Working in Sri Lanka's camps calls for creative thinking

An aid worker from Muslim Aid sees life as most Sri Lankan aid workers are used to.
These days, it's a question of survival of the most creative. In response to the challenges we face working in camps for internal refugees in Sri Lanka's north, we have to be innovative to overcome operational obstacles. And there are many!
Take, for example, the recent news of the end of the war and the death of the Tamil Tiger rebel leader, which brought euphoria to the streets of Colombo and some other parts of the country. For us, it meant a total shutdown of access to the camps. Initially, the authorities slapped a ban on vehicles entering the camps, largely it seems as a security measure.

There's still some uncertainty as to whether rebels are mingling with civilians in the camps, and the authorities are putting in place a screening and registering procedure to determine that. But as a result of the ban on vehicles, our access was limited and most aid agencies were kicking up a fuss as usual. Some even said publicly that they would withdraw from the camps.