0.01 Hundreds of vehicles packed with thousands of people wait at the Vavuniya border post in northern Sri Lanka. Theyve been gathering here since first light, ready for the border to open.
0.12 Security is tight. Just a few short months ago this border was the frontline in a devastating civil war.
0:19 No one gets across without going through rigorous checks.
0:23 Its a process that can take hours. People wait patiently in line as the sun and heat steadily climb. Everyone undergoes an identity check and body search. Military police and intelligence officers question people about their reasons for entering rebel territory. Soldiers search for items that could be turned into weapons by the Tamil Tiger rebels. Dry cell batteries and fishing line have only just come off the banned list.
0:52 The vehicles are checked just as thoroughly as the people searched inside and out before they and their passengers are allowed to head north.
1:01 Among the returning refugees are Muslims, who were expelled en masse by the Tamil Tigers.
1:07 Those preparing to cross the border are more interested in reconciliation than the past.
1:14 Formalities finally completed to the satisfaction of the military, the journey north can get underway.
1:20 The Sri Lankan ceasefire monitoring mission and the United Nations are a reassuring presence at the border crossing and on a road once known as the Highway of Death.
1:30 Ten members of the Pragasan family are crammed into this van including 71 year old Singarayar. Thanks to the ceasefire he can at last return to his home village of Chunakam just outside Jaffna. The war prevented him from going home for 12 years. The Pragasans are among the 1.3 million people who were displaced by 19 years of fighting. Around 8-hundred-thousand of the refugees suffer grinding poverty in government camps.
1:56 They seize the chance to leave, although they probably have no homes to return to.
2:01 Singarayar Pragasan already knows his house has been destroyed in the war, but his relatives have been luckier and their homes have survived. So at least theyll have somewhere to stay at the end of their journey. During the war little or no maintenance has been carried out on the road, making the drive grindingly slow and uncomfortable.
2:20 A roadside shrine in the Tamil Tiger stronghold of Vanni.
2:23 Travellers smash coconuts as an offering and in the hope it will bring them luck as they venture into the unknown into a region which had been cut off from the rest of the country for years. Only since the A9 highway reopened in April has its isolation started to lift with a trickle of refugees returning home and many more passing through. Vanni is a country within a country. An 80 kilometre-wide strip of northern Sri Lanka ruled by the LTTE - the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
2:53 Vanni saw fierce fighting as the LTTE and government forces battled for control. Towns and villages have been left in ruins
3:03 Kilinochchi College the biggest school in the main town in the region - and the de facto Tamil Tiger capital. The building is evidence of the intense fighting for Kilinochchi and of the resilience and resourcefulness of the people living there. The Tamils place great importance on education and believe it is the key to the success of any future Tamil state.
3:24 These children need to work hard they have a huge task of reconstruction ahead of them. Their town was once home to 12-thousand people. War drove most civilians away and virtually every building was damaged or destroyed in battles which killed almost 4-thousand combatants.
3:40 But for the first time in a generation all of Sri Lankas children can look forward to a lasting peace.
3:47 North of Kilinochchi the Pragasan family continue their journey along the narrow, rutted A9. Its very hard going. It often takes vehicles like this seven hours or more to cross the 80 kilometres between border posts.
4:02 Dotted along the road are signs warning of land mines and unexploded shells in the jungle and fields surrounding the A9
4:09 (UPSOUND MINE EXPLODING)
4:15 Despite the warning signs more civilians than ever are falling victim to mines as they rush to return to land that a short time ago was a battlefield.
4:24 A US-led team of deminers and their specially trained sniffer dogs are helping to clear mines in the north of Sri Lanka. But it is an enormous undertaking. The Tamil Tigers say they estimate there are up to two million unexploded landmines in their territory alone. Not all the minefields are marked retreating armies dont have time to map the mines they leave behind them..
4:48 George Conrad and his dogs have cleared mines around the world. Theyve lost more men than dogs.
4:53 GEORGE CONRAD, MINE DETECTION DOG TRAINER
Well actually the dogs are quite safe in comparison to the human because theyre just being used a detection tool. The human members are the ones who are probably at the most risk. They have to go in, make the decision and take the mine, defuse or blow it in place. Theyre quite close to the mine and doing more things with the mine. The dogs are only trained to go up smell the mine, sit in front of the mine and then return to the handler.
5:28 But for many, like this former soldier, the ceasefire and the demining operation it made possible came too late.
5:34 He is being fitted with an artificial limb at the Jaipur foot clinic, which specialises in sturdy, hardwearing prostheses.
5:40 The Jaipur foot named after the Indian city where it was first made is designed to stand up to the demands of rural life in south Asia. Its solid, robust construction means it can cope easily with paddy fields and rough jungle paths.
5:54 But like all prostheses they take some getting used to. Amputees practise until they can walk comfortably. Patients work on a natural looking gait.
6:07 Some tasks like tackling stairs take a lot more effort and concentration - even when there are rails to hold onto if youre feeling unsteady.
6:18 But the amputees have to learn to live with a loss that cant be healed fully by even the most advanced treatments and therapies.
6:26 At the height of the war, almost all of those who lost legs to landmines were men the soldiers of opposing armies.
6:34 But the clinic has now started training women to treat their own sex injured by mines.
6:39 The number of female victims has increased greatly since the ceasefire allowed families to return to homes which are often situated in minefields. In their joy at going home people forget the dangers.
6:52 XAVIER FRANCIS, JAIPUR FOOT CLINIC
They have been asked to go back to their homes. They are so eager to get back to their homes and see their garden, their houses and unknowingly they trod the mines that have been laid by the militants as well as the army during the time of war.
7:06 Under the February ceasefire agreement the A9 itself was cleared of mines. It took until April for the last stretch of the highway linking Vanni to Jaffna to be reopened.
7:16 It represented real concrete progress in the peace process.
7:21 Though the A9 is a somewhat tenuous link more of a rough track than a major highway. Road maintenance was not a high priority for the Tamil Tigers when they were fighting the Sri Lankan army. Now despite a severe lack of resources, including even the most basic road building equipment, they are doing the best they can to patch up their section of the A9 the worst stretch of the road.
7:47 With the end of fighting, traffic has increased enormously from just a handful of military vehicles before the truce, to a constant flow of lorries, vans and cars. All play their part in enlarging the pot holes and crumbling the tarmac.
8:01 The rusting hulk of an armoured vehicle stands guard over Elephant Pass, the gateway to Jaffna.
8:06 The Sri Lankan army suffered one of its greatest defeats here when the garrison defending Elephant pass fell to the Tamil Tigers in April 2000. When the LTTE controlled this stretch of the A9, the government stronghold of Jaffna could only be reached by sea or air.
8:28 Once beyond Elephant Pass the road improves and it is only a short distance to the end of the highway.
8:35 Jaffna draws near, and just in time before the A9 is closed for the night.
8:41 Its the end of the road for the Pragasan family. Their van arrives just as their relatives feared theyd missed the daily border deadline for crossing into Jaffna.
8:51 Its all smiles as old Singarayar is greeted by family members he hasnt seen for more than a decade. There is a lot of catching up to do and a whole new generation of children.
9:03 Tears of joy for a reunion made possible by a peace process which is gathering pace among all of Sri Lankas ethnic groups. Tears of sadness over the wasted years lost to war. Tears too for those friends and relatives among more than 60-thousand people killed during the war. A very high death toll for a population of less than 20 million.
9:25 (UPSOUND from: Do you remember me?)
9:32 Cousins get their first chance to become acquainted. The smiles on their faces, young and old, say it all
9:48 SINGARAYAR PRAGASAN
You saw all the people they have come and kissed me you know after so many years.
9:56 A kiss and a smile for the newest member of the family.
10:01 But grandma cant hide her tears.
10:04 The baby of the family can look forward to a secure future - if the peace holds.
10:11 At last the oldest and youngest generations of the Pragasan family can get to know each other.
10:22 ENDS
0.12 Security is tight. Just a few short months ago this border was the frontline in a devastating civil war.
0:19 No one gets across without going through rigorous checks.
0:23 Its a process that can take hours. People wait patiently in line as the sun and heat steadily climb. Everyone undergoes an identity check and body search. Military police and intelligence officers question people about their reasons for entering rebel territory. Soldiers search for items that could be turned into weapons by the Tamil Tiger rebels. Dry cell batteries and fishing line have only just come off the banned list.
0:52 The vehicles are checked just as thoroughly as the people searched inside and out before they and their passengers are allowed to head north.
1:01 Among the returning refugees are Muslims, who were expelled en masse by the Tamil Tigers.
1:07 Those preparing to cross the border are more interested in reconciliation than the past.
1:14 Formalities finally completed to the satisfaction of the military, the journey north can get underway.
1:20 The Sri Lankan ceasefire monitoring mission and the United Nations are a reassuring presence at the border crossing and on a road once known as the Highway of Death.
1:30 Ten members of the Pragasan family are crammed into this van including 71 year old Singarayar. Thanks to the ceasefire he can at last return to his home village of Chunakam just outside Jaffna. The war prevented him from going home for 12 years. The Pragasans are among the 1.3 million people who were displaced by 19 years of fighting. Around 8-hundred-thousand of the refugees suffer grinding poverty in government camps.
1:56 They seize the chance to leave, although they probably have no homes to return to.
2:01 Singarayar Pragasan already knows his house has been destroyed in the war, but his relatives have been luckier and their homes have survived. So at least theyll have somewhere to stay at the end of their journey. During the war little or no maintenance has been carried out on the road, making the drive grindingly slow and uncomfortable.
2:20 A roadside shrine in the Tamil Tiger stronghold of Vanni.
2:23 Travellers smash coconuts as an offering and in the hope it will bring them luck as they venture into the unknown into a region which had been cut off from the rest of the country for years. Only since the A9 highway reopened in April has its isolation started to lift with a trickle of refugees returning home and many more passing through. Vanni is a country within a country. An 80 kilometre-wide strip of northern Sri Lanka ruled by the LTTE - the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
2:53 Vanni saw fierce fighting as the LTTE and government forces battled for control. Towns and villages have been left in ruins
3:03 Kilinochchi College the biggest school in the main town in the region - and the de facto Tamil Tiger capital. The building is evidence of the intense fighting for Kilinochchi and of the resilience and resourcefulness of the people living there. The Tamils place great importance on education and believe it is the key to the success of any future Tamil state.
3:24 These children need to work hard they have a huge task of reconstruction ahead of them. Their town was once home to 12-thousand people. War drove most civilians away and virtually every building was damaged or destroyed in battles which killed almost 4-thousand combatants.
3:40 But for the first time in a generation all of Sri Lankas children can look forward to a lasting peace.
3:47 North of Kilinochchi the Pragasan family continue their journey along the narrow, rutted A9. Its very hard going. It often takes vehicles like this seven hours or more to cross the 80 kilometres between border posts.
4:02 Dotted along the road are signs warning of land mines and unexploded shells in the jungle and fields surrounding the A9
4:09 (UPSOUND MINE EXPLODING)
4:15 Despite the warning signs more civilians than ever are falling victim to mines as they rush to return to land that a short time ago was a battlefield.
4:24 A US-led team of deminers and their specially trained sniffer dogs are helping to clear mines in the north of Sri Lanka. But it is an enormous undertaking. The Tamil Tigers say they estimate there are up to two million unexploded landmines in their territory alone. Not all the minefields are marked retreating armies dont have time to map the mines they leave behind them..
4:48 George Conrad and his dogs have cleared mines around the world. Theyve lost more men than dogs.
4:53 GEORGE CONRAD, MINE DETECTION DOG TRAINER
Well actually the dogs are quite safe in comparison to the human because theyre just being used a detection tool. The human members are the ones who are probably at the most risk. They have to go in, make the decision and take the mine, defuse or blow it in place. Theyre quite close to the mine and doing more things with the mine. The dogs are only trained to go up smell the mine, sit in front of the mine and then return to the handler.
5:28 But for many, like this former soldier, the ceasefire and the demining operation it made possible came too late.
5:34 He is being fitted with an artificial limb at the Jaipur foot clinic, which specialises in sturdy, hardwearing prostheses.
5:40 The Jaipur foot named after the Indian city where it was first made is designed to stand up to the demands of rural life in south Asia. Its solid, robust construction means it can cope easily with paddy fields and rough jungle paths.
5:54 But like all prostheses they take some getting used to. Amputees practise until they can walk comfortably. Patients work on a natural looking gait.
6:07 Some tasks like tackling stairs take a lot more effort and concentration - even when there are rails to hold onto if youre feeling unsteady.
6:18 But the amputees have to learn to live with a loss that cant be healed fully by even the most advanced treatments and therapies.
6:26 At the height of the war, almost all of those who lost legs to landmines were men the soldiers of opposing armies.
6:34 But the clinic has now started training women to treat their own sex injured by mines.
6:39 The number of female victims has increased greatly since the ceasefire allowed families to return to homes which are often situated in minefields. In their joy at going home people forget the dangers.
6:52 XAVIER FRANCIS, JAIPUR FOOT CLINIC
They have been asked to go back to their homes. They are so eager to get back to their homes and see their garden, their houses and unknowingly they trod the mines that have been laid by the militants as well as the army during the time of war.
7:06 Under the February ceasefire agreement the A9 itself was cleared of mines. It took until April for the last stretch of the highway linking Vanni to Jaffna to be reopened.
7:16 It represented real concrete progress in the peace process.
7:21 Though the A9 is a somewhat tenuous link more of a rough track than a major highway. Road maintenance was not a high priority for the Tamil Tigers when they were fighting the Sri Lankan army. Now despite a severe lack of resources, including even the most basic road building equipment, they are doing the best they can to patch up their section of the A9 the worst stretch of the road.
7:47 With the end of fighting, traffic has increased enormously from just a handful of military vehicles before the truce, to a constant flow of lorries, vans and cars. All play their part in enlarging the pot holes and crumbling the tarmac.
8:01 The rusting hulk of an armoured vehicle stands guard over Elephant Pass, the gateway to Jaffna.
8:06 The Sri Lankan army suffered one of its greatest defeats here when the garrison defending Elephant pass fell to the Tamil Tigers in April 2000. When the LTTE controlled this stretch of the A9, the government stronghold of Jaffna could only be reached by sea or air.
8:28 Once beyond Elephant Pass the road improves and it is only a short distance to the end of the highway.
8:35 Jaffna draws near, and just in time before the A9 is closed for the night.
8:41 Its the end of the road for the Pragasan family. Their van arrives just as their relatives feared theyd missed the daily border deadline for crossing into Jaffna.
8:51 Its all smiles as old Singarayar is greeted by family members he hasnt seen for more than a decade. There is a lot of catching up to do and a whole new generation of children.
9:03 Tears of joy for a reunion made possible by a peace process which is gathering pace among all of Sri Lankas ethnic groups. Tears of sadness over the wasted years lost to war. Tears too for those friends and relatives among more than 60-thousand people killed during the war. A very high death toll for a population of less than 20 million.
9:25 (UPSOUND from: Do you remember me?)
9:32 Cousins get their first chance to become acquainted. The smiles on their faces, young and old, say it all
9:48 SINGARAYAR PRAGASAN
You saw all the people they have come and kissed me you know after so many years.
9:56 A kiss and a smile for the newest member of the family.
10:01 But grandma cant hide her tears.
10:04 The baby of the family can look forward to a secure future - if the peace holds.
10:11 At last the oldest and youngest generations of the Pragasan family can get to know each other.
10:22 ENDS