Destruction, destitution in Sri Lanka

A Sri Lankan man runs while waving his national flag as fireworks explode behind him during celebrations on the streets in central Colombo May 19, 2009. Sri Lankan troops won the final battle in a 25-year civil war with the Tamil Tiger separatists on Monday, putting the entire nation under government control for the first time since 1983, the military said. REUTERS/David Gray (SRI LANKA MILITARY CONFLICT POLITICS SOCIETY IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Sri Lankans gather around a television set on a street as they watch an address to the nation from Parliament by President Mahinda Rajapaksa in central Colombo May 19, 2009. Rajapaksa said the entire country was now under government control - \"We have totally liberated the country from Tamil Tiger terrorism. Now we have established our rule in the entire country,\". Sri Lankan troops won the final battle in a 25-year civil war with the Tamil Tiger separatists on Monday, putting the entire nation under government control for the first time since 1983, the military said. REUTERS/David Gray (SRI LANKA MILITARY CONFLICT POLITICS SOCIETY)

A Sri Lankan man sits in front of a television set as it shows the dead body of Tamil rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, May 19, 2009. Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa delivered a victory address to parliament Tuesday, declaring that his country had been \"liberated\" from terrorism after defeating the Tamil Tiger rebels on the battlefield. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa (R) has a garment put around him by Minister of Water Supply and Drainage A. L. M. Athaullah after addressing the nation in the parliament in Colombo May 19, 2009. Rajapaksa said the entire country was now under government control, saying \"We have totally liberated the country from Tamil Tiger terrorism. Now we have established our rule in the entire country.\" Sri Lanka declared total victory on Monday in one of the world's most intractable wars, after killing the separatist Tamil Tigers' leader and taking control of the entire country for the first time since 1983. REUTERS/Buddhika Weerasinghe (SRI LANKA CONFLICT POLITICS)

This photograph released by the Sri Lankan military on May 19, 2009 shows what the army says are the bodies of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) soldiers they killed recently. The army also released video footage May 19 showing what the claim is the body of the Tamil Tiger leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran. Sri Lankan troops won the final battle in a 25-year civil war with the Tamil Tiger separatists on Monday, putting the entire nation under government control for the first time since 1983, the military said. REUTERS/Sri Lankan Government/Handout (SRI LANKA MILITARY CONFLICT POLITICS IMAGES OF THE DAY) QUALITY FROM SOURCE. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS

CORRECTION-REMOVING BYLINE This handout picture received from the Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence on May 18, 2009 is said to be of troops walking amongst debris inside the war zone on May 17, when they helped evacuated the last of the Tamil civilians from the area. Defence officials announced that Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and the entire rebel leadership had been killed on May 18, 2009 by government troops. RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE AFP PHOTO/Sri Lankan ministry of Defence (Photo credit should read AFP/AFP/Getty Images)

TO GO WITH SriLanka-unrest-aid-civilians-rights-France,SCENE by Nicolas Revise This photo taken on May 6, 2009 shows a Sri Lankan youth helping his friend walk as they leave the French emergency rescue operation hospital near the northern Sri Lankan town of Cheddikulam. Over the last two weeks, the team of 72 surgeons, doctors, nurses and other staff at the French field hospital have already treated 700 people, 100 of whom have been put on the operating table. AFP PHOTO/PEDRO UGARTE (Photo credit should read PEDRO UGARTE/AFP/Getty Images)

Internally displaced Tamil civilians wait for water at Manic farm in the northern Sri Lankan district of Vavuniya on May 7, 2009. Around 50,000 thousand internally displaced people(IDP) from Puttumatalan live in camp after they were rellocated due to the armed conflict between the Sri Lankan army and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). AFP PHOTO/PEDRO UGARTE (Photo credit should read PEDRO UGARTE/AFP/Getty Images)

In this combined satellite image, one on left taken on May 6, 2009 and one on right taken on May 10, 2009, released by the Amnesty International on May 13, 2009, a comparison of the damaged makeshift tents before and after shelling in the war zone are visible in Mullivaaykkal , Sri Lanka. (AP Photo/Amnesty International, HO) ** EDITORIAL USE ONLY **

TO GO WITH SriLanka-unrest-aid-civilians-rights-France,SCENE by Nicolas Revise This photo taken on May 6, 2009 shows a woman burnt in a blast in the conflict zone being helped by French doctors at the French emergency rescue operation hospital near the northern Sri Lankan town of Cheddikulam. Over the last two weeks, the team of 72 surgeons, doctors, nurses and other staff at the French field hospital have already treated 700 people, 100 of whom have been put on the operating table. AFP PHOTO/PEDRO UGARTE (Photo credit should read PEDRO UGARTE/AFP/Getty Images)

In this undated photo provided Monday, May 4, 2009, by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), displaced Sri Lankan ethnic Tamils are seen near their tents at a transit camp in Vavuniya, Sri Lanka. (AP Photo/UNHCR, HO)

Sri Lankan ethnic Tamil civilians trapped in Tiger-controlled war zone take cover from shell firing in Mullivaikal, Sri Lanka, Monday, May 4, 2009. (AP Photo)

Sri Lankan ethnic Tamils run to reach a food distribution truck at a camp for the internally displaced at Manik Farm, in Vavuniya, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, April 28, 2009. (AP Photo)

A Sri Lankan government soldier walks past a destoyed building in the town of Putumatalan located near the 'No Fire Zone' in northern Sri Lanka April 24, 2009. Government soldiers and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels continue to fight the apparent endgame of Asia's longest-running war despite calls to protect an estimated 50,000 civilians still trapped in an area controlled by the LTTE. Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said operations to finish Asia's longest-running war would not let up, adding troops were moving toward the rebel pocket where the LTTE's leader, Vellupillai Prabhakaran, is believed to be hiding. REUTERS/David Gray (SRI LANKA MILITARY CONFLICT POLITICS IMAGE OF THE DAY TOP PICTURE)

A Sri Lankan government soldier lies injured on a stretcher as another mans a machine-gun in a helicopter lifting off from the town of Kilinochchi located near the 'No Fire Zone' in northern Sri Lanka April 24, 2009. Government soldiers and the LTTE rebels continue to fight the apparent endgame of Asia's longest-running war despite calls to protect an estimated 50,000 civilians still trapped in an area controlled by the LTTE. Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said operations to finish Asia's longest-running war would not let up, adding troops were moving toward the rebel pocket where the LTTE's leader, Vellupillai Prabhakaran, is believed to be hiding. REUTERS/David Gray (SRI LANKA MILITARY CONFLICT POLITICS IMAGE OF THE DAY TOP PICTURE)

A Sri Lankan government soldier wearing a face mask and goggles rides in an armoured personal carrier on the outskirts of the town of Putumatalan located near the 'No Fire Zone' in northern Sri Lanka April 24, 2009. Government soldiers and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels continue to fight the apparent endgame of Asia's longest-running war despite calls to protect an estimated 50,000 civilians still trapped in an area controlled by the LTTE. Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said operations to finish Asia's longest-running war would not let up, adding troops were moving toward the rebel pocket where the LTTE's leader, Vellupillai Prabhakaran, is believed to be hiding. REUTERS/David Gray (SRI LANKA MILITARY CONFLICT POLITICS)

TOPSHOTS Sri Lankan soldiers stand guard two kilometers from the front line on Puthukkudiyiruppu on April 24, 2009. The Sri Lankan army has made steady advances in recent months against the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), slowly beating back the guerrillas. The army said the guerrillas controlled a mere 10-12 square kilometres of territory on the northeast coast, where thousands of civilians are still trapped by the fighting. AFP PHOTO/PEDRO UGARTE (Photo credit should read PEDRO UGARTE/AFP/Getty Images)

Sri Lankan government soldiers stand behind a display of weapons they say were captured from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) near the town of Kilinochchi located near the 'No Fire Zone' in northern Sri Lanka April 24, 2009. Government soldiers and the LTTE rebels continue to fight the apparent endgame of Asia's longest-running war despite calls to protect an estimated 50,000 civilians still trapped in an area controlled by the LTTE. Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said operations to finish Asia's longest-running war would not let up, adding troops were moving toward the rebel pocket where the LTTE's leader, Vellupillai Prabhakaran, is believed to be hiding. REUTERS/David Gray (SRI LANKA MILITARY CONFLICT POLITICS IMAGE OF THE DAY TOP PICTURE)

Civilians, some of the more than 100,000 that have fled the area held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), hold food and water they were handed by Sri Lankan government soldiers in the town of Putumatalan located near the 'No Fire Zone' in northern Sri Lanka April 24, 2009. Government soldiers and the LTTE rebels continue to fight the apparent endgame of Asia's longest-running war despite calls to protect an estimated 50,000 civilians still trapped in an area controlled by the LTTE. Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said operations to finish Asia's longest-running war would not let up, adding troops were moving toward the rebel pocket where the LTTE's leader, Vellupillai Prabhakaran, is believed to be hiding. REUTERS/David Gray (SRI LANKA MILITARY CONFLICT POLITICS IMAGE OF THE DAY TOP PICTURE)

A Sri Lankan soldier sits in a helicopter transporting journalists to the northeast of Sri Lanka on April 24, 2009. The Sri Lankan army has made steady advances in recent months against the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), slowly beating back the guerrillas. The army said the guerrillas controlled a mere 10-12 square kilometres of territory on the northeast coast, where thousands of civilians are still trapped by the fighting. AFP PHOTO/PEDRO UGARTE (Photo credit should read PEDRO UGARTE/AFP/Getty Images)

TOPSHOTS An elderly Sri Lankan Tamil civilian sits among the rubble of a village near Puthukkudiyiruppu on April 24, 2009. The Sri Lankan army has made steady advances in recent months against the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), slowly beating back the guerrillas.The army said the guerrillas controlled a mere 10-12 square kilometres of territory on the northeast coast, where thousands of civilians are still trapped by the fighting.AFP PHOTO/PEDRO UGARTE (Photo credit should read PEDRO UGARTE/AFP/Getty Images)

In this photo released by World Vision on Thursday, April 23, 2009 in New York, children are seen outside tents at a displacement camp in Vavuniya, Sri Lanka, on Tuesday, April 21, 2009. Some 170,000 to 180,000 civilians pouring out of Sri Lanka's war zone now live in government camps, a U.N. spokesman in Colombo said Thursday, April 23, 2009. (AP Photo/World Vision, Asanga Warnakulasuriya) ** NO SALES, EDITORIAL USE ONLY, MANDATORY CREDIT **