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A group of young former combatants recently received canoes, outboard engines, water pumps and tool kits from IOM at a ceremony in Batticaloa, on the east coast of Sri Lanka, 300 km from the capital Colombo. The equipment, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), was to help them start new livelihoods as fishermen, farmers or the owners of small businesses.

With the war over and the security situation now calm in the northern and eastern provinces of Sri Lanka, former members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikel (TMVP) – the rebel factions who fought a separatist war in Sri Lanka for almost three decades – are trying to integrate back into civilian life.

But for most, it is a struggle to heal the psychological scars, remove the label of being "former combatants", escape the stereotypes and be accepted back into civil society.

The government of Sri Lanka is working with IOM and the international community to rehabilitate them and pave the way for their successful economic reintegration – an essential step towards maintaining stability after years of conflict.

J*, a 27-year-old beneficiary, remembers how he and his friends, then straight out of school, were forced to use weapons by the former rebels. "We were given guns and bullets and told that they were for our protection. But none of us really wanted to become soldiers or liked the war," he says. 

The war has taken a heavy toll on the people, houses and infrastructure of his village of Valachchenai in the Eastern Province and J, like many of his former comrades, now sees the world rather differently.

IOM's Community Revitalization through Information Counselling and Referral Services (CR-ICRS) project supports the government to help J and others like him to return to civil society. The help comes in the form of education, training, employment opportunities and small business start-ups.

Some 400 former LTTE and TMVP members in the Eastern Province have now received help in making the transition to civilian life through IOM's CR-ICRS programme.

J and his friends were not involved in heavy fighting during the war, but their military experience remains strongly imprinted in their minds. "We fought for freedom, but none of us really had any freedom. I always wanted to return to and live in my own community," he says.

J has been driving a hired tractor ever since he returned to his village, after three years with the rebels. But his income was not enough to live on. "I dreamt of buying a three-wheeler to make more money, I saved and borrowed what I could. But it wasn't enough," he says. The CR-ICRS programme provided him with basic business training and the additional amount of money he needed to buy the three-wheeler.

"The community has now accepted us and nobody really labels us as former combatants anymore. Now I'm thinking about new business opportunities and maybe getting married," he says.

Many of the former combatants have limited education and few skills other than fighting. But all of them are determined to return to school, learn new skills and start new civilian livelihoods. The CR-ICRS programme identifies their individual needs through a comprehensive survey, including face-to-face interviews. Based on the findings, it offers a wide range of options to suit their preferred reintegration choice.

Starting again

"My husband will never take up arms again. He is now happy to play the roles of husband and father," says N*, a 20-year-old mother of three, fondly cuddling her four-month-old daughter. N's husband volunteered to join the rebels after he lost his home and family members in the war.

Four years later, he left the rebel faction to marry N, whom he had courted during his "fighting" days. "His parents and I are happy to have him back, as part of the family and as part of the community he belongs to. That itself is enough reason to make us smile," she says.

N's family now lives in a temporary shelter and her husband has returned to full time fishing. "But our problems are far from over. What he earns is not enough. During the off-season and whenever he has some free time he also works as a labourer, doing all types of odd jobs in the village," she says.

Her husband has received fishing gear through the CR-ICRS programme to expand his livelihood. But they still need more support – like a boat and outboard engine that can be used for deep sea fishing – if they are to expand the business and compete in the market.

N admits that his return to the village was challenging and that he was initially pointed to as a "rebel." His movements were also restricted. "But now there is none of that. He travels freely around the island and currently as it is the off-season for fishing in Batticaloa, he is fishing on the north western coastal belt," she smiles. 

Dreaming big

Like the majority of other former LTTE and TMVP members receiving training and employment in the Eastern Province, E* hoped to expand his vegetable cultivation to meet market demand throughout the year and ensure a steady income. But the irregular water supply on his land was a major challenge. 

Thanks to an irrigation system provided through the CR-ICRS programme he now has enough produce not only to sell at the village market, but also to supply for special occasions such as weddings and religious festivals. He has started to cultivate an additional two acres of land and now employs five full-time workers.

Just a year ago, E was still fighting with the rebels. But now he is learning new skills alongside other former LTTE and TMVP members and is committed to doubling his vegetable production.

E was a combatant for 18 years from the day he left school. But he left the rebels to re-enter civilian life. He is happy to be generating an income and is socially and economically active. He still has his dreams, but says he has no desire to ever pick up a gun again.

With the end of the 25-year conflict in Sri Lanka in 2009, more and more former LTTE and TMVP members have decided to put violence behind them to build new, productive lives for themselves, their families and their communities. These are just three of their stories.

* Names changed.