Civilians held in Sri Lanka camps face disease threat

[oberliner]

Source: The Guardian (UK)

Thousands of civilians fleeing fighting in Sri Lanka have been interned by the government in cramped, makeshift camps with overflowing drains, water shortages and the threat of disease looming large in the sweltering, unsanitary conditions.

The government allowed a small group of international journalists into Menik Farm camp, which is regarded by aid agencies as by far the best-equipped of the camps. But even here, people complain bitterly about their treatment and the lack of freedom of movement.

In the camp people are herded behind coils of razor wire strung out between sharp wooden stakes and are not allowed to leave. Rows of tents stretch as far as the eye can see.

Those who have been given shacks made of sheet metal bake in the scorching heat. Soldiers armed with automatic rifles patrol inside and outside the camps. "This is a jail," one woman told the Guardian.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/20/srilanka-refugee-camps-tamil-tiger