Psycho - social needs assessment : the voice of internally displaced people in the non-conflict area of Sri Lanka

While the physical needs of these people are often met, their psycho-social needs increase as the years in the refugee camps go by. Based on interviews with both children and adults living in the camps, an assessment of these needs is presented. Interviews were conducted in a comfortable setting maximizing personal contact, and cultural, ethnic, and religious diversities were taken into consideration to produce a holistic assessment. The study found that most needs evolved from two basic problems: (1) people in the camps suffer from ongoing stress due to their living conditions and uncertainty about the future; and (2) once proud and independent people, the displaced population experiences an ongoing status as dependent victims that is emotionally debilitating, necessitating the rebuilding of self-esteem and the ability to be self-sufficient. The sense of loss is severe for the men, women, and children in these camps. They have been harshly removed from the comfort of their homes that were built with their hard labor, and torn from the familiarity of their villages and the farm land that has fed them for generations. Provision of government relief is appreciated but it inadvertently promotes continued dependence and maintains feelings of helplessness. Recommended programs are listed to address areas of basic survival, economic, social, health, and psychological needs. The programs are prioritized with the intention and hope that NGOs will carry them out by developing comprehensive programs with long term sustainability and follow-up. The report includes numerous quotations from refugees, detailing their feelings and fears, as well as drawings by displaced children externalizing their reactions to the violence and losses they have experienced.