The UN

There is a trickle down effect on NGO's in Sri Lanka. Essentially the government does not really want us here, but realizes that it currently does not have the capacity to do the things that we are doing, especially in an area like Mullaitivu. OXFAM got kicked out of the country. The Red Cross got kicked out of the country. We, at MSF, are walking carefully through the snake infested rules and regulations that have been set up, to try to avoid being kicked out. We are the only medical NGO in the country. And in our area alone are over 200,000 people without adequate access to medical care. So currently, we tread lightly. The UN is starting its investigation into war crimes committed by the SLA at the end of the civil war. Whenever there appears to be bad press about Sri Lanka, the government takes it out on the NGO's. It feels that the NGO's are the only ones that would communicate these types of things to the world. Reporters are not admitted to the country. It couldn't be our own people saying anything bad. It must be those damn do-gooders. So we are very careful. The government will limit our access, and can restrict our movements. But even moreso, it can adversely affect the visa process. Visas for engineers can be gotten in about 2 weeks. Visas for humanitarian medical care take about three months. Now that the UN is investigating war crimes, which it should do, those of us that are here, may feel the backlash.