Forgotten Experiences of Up-country Tamil Women in Transitional Justice repatriation. However, the host Tamils did not necessarily welcome these displaced people. The following statements from women explain the psychological and social acceptance issues experienced during and after the relocation: “We moved from [Sinhala-Tamil border village] Welimada to Batticaloa during the 1983 riots. We had to clear the forest and live. The host community in Batticaloa never accepted us. We were never equal to the Sri Lankan Tamils” – President of a Women’s Rural Development Society. Thus, Up-country Tamils had issues integrating with the North-Eastern Tamils since there are differences in custom and dialect between them. On the other hand, the host Tamils also shunned the migrants because of their assumed caste origin. Language and Lack of Participation When conflict over language is discussed in Sri Lanka, it is usually about the use of Tamil in addition to Sinhala. The complaint is usually about Tamils, especially outside the North and East, being unable to access services in their own language. But, there are linguistic divisions within the Tamil community as well between North-Eastern Tamils and Up-country Tamils. Though both groups speak Tamil, their dialects, including vocabulary and pronunciation, are significantly different. “I am scared to speak in public forums as my own dialect might surface and these people will ridicule or make a mockery of that. So in all the meetings I keep quiet” – 71