Even though we are getting old, we can't leave the same fate for our children. All the war victims from Welioya are peasant families. The settlement was part of the Mahaveli irrigation project but the area has been completely neglected. We are not in a position to carry on cultivation. We are here because we have no other place to go.
Farmers only receive a meagre income for their crops.
The recruitment of youth into the home guard force has led to shortages of manpower for cultivation. How can students pay attention to their studies in a war situation, with the pressure of war psychology. Six schools in the Welioya area closed when students were forced to flee the area and nine schools in Padaviya were closed to accommodate the refugees. Most children are only able to complete eighth or ninth grades. A very few students are able to go on to higher grades.