Srilanka, Oct. 19 -- On October 12 President Anura Kumara Dissanayake was in Bandarawela distributing land deeds and praising the long contribution of the Malaiyaha community to Sri Lanka's economy, a very different story was unfolding in a small rubber estate called Hemmeliya near Baddegama in the Galle District.

Just nine families are remaining on a narrow strip of land where their ancestors have lived and worked for nearly five generations. Their homes, crumbling line-rooms once built for estate labourers, stand on what remains of a 77-acre property now marked for sale. The current owner has given them three months to leave.

Cruelty

Sandhanam ValliammaSandhanam Valliamma Fifty-eight-year-old Sandhanam Valliamma, one of the remaining...