Source: latheeffarook.com
A
small minority of Muslim families were living peacefully for centuries
in the Marichchikatti village in the Musali division in the Mannar
District. They were involved in paddy cultivation and other such work. In keeping with their religious requirement they built their own mosque there. To help continue with their cultivation work, the government even built a
dam – before 1970.
Life was simple and they remained a contented lot.
In
1990, with the Tamil Tiger terrorists' ethnic cleansing of Muslims in
the North, these families too were driven out, and they lost all their
belongings and ended up empty-handed in camps for the Internally
Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Puttalam, where, like other IDPs, they
languished in poverty, besides facing numerous other problems.
They
were all happy when the government forces defeated the LTTE in May 2009
hopeful that they too could return to their own soil and rebuild their
lives.
With
the situation improving after the war they started returning to their
ancestral village of Marichchikatti only to realize that the entire
village had become jungle as it had been neglected for almost two
decades.
Yet,
they did not lose hope. All what they wanted was to clear the jungle
and live in their own soil. Pinning their hope on Allah they jointly and
individually cleared the jungle, which was no easy task. They did so
with the support of the government and the Divisional Secretary.
They
were all poor and did not possess the money to rebuild proper houses.
However, they built mud-walled huts covered with palm leaves and settled
there. A non-governmental organization helped them put up these huts.
Today there are around 150 families and about 500 people.
This
has nothing to do with the Wilpattu National Park. However, the Bodu
Bala Sena (BBS), which is spearheading a fierce anti-Muslim campaign,
tearing apart communities and pushing the country towards a disastrous
path, began a vicious campaign saying that Marichchikatti is located in
Wilpattu and Industries Minister, Rishad Bathiudeen is colonizing the
Wilpattu Sanctuary with Muslims.
This was misleading as the Marichichikattu village belongs to the Musali division in the Mannar District.
With
the BBS campaign intensifying, a group of eight Buddhist monks led by
the Secretary Jathika Bala Sena, Ven Watareka Vijitha Thera, visited
Marichchikatti village on a study tour, while so-called Muslim
parliamentarians, who have sold their souls for positions and perks,
were busy watching cricket.
Contrary
to BBS propaganda, they found that Muslims were living in their own
village in Marichchikatti and not inside the Wilpattu Sanctuary.
These
Muslims have also produced deeds and all other relevant documents for
their lands. They had also shown evidence of an old mosque there before
they were evicted. This mosque is now under Navy control.
Meanwhile,
refuting the BBS allegations, Minister Bathiudeen has said these houses
were built with the knowledge of the government.
There
is nothing illegal in building these houses as they have acquired
permission from the relevant line ministries and this is sanctioned by
the government.
Meanwhile,
squatters vowed to commit suicide and Mannar District Secretary, M.Y.
Deshapriya, has promised some relief. About 70 displaced families
squatting at the location said the location was their original
residences before they were evicted by the LTTE in 1990
Courtesy: Ceylon Today
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