4 November 2023 12:00 am Views - 146
Leader of the indigenous or Vedda community of Uruwarige Wannila Aththo said people of his community living in villages such as Dambana and Hennanigala are caught in a vicious circle of microfinance loans eventually leading to be stripped of only available valuables.
The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), a non-governmental organization that advocates power-sharing and good governance, has now brought to light the concerns of the Vedda community.
According to video footage released to the press by the CPA, the Vedda leader said people are gullible to accept loans because of hardships and find themselves being unable to repay. He said some members of his community had even pawned their only available small holdings for rice cultivation.
Meanwhile, the CPA said in a statement, “We do not oppose the provision of microfinance loans and the institutions that offer them; in fact, we view it as a positive opportunity, especially for low-income communities. However, it is evident that citizens who have taken microfinance loans are facing mounting issues related to informal loan disbursement, recovery, interest rates, and more, compounded by the unregulated nature of these practices, along with questionable and illegal conditions. The Indigenous community is particularly affected due to these situations.
The indigenous community is characterized by its unique linguistic identity. Although they communicate using the ‘Vedi language,’ their written language is Sinhala. Many are not literate in reading or writing in Sinhala. Similarly, Marine Indigenous groups living in Vaharai and Muttur use their own distinct Tamil dialect and are not well-versed in standard Tamil.
Considering these linguistic barriers, the agreements and contracts exchanged between these communities and relevant institutions during microfinance loan transactions are often in languages they do not understand or comprehend. While a few organizations do issue documents in both Sinhala and Tamil, these indigenous communities still struggle to understand the contents.
As a result, they sign these agreements without a full understanding of the content and consequently find themselves entrapped in the legal ramifications.
These communities are primarily located in the Uva, Eastern, and North Central Provinces, residing in places like Dambana, Rathugala, Pollebedda, Dalukana, Dimbulagala, Vahari, and Muttur. They have lost their habitats in the forests and have integrated into mainstream society.
They are now confronted with various economic, social, and cultural difficulties and complications,” the statement said.
Currently, the regional Vedda Leaders led by Vedda chief Uruwarige Wannila Aththo, have corresponded with the President, and the Governor of the Central Bank, highlighting the severe financial debt problem faced by their community.
Their primary request is to provide relief from this debt crisis and to establish a more streamlined system for loan disbursement and collection.
We have attached relevant articles along with a video clip featuring Vedda Chief Uruwarige Wannila Aththo’s position on this issue.
We kindly request your assistance in sharing this information through your media institution and promoting a social dialogue aimed at finding solutions to the microcredit crisis confronting the indigenous community in our country.