Though the level of violence is high, the spillover has been low. The level of violence is generally related to the number of people displaced, but the current crisis belies this trend. After an initial exodus, refugee displacement has been low within the island as well as to neighboring India. Till May 18, when the conflict peaked, only 114 people had arrived in India as compared to 742 last year. In fact, after May 9 there was no arrivals at all.
T here are over one-lakh refugees in India.
More than 65,000 live in 131 government run camps. The number living outside the camps could vary from 35,000 to 50,000, according to very conservative figures. They have been arriving in India, either in the form of an exodus or trickle depending on the level of violence in Sri Lanka. I n the current situation, though fighting has been fierce, refugee arrivals have been low, in fact less than normal. Over 1,50,000 residents of Jaffna town are trapped, as the peninsula is cut off from the mainland due to fighting.