Chennai: If around 2,000 people from the rehabilitation camps are completing their education, only one percent of them are able to get employment that match their qualifications, largely because of the stigma associated with displaced people, actor and music director Hip Hop Tamizha Adhi said.
Adhi was delivering the chief guest address at an event organised by UNHCR and the South India Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI) to commemorate World Refugee Day. Noting that he has been working with UNHCR-SICCI to support displaced people over the past few years, Adhi said the biggest challenge is the lack of awareness among the public that displaced people should not be stigmatised or feared.
The music director also invited 19-year-old V Dishathana from the Paramathi camp to sing in his next film after she impressed the audience by performing three songs at the event. He further said he would hire people from the camps at his entertainment company and encourage his friends to do the same. He also said he would create opportunities for talented people from the camps to enter the film industry.
Dinesh, 35, from the Rayanoor camp in Karur, said that apart from a few supportive people around him, most members of the public continue to be judgemental. As a result, he has often had to conceal his identity.
SICCI and UNHCR launched the 'Partnership Forum' a year ago to create more employment opportunities for displaced people.According to a report released at the event, Tamil Nadu, which largely hosts Sri Lankan Tamil refugees, has 103 refugee camps spread across 29 districts.
Around 58,000 refugees live inside the camps, while another 32,000 live outside them. Although about 40% of the refugee population is in the 18-40 age group, only 31% are employed.
Over the past year, the forum has designed five livelihood projects for displaced people. One of them, the 'Adisil' Sri Lankan Tamil refugee-run restaurant at the Greater Chennai Corporation headquarters, Ripon Building, has been well received and is being run by 15 members from the camps. It has seen its profits rise eightfold since its early days.
Going forward, the forum plans to expand the Adisil and Foodpreneurs Network, an initiative to help informal food vendors transition into structured enterprises, expand digital and market-linked skilling, create partnerships with CSR, industry and government institutions, and open a regional chapter in Coimbatore.
