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'We still search for our son'

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  • கருத்துக்கள உறவுகள்

As Sri Lanka's government is named by Human Rights Watch (HRW) as one of the world's worst perpetrators of enforced disappearances, the father of someone who disappeared tells his story to the BBC.

Jude (not his real name) is a young Tamil man who disappeared in the north of Sri Lanka in February 2007.

Ever since then, his family have been desperately searching for any clue to what might have happened to him.

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My son has been missing for one year. We have been searching for him for all over the place. We never really stop looking.

One day he just failed to come home. He and his friend went to the local town on a motorbike. They vanished from the face of this earth on their way back. They simply never returned. The motorbike has never turned up either.

I don't know what happened. All I know is that he went to town to buy some goods for me and he never came back.

He was unmarried and he lived with us here. We were all so happy together. He worked as a driver and a fisherman.

We have given our petitions to the police, the Red Cross, to human rights organisations and to the bishop here. We went to Colombo and handed in our petition to the government. We still haven't had any reply from them.

The police told us they searched for him everywhere but didn't get any result. We also searched for him everywhere we could think of.

His friend is also missing and I believe both of them were kidnapped. How can two men just disappear like that?

We don't really want to think about it or say but everyone around us tells us they could have been taken by an armed group which kidnap young Tamil men they think sympathise with the LTTE [Tamil Tiger rebels].

They say these groups are linked to the government. It's not the first time this has happened around this area.

But I can't think about that. How can I? I've gone to the government for their help.

We don't know what the reason could be. We went to the local human rights monitors and we have asked for their help so many times. They told us they are working on the case, they have documented it - but this does not give us a good answer about what happened to our son.

'Helpless people'

He was not a member of any organisation. I don't know why anyone would kidnap him.

Life is very difficult for us now. I am now over 55 years old. I am the only person left to look after my large family.

When my son lived with us, he also helped with his income. I knew he would look after the others.

Now we are close to starving on my small income alone. Prices are very high and it is a struggle to get enough food. He was a very important part of our family.

Without him, we feel like helpless people here. His mother can't understand what has happened. Sometimes we still search for him.

I cannot think that I might die and not know his fate. I can't bear to think about what might have happened.

That is too frightening.

Names have been changed to protect identities

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7281037.stm

Edited by nedukkalapoovan

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