In 1990, 27-year-old H.K. Heenhami, a mother of three, lived in Bowala, Walasmulla. On January 13 of that year, her husband, a daily wage labourer, left for work and never returned. He lived fearing both sides of the ongoing conflict, says Heehhami.
Terrified and with no safe options, Heenhami spent three months hiding in the forest with her young children who were seven months, three years and five years old then.
Two years later, she tried to file a complaint about her husband’s disappearance, but the police refused to accept it. With no path to justice, she eventually obtained a police report years later to claim Rs. 50,000 in compensation.
