The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Bank of Ceylon helping Sri Lankan refugees secure their future

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Tuesday, Feb 26, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Bank of Ceylon helping Sri Lankan refugees secure their future

N. Anand

They can open savings bank account and transfer their hard-earned money to their home town

— Photo: S. Thanthoni

A TURNING POINT: Bank of Ceylon Chairman Gamini Wickramasinghe handing over passbooks to Sri Lankan refugee self-help group members at Bank of Ceylon Chennai branch on Monday.

CHENNAI: An unscheduled meeting of the Deputy High Commissioner for Sri Lanka in Southern India, P.M. Amza with the Organisation for Eelam Refugees Rehabilitation (OfERR) treasurer S.C. Chandrahasan has changed the lives of several Sri Lankan refugees in Tamil Nadu: they can now open savings bank account with Bank of Ceylon (BoC).

On Monday, more than 50 members from self-help groups (SHGs) gathered in front of BoC’s Chennai branch to protect their hard-earned money in the first instance and then transfer it to their home town with minimum inconvenience and financial implications. Around 15 of them succeeded in the endeavour.

There are over 1,50,000 Sri Lankan refugees in Tamil Nadu. Many of them depend on the dole given to them and some have formed SHGs. Eventually, most of them want to go back to their home town.

“Till yesterday, I had only a valid identity card and was worried about my future. But today, BoC’s new initiative has instilled confidence in me. I will save whatever money I earn from my daily chores. It will be like a cash card, when we return home,” a refugee said.

Talking to The Hindu, BoC chairman Gamini Wickramasinghe said, “Till now, they were shying away from opening savings account, as most of them had very little money or were afraid that others might come to know of their financial position. Having earned some money, most of them want to go back right now.

However, restoration work is needed to put their house in order, which means they have to start all over again from zero base. It is here that BoC comes into play.”

According to Dr. Wickramasinghe, there are over 97,000 refugees living in 117 campuses and 60,000 outside the campuses in Tamil Nadu. He assured them that their money was in safe hands, as BoC operated even in un-cleared areas such as Kilinochchi and it didn’t close even a single branch due to the ethnic trouble.

To help the unemployed youngsters, BoC will seek their help to sell its banking and financial products.

Besides, it is planning to open two branches in south India this year and five by 2010.

“Over the years, thousands of Sri Lankan students have graduated from the Indian universities and are without jobs. We will enrol some of them, who, in turn, will interact with the refugees.

Knowing the strength and weaknesses of these refugees, we will model some financial and banking products to suit them,” he added. Mr. Chandrahasan said that Sri Lankan refugees do not need sympathy. They should be seen as resource persons as they were the first ones to help Indians during the tsunami.

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