ABSTRACT
Rameswaram, a small Indian town in Ramanathapuram District, Tamil Nadu State in India is connected to Talaimannar in Mannar District, Sri Lanka by 17.4 miles along the famous Palk Straight. Camp life for Sri Lankan Tamil refugees is protracted by its nature and is a growing concern and challenge for India and for the international community. The refugees are all from the conflict-prone areas of Sri Lanka’s north-eastern provinces and a handful from Colombo. Rice is supplied through the public distribution outlets and through the shops run by the co-operative institutions of Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation. Household utensils are supplied free to all the refugee families living in the camps. Mandapam Camp was once used for the purpose of recruiting labourers from Tamil Nadu to Sri Lanka by the British regime. Most refugees in industrialised countries bypass official assistance, and find ways to settle themselves amongst the local population, in a pattern known as self-settlement or dispersed settlemen.
