka. It confirmed that, although there had been complex negotiations, it was confident that the tsunami relief efforts were beginning to show in the north and east, so I hope that I can provide reassurance to those who are concerned about that. Through the good offices of the ministry for resettlement, we were able to visit Puttalam, which is in the western part of the island. We met some of the internally displaced people, who are primarily Muslims, who exist in 35 camps in the region. They have been in the camps for nearly 16 years. What we found was an absolute disgrace. The shelters were threadbare. The food supplies that the people received were intermittent and the food was basic, to say the least. People had to walk two miles to get water that they could drink and more than a mile just to get a bath in the morning. There were few employment opportunities for the people. Education was non-existent and discrimination was rife among the local people.