Baltimore -- As violence continues to escalate in Sri Lanka, Lutheran World Relief (LWR) staff on the ground report hunger, separation and tragedy for thousands of civilians caught in the middle of the fighting.

More than 1,000 people were killed and 1,300 more were injured on Sunday when a government sponsored safe zone was attacked, highlighting the extremely volatile nature of the ongoing conflict between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

On May 2, LWR staff members, along with local partners, delivered food packages to people living in a safe zone camp in Vavuniya, a government controlled city approximately 40km (approximately 25 miles) from the front line of violence. An estimated 194,000 people have taken refuge in Vavuniya.

While there, staff encountered thousands of hungry people, children separated from their parents, disease and death.

“The situation at the camps is distressing with cramped living spaces, short food supplies, and limited water. However the most painful thing for most people is being separated from their families,” says K. Thampu(Nalee), LWR’s Acting Country Program Manager for Sri Lanka.

At the food distribution staff encountered children who had been separated from their families and had come to beg for food. While touring camp facilities, staff encountered a mother whose baby was accidentally left behind when she and her family fled an attack.

“In the chaos of running for your life, it is easy for children to become separated from their parents. Separated children need someone to look after them and feed them,” says Nalee. “For mothers such as the one we encountered, often all they can do is wait and hope for word that their children are safe.”

LWR partners are providing counseling in the camps to help families cope with increasingly traumatic living conditions. Staff report worsening conditions in camps as the number of displaced swells.

Lutheran World Relief has already committed $50,000 in response to this crisis and is working with local organizations to distribute cooked food packets, provide supplementary food items for community kitchens, and provide water. An additional $500,000 is needed to mount a comprehensive relief effort, and LWR has issued an urgent appeal to its donors to contribute toward this effort.

 “With more and more innocent people fleeing the violence every day, the potential for human devastation is great,” says John Nunes, LWR president. “LWR needs your help to continue delivering life saving food and supplies”

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INTERNATIONAL DISASTERS:
Editors:  When listing organizations receiving donations for aid
to survivors of major disasters outside the United States,
Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands, please include:

Lutheran World Relief, www.lwr.org, 1-800-597-5927

For information contact:
Lisa Baumgartner Bonds, 410-230-2814, 443-722-2162 cell, lbonds@lwr.org