Girl believed to have disappeared during era of terror surfaces after being incarcerated for 26 years

A 17 year old young girl who was believed to have vanished during the 88-89 era of terror which existed in this country has returned searching for her home after a lapse of 26 years, to Giraulla in Gampola.

It has been revealed that upto now for a period of 26 years she had been sort of incarcerated in a home in Delkanda area and had been brutally treated by being asked to work as a domestic servant

She was going through her 17th year during the 88-89 period of terror and had got married according to a proposal and after marriage had gone to live in her husband's hometown of Nohomada area and because destiny would have it that way she could spend a married life only for just a short span of 3 months. Her husband who was a victim of that terror was murdered at a tea estate far away from home by 4 persons who had arrived blindfolded and had shot him. After the husband's death Kumari had returned to her ancestral home after almsgiving activities of her deceased husband.

This is what she said about what transpired after that: "I came to my ancestral home and just two or three days after that a daughter of my husband's Loku Amma invited me to her home in Nawalapitiya. I who was suffering from the ugly incident I had undergone, made my way there. There they suggested that I go to see Vihara MahaDevi Park in Colombo. I had not even reached 18 years as such. I also gave my o.k. But what these people did was after taking me to Colombo handed me to a home close to Delkanda Pola. Those people there kept me under sort of lock and key and started getting work done by me. The parapet wall in that house was constructed at some height. I wasn't even allowed to step one foot out of the house. I was threatened that if I were to go out, my legs would be broken. They even changed my name to Rani. For a full 26 years I had no freedom at all. I started working in the house at 5 in the morning. When I went to this house it was the 2 children, the master and his wife who were there and the smallest child was 3 months old. So I had to look after the baby and do everything in the house for that matter.

When time passed by like this they used to discuss that my father had died. When I said that I wanted to go home they prevented me from doing so and even reprimanded me. I have 13 brothers and sisters in our family. One younger brother was in the Navy. He died. One of my elder brothers too passed away. I came to know that they were talking about those things. I wasn't allowed to go for any of those. Even though I was there for 26 years my name wasn't listed in the election register. Whenever the grama sevaka used to come they used to keep me in hiding. I wasn't allowed to come out.

When things were proceeding like this, 2 of their elder sisters who got sick were brought and deposited here in this house. A spine of one of those was found broken and she couldn't get up. I had to attend to all their dirty work and attendant  activities. When I do all this work and ask for my payment they used to hit me badly. Except for reprimanding I wasn't given a cent. Today the smallest one of these children is 26 and the biggest one is 30. All their work was done from those days upto now by me. Because I couldn't bear up this suffering anymore I happened to speak to someone who by chance spoke over the phone and told that person all these things and asked for help for me to find my way back home. They even searched for 4 months and said that it couldn't be found. On 16th night after waiting till the people in the house went to sleep at about 7 in the night I managed to scoot out of the house. I could come to Gampola after searching for my house, on the 17th. But n arrival neither I nor my home-people could recognise each other ... it was 26 years no. Even my mother in the least could not believe herself. One of my elder brothers of course was able to identify me after going through my identity card.

One of her brothers by the name of R.D. Munidasa had this to say: "Out of the 13 in our family, Padma Kumari is the seventh. After she disappeared in the period of terror we lodged an entry with Nawalapitiya Police. After that, all of us began to search for her. Went to devalas all over the place. But couldn't find any trace of her. Then we listed her in the Ganga Ihala Provincial Secretariat register meant for those missing. Since nangi's husband too died in that era of terror what we thought was that something may have happened to her also. Because of that we had a Bana sermon and a Pirith ceremony and even gave an almsgiving. The Provincial Secretary even went to the extent of providing us with money as compensation because of her disappearance.

Today nangi has become helpless and the best period in her life has been snatched away for servant-work. Today she has no place to stay as such. Mother also is old. All of us are married. Her future too is unpredictable. Therefore what we plead from all authorities is to do her some justice. Even having worked this long there isn't even a cent saved in her bank book. If the law looks into brutal people like this and a salary and compensation is given, her future will be secure. If not ... she who suffered for 26 long years would have to suffer once more".

How Pada Kumari returned home once more has taken place in a queer way. Padma who did not receive any money as a salary put her in a difficult situation of finding money for her travelling from Colombo to her Giraulla home in Gampola. The smallest boy in the house whom she had brought up from his small years ... after reaching his youth had found employment. At the time she used to wash his clothes she had managed to collect small amounts of money which had been forgotten and left over and in the end she had got on to the road after taking that money which she had managed to collect that way. Once Padma Kumari returned to her home the Nawalapitiya Police was notified after which she was admitted to Nawalapitiya Hospital for a medical examination and she has come back home today (19). The Ganga Ihala Provincial Secretary Mr. Mangala Wickramaarachchi was informed about this and the Grama Niladhari of the area had been issued instructions to do the needful. Nawalapitiya Police have commenced an inquiry on this matter.

Report : S.D. Rajanayaka - Gampola