Video: Focus now on SL refugees overseas - UNICEF

25 May 2012 12:51 pm

Michael Zwack the UNHCR Representative in Sri Lanka said they were concentrating more on Sri Lankan refugees in foreign countries rather than focusing on displaced people within the country.

“As time goes by we will be less involved in allocating and returning the internally displaced and will concentrate on the displaced overseas. We support refugees from countries such as India, Malaysia and Indonesia to come back to Sri Lanka and settle here,” Mr. Zwack said during a visit to Vavuniya today.

Praising the development in Kilinochchi, he said, “The change in Kilinochchi is unbelievable. Your find supermarkets and proper public transport available for the people. We do not assist the displaced by building permanent houses. But we do help larger donors and governments with assistance in selecting proper beneficiaries and provide guidelines when it comes to permanent housing projects,” Mr. Zwack said. (Wanni-Romesh)

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