by Melani Manel Perera

Families of fishermen who went missing in 1999 are still struggling to make ends meet with dignity; they renew their appeal to the government for financial help.

Matara (AsiaNews) – Almost ten years after fishermen went missing in north-eastern Sri Lanka in the maelstrom of the civil war, few death certificates have been issued and a lot of families are still waiting for government compensation.

The ‘Organization of Disappeared Fishermen's Parents, Wives and Children’ called a press conference on 7 February in Matara. The 75 women who took part in the event renewed their demand for the government to help them financially.

With husbands and fathers lost, life in many families has become precarious and the future of many children is at risk. Widows can barely manage to provide the bare essentials whilst children are too often forced to quit school.

Children who lost their fathers have joined their disillusioned mothers in expressing a wish to study and find their place in the world.

• sri
• lanka
• matara
• fishermen
• missing
• 1999
• financial
• aid
• families