Welcome guests: settlements of Sinhalese IDPs and local integration process in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Three decades of civil conflict in Sri Lanka that broke out between the government security forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the early 1980s came to an end in 2009. Although more than one decade has passed since ending the civil conflict between them, Sri Lanka is still suffering many multi-faceted issues and challenges concerning the integration of resettled people in the post-conflict resettlement process. This study aims to examine the process of settlement, and the local integration process, as a solution for the settlement issue rather than return and resettlement into the original villages of the Sinhala Internally Displaced People (IDPs) in the northern part of Sri Lanka. As for its empirical evidence, the study is based on qualitative methods. The study areas were selected within the districts of Anuradhapura and Vavuniya. The research finds that there is no one single reason that affected the integration of both communities; IDPs and hosts, but rather a combination of several socio-economic keyfactors. The study illustrates that the displacements and their settlements show innovation with their integration process rather than marginalisation from the host communities.