Lanka war: The human casualty

With the big guns in Sri Lanka falling silent, there's some hope for Tamil civilians. While the army got a few thousand out of the warzone, others are still desperately trying to flee. Homeless in their own land, countless are in relief camps.

Caught in Sri Lanka's 25-year old war, displaced time and time again from their homes, the Tamilians have forgotten what is called home.

For now, they may have found some relief from their nomadic existence.

Since late last year, over 22,000 Tamilians have found shelter in government camps.

"When Prabhakaran and LTTE were fighting, we were caught in between. But the army rescued us and we were saved," says one old refugee in a welfare village near Vavuniya.

The refugees were luckier than over 100,000 others who escaped the LTTE zone over the past week are still out in the open without basic amenities.

The world has begun to send humanitarian relief but it have to come in double quick time to be effective.

The camps are small part of a big effort planned by the government to rehabilitate the displaced Tamils in the north. Although everyone knows this cannot be a permanent solution, this is certainly a small and a good beginning.