Samuel Chelvanayakam Chandrahasan

Samuel Chelvanayakam Chandrahasan is the founder of OfERR (Organisation for Eelam Refugees Rehabilitation).

Early Life

Mr. Samuel Chelvanayagam Chandrahasan was born on 12th May, 1942 at Inuvil in the Jaffna peninsula. His parents were Mr.S.J.V.Chelvanayakam and Mrs.Chelvanayakam of Tellippalai in Jaffna. His wife is Dr. Anne Nirmala Vijayalakshmi Chandrahasan, former Professor in Law, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Mr.Chandrahasan had his school education at Royal College, Colombo and studied law at Law College, Colombo. In the midst of his law practice which was largely concentrated on legal issues pertaining to human rights, helping victims of violation, redressal for illegal detention and torture and seeking compensation for dependents of those arbitrarily killed by the armed forces.

Career He was involved in the Tamil Rights Movement from his early ages. As a student he took a keen interest in Tamil literary activities and also actively participated in the movement to win the language rights for the Tamil people. His oratorical talents in Tamil made him a sought after speaker in his school, Royal College and the Law College. He staged several Tamil dramas including Kattapomman in School. He also staged other dramas in Law College pertaining to social issues and dramas with legal themes. In 1963 he won the gold medal for Tamil Oratory in Law College with an address to the jury in Tamil.

Convenor and Initiator of Programmes of Community Development In 1961, formed an economic group called “Eela Porulathara Abiviruthi Sangam” where the theme for the group was – the local products of the people in the North and East parts of Sri Lanka were brought to a point and marketed. The group was formed to facilitate the marketing of products of the poorer sections of the community as they were not able to market these due to competition with imported goods. Vulnerable groups were given help in aspects like publicity, sharing of knowledge, marketing, etc, which helped in linking people up. The produce of one place was taken to another place, which meant traveling between the North and East extremes. Subsequently, when there was restriction of imports, the activities of this group was considered a blessing in disguise, as people now began to know where to get what. Going back to agriculture as a livelihood Organized a pioneering group of Tamil youths and introduced them to hands-on farming as an alternative to government jobs (due to the shrinking economy and the Sinhala-only policy). In the 1970s while He was practicing as an advocate, opened up a farm North of Mannar – setting a personal example of – “don’t just talk – DO,”. This period (1971-1983), saw him advocating the development of farms. At weekends and holidays, working in the fields encourages others to revert back to land. In India, as founder of OfERR, He set up a model farm, south of Chennai. This farm has introduced a lot of techniques available in India to the refugees who had earlier been farmers in their homeland. Vermiculture, organic farming, paddy cultivation with reduced water usage – all these techniques have helped in stimulating people from the farming sector, which will be put to practical use when they go back to their lands. Actively involved in the Tamil Rights movement and economic development of the North East of Sri Lanka from 1957 to 1968 where organized a number of exhibitions and trade promotion activities within the North East as well as the rest of the Island. From 1977, actively involved in mobilizing talents within the north east and prepared development for the north and east particularly for overcoming water shortage for Jaffna, Mannar and Vavuniya, technological transformation in the Agriculture field for the North and East and for Plantation areas. He took leadership in developing a resource center in Jaffna University for this purpose. Actively involved in getting the Citizenship Rights for persons of recent Indian origin. For this purpose, appeared a number of citizenship cases including preparing a documentary to highlight the plights of these people. “Suthanthiran” which was established by his father was taken over and run to give space for bringing people’s talents, exchange views, information sharing etc. Further, took initiatives to have an information center in TamilNadu for better development of language as well for information and latest technological transformation and learning. Casteless Community Since the 1960s, He has been working on eradication of caste differences. In that context, in 1977, during the general elections, became campaign manager of an oppressed caste member, who had to contest against eight other candidates of the powerful (numerically and economically) caste groups – (in Sri Lanka, there were no reserved constituencies, unlike in India). The people overwhelmingly voted for the oppressed class member to such an extent that it resulted in seven of the powerful cast candidates losing their security deposits. In India, as refugees came in 1983 as part of OfERR’s campaign to see that all refugee children go to school, He lobbied with the authorities to admit all refugee children to schools in TamilNadu. The only difficulty was the filling up of the caste clause in the admission form. Advised refugees to decline from perpetrating cast differences in filling forms as this would have resulted in the refugee community being divided on caste lines. After persuasion, the authorities allowed the caste clause to be filled as “Ceylon refugees' ' without having to mention caste. As a result, two generations of children have grown up, who do not segregate themselves on a caste basis and look beyond. Initially he served in the Colombo branch of the Federal Party and later became the General Committee member of the Federal party and TULF. He became the Legal Secretary of Tamil United Liberation front(TULF) the only Tamil Political party in the Island. Since 1977, a number of people have been affected by the consecutive ethnic violence against the Tamils and getting compensation from offenders. For rehabilitation and resettlement of the 1977 riot victims, formed Tamil Refugees Rehabilitation Organization (TRRO) and through this organization implemented a number of relief, rehabilitation and development projects in the East particularly in Trincomalee and in the North. With the 1979 emergency, took the initiative to form a Pool of Lawyers and activists who voluntarily came forward to help in identifying, meeting victims and taking legal remedial steps. This work continued until the 1983 pogrom and came to India as a refugee. From 1979 to 1983, appeared for many fundamental rights violation cases in the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka and took these cases to Amnesty International, International commission of Juries, Human Rights Commission etc.

With the 1983 riots, came to India as a refugee and continues to work for the rights of the Tamils. During this period he attended many international meetings including the subcommittee for Human Rights in Geneva. At the same time, started to mobilize the refugees who came over to India due to danger to their lives in the Island. A need for an organized representation to the government of India on the plights and the need of the refugees was felt and took the initiative to form an organization and thus was the birth of OfERR. An organization for refugees and by the refugees was formed in 1984

OfERR is the humanitarian organization providing much needed services to the hapless refugees in India having four regional offices located in Chennai, Trichy, Erode and Nellai. OfERR is established in Sri Lanka in the year 2004, in the Districts of Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Mannar and Vavuniya and has its Head Office in Colombo. Mr.Chandrahasan's work has not only been appreciated by the countless numbers of refugees who owe their very existence to the work and response of Mr.Chandrahasan but also by NGOs and governments in India, International fora, Church bodies, Ecumenical organizations, NGOs, Foreign governments particularly governments of the EU, USA, Canada, Japan, Australia, etc. Chelvanayagam Trust After the demise of Mr. Chelvanhegam, popularly known as Gandhi of Ceylon, the Chelvanayagam Trust was set up in 1977. After the burning of the Jaffna library, as founder member of the trust engaged in the collection – preservation of records relating to the Tamil people in the island and also that of their books and manuscripts. The process of archiving has spread to other parts where the Tamil diaspora have gone (including India, UK, USA etc.,). This process was facilitated in India by OfERR and ProTeg. The necessity now is to bring all the preserved/archived documents, books and manuscripts to a central point at a later date. Role play from 1983 to 2009, as Chief Functionary of OfERR (an organization of, by and for the benefit of refugees). He founded OfERR in the year 1984, primarily with the vision of helping refugees get back to the island, educating themselves, improving skills, and helping in the rebuilding of their homeland. In this context, the main thrust is on every child who came in as a refugee, goes to school and is educated. To an extent, a -cent per-cent literacy has been achieved (except for the mentally and physically handicapped children). This is one of the unique achievements in refugee camps anywhere in the world. He has also lobbied for special facilities for refugee students to enter colleges (arts, science and professional colleges). As a result of this effort, a large number of graduates, including doctors and engineers, have been coming out of such colleges. He has introduced a method of working with the governments by supplementing the assistance provided to refugees and augmenting the human resource development which is a lifetime asset. OfERR has trained health workers, communication leadership, counselors, with the main emphasis being on the development of human capital, which would be the most valuable asset when they return to their homeland. In order to strengthen the refugee community, engaged in the campaign to give equal opportunities to women, women not only partake in humanitarian work but also in the decision-making process. This has resulted in two-thirds of OfERR management committees being entrusted to women. SHGs exist in all 106 camps across Tamil Nadu. Every SHG has a unique name and uniform, creating an empowering sense of identity.

OfERR’s Help during Tsunami It has been 40 years since OfERR was set up in Tamil Nadu. All the refugees are waiting to get back to their homeland. At the same time, they are grateful for the assistance provided by the Central and Tamil Nadu state governments. In the immediate aftermath of the Tsunami, the refugees were able to demonstrate their gratitude to the people of the state by fully engaging in the process of counseling to get the victims out of the shock and trauma in the three districts of Cuddalore, Nagapattinam and Kanyakumari, as the first level of help. The refugees were able to empathize with the victims because they themselves had gone through shock and trauma after being uprooted from their homeland. The Tsunami gave an opportunity to the refugees to show their gratitude to the Tamil Nadu people who had given them (refugees) space and had shared their resources with them. OfERR is still working for the rehabilitation of the Tsunami victims.

Introducing New Ideas The nutritional status of the refugee children of the island had been of great concern because of the trauma of being uprooted from their homes. A nutritional supplement process was set in motion and has now been strengthened by providing the UPMs (undernourished potential mothers) with Spirulina supplements. This nutrient, which is recommended by NASA, is being home-produced by the OfERR volunteer refugees in camps. OfERR has become one of the agencies which provide training of the practical production of Spirulina and people from all over India have benefited because of the sharing of knowledge and experience. One of the successful aspects of OfERR has been the principles of transparency and accountability. This has also helped in the openness of all interventions, which has also been absorbed by the refugee community. The organization has not only supported the refugees in India, but also aiding them in the return process. They support in the return process such as getting the essential documents for return, livelihood training and financial support for the person really in need. This has encouraged the volunteer return of the refugee to their home land and from there to other foreign countries.

Awards and achievements: Mother Teresa Award by the Harmony Foundation:2022 The Harmony Foundation hosted the prestigious Mother Teresa Memorial Awards for Social Justice on “Compassion for Refugee Children” was held on 18th December 2022 at Green Technology Auditorium, University of Mumbai, Santacruz East, Mumbai. Each year, the Harmony Foundation identifies a theme that highlights the urgent needs affecting humanity worldwide for its Mother Teresa Memorial Award. In the 18th year of the award the ceremony felicitated global change makers and icons of compassion who have gone above and beyond in the support and care of refugees particularly refugee children.  Mr. S.C.Chandrahasan was awarded in recognition of his extraordinary vision and efforts to serve his people through humanitarianism and peace building by establishing OfERR for Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in India. 

lifetime achievement award by the International Association of Lions Club:2022 In the year 2022 Mr. S.C. Chandrahasan was honored with a lifetime achievement award by the International Association of Lions Club for helping the Sri Lankan refugees in Tamil Nadu to return to their homeland. The citation was presented by former Rotary International president Wilfrid J Wilkinson to Chandrahassan during the inaugural session of the seminar on ‘Peace and Conflict Resolution: Emerging Ideas,’ organized by Rotary International 3230 and Centre for Security Analysis.

Life time achievement award honored by Rotary International:2009 In the year 2009, Mr.S.C. Chandrahasan was honored with lifetime achievement award by the Rotary International. Mr. Wilkinson, past president of Rotary International. Mr. Chandrahasan was awarded for his leading peace-building efforts in Sri Lanka individually and through the organization and participation of the community in such efforts.

References

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