{"id":12264,"date":"2012-11-10T14:31:08","date_gmt":"2012-11-10T18:31:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=12264"},"modified":"2012-11-10T14:31:08","modified_gmt":"2012-11-10T18:31:08","slug":"ex-cadres-of-ltte-to-work-in-garments-industry-in-kilinochchi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=12264","title":{"rendered":"Ex-Cadres of LTTE to Work in Garments Industry in Kilinochchi"},"content":{"rendered":"

By James Crabtree in Jaffna, Sri Lanka<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hundreds of former Tamil Tigers, the defeated Sri Lankan rebel army, are moving into a peaceful trade, swapping a history of bombs and guns for bras and football shirts.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In a sign of long-awaited economic reconstruction following the brutal conclusion in 2009 of the nation\u2019s 23-year civil war, one of the biggest suppliers to Victoria\u2019s Secret is training the former Tigers to work in the first big garment factories to open in the battle-scarred north of the island.<\/p>\n

MAS Holdings \u2013 a Sri Lankan company which also makes clothes for Gap and Marks and Spencer \u2013 is building two factories in Killinochi, the one-time political capital of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels.<\/p>\n

The area was recaptured by Sri Lanka\u2019s army after months of fierce fighting in early 2009, a crucial turning point in the struggle that led to a decisive but bloody victory a few months later, in which nearly all of the Tiger\u2019s leadership were killed.<\/p>\n

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has since pledged to bring new infrastructure and jobs to the country\u2019s Hindu minority Tamils, as part of a promised \u201cpeace dividend\u201d after the end of their struggle against the Buddhist Sinhalese majority.<\/p>\n

But critics say Mr Rajapaksa has moved slowly on redevelopment and showed increasingly authoritarian traits, charges made again recently during a heated meeting on Sri Lanka\u2019s record at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.<\/p>\n

Almost destroyed in the fighting, Killinochi\u2019s newly constructed main road, where one of facilities will be located, remains dotted with bombed-out buildings. Many local people are also displaced, unable to return to homes that have been destroyed or occupied by the army.<\/p>\n

Training centres for the factories, which will make undergarments and sportswear, are already operating in the town. MAS wants to hire some of the more than 2,000 locals for the manufacturing facilities when they become fully operational by 2015.<\/p>\n

The owners admit there will be challenges in hiring former LTTE members. Medical experts say, for example, that many are suffering trauma from their experiences in the war\u2019s final months, in which as many 40,000 civilians were killed. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe the workforce will comprise people who will have been a part of that organisation,\u201d says Mahesh Amalean, chairman of MAS. \u201cWe may not have all the competency to deal with all the possible psychological issues they have, and we may need to bring people in for this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sri Lanka\u2019s government says it has invested at least $1.1bn in the north since the end of the war, helping to push annual economic growth over 20 per cent, albeit from a low base. But local people say there is little in the way of private investment, while unemployment remains widespread.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy husband used to work for a western charity as a driver,\u201d says one displaced Tamil woman, standing on the roadside in a nearby town next to the white tarpaulin tent where they live. \u201cEarlier we had a good life, we earned money and paid rent\u2009.\u2009.\u2009.\u2009but now there are no jobs, and we don\u2019t have anywhere else to go.\u201d <\/p>\n

Many locals hope that the lingerie and football shirts churned out by the factory will be the first of a series of projects bringing opportunity to a region where charities and aid agencies are still among the largest employers.<\/p>\n

Namal Rajapaksa, the president\u2019s 26-year-old son who is responsible for promoting development in the area, says he wants two further garment factories to open in nearby towns, helping to boost the country\u2019s $4.1bn garment export trade.<\/p>\n

But local Tamil leaders complain that the area has missed out on the lavish infrastructure projects being built in Sri Lanka\u2019s more prosperous south, while moves to devolve political power have also stalled since the conflict ended.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter the war we have come back to zero again\u201d, says Nadesapillai Vithyatharan, a former Tamil language newspaper editor, based in Jaffna, the capital of the northern region. \u201cYes, we might have some more fridges and sodas and even electricity sometimes now, but we still don\u2019t have our self respect. And until we do this conflict cannot be truly over.\u201d
\nCOURTESY:FINANCIAL TIMES<\/p>\n

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By James Crabtree in Jaffna, Sri Lanka Hundreds of former Tamil Tigers, the defeated Sri Lankan rebel army, are moving into a peaceful trade, swapping a history of bombs and guns for bras and football shirts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12264"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12264"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12264\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12265,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12264\/revisions\/12265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}