Earlier this year, Nina de la Preugne met the Tamil civilians of Vanni and Jaffna in northern Sri Lanka, who survived the bloody climax of the country's ethnic civil war in 2008-9. Many suffered great personal loss, both physical and mental. Some were left permanently maimed; for others, the wounds are hidden from view. In pictures and their own words, here are their stories.

Living in the LTTE-controlled area was difficult for young people as many were forced to join the guerrilla movement. “My son and nephew had to hide in bunkers so that they were not taken by the LTTE. I would close it for days at times, to hide them. Now my son is in a detention camp in Tellipalai since nearly a year on account of suspicion by the army that he was with the LTTE. We cannot visit him, it’s too expensive.”

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"The government is saying it is resettling people but they do not give us anything except the UNHCR tent. Last night while we were sleeping it rained and the roof started leaking. A pole fell on our granddaughter and she cut her nose. It was a narrow escape.”

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Parama, 39: “I was caught in shelling and a piece of shrapnel injured me on the head. It affected the skull and I often get dizzy now. Other people died on the spot though, I was lucky.”

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Iruthaya, 32: “My husband died in the shelling. He died in front of me. I will never forget that. I get faint when I think about it. My brother had to give up education to support me, our parents and my children. Finding food is often an issue, although the World Food Programme helps.”

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Jabaneson, 24: “I was separated from my husband when we were displaced, I don’t know if he is alive or not. Now I am living in the house of my husband’s father, but he is very old and unable to support me and my children. We depend mainly on the World Food Programme rations. I have no idea about the future, it scares me to think about it.”

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Rasantharam, 63: “I lost my leg during the shelling. Before I was a fisherman, but I cannot do that anymore and it is difficult to take care of my four children. It happened just a few months ago, I still do not know how to cope at the moment, no one’s helping.”

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The children of Vanni often have to walk five kilometres everyday to go to school. Many children were injured in the fighting. A 15-year old boy said: “I was having breakfast and a bullet penetrated my head. It is still inside. If I stay in the sun now I cannot see properly and faint after a few minutes. I cannot play with the other children and I don’t like going to school because I hear voices, it makes me think of the war.”

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Elderly people have been particularly affected, says Jasinda Gabriel, the head of a centre for elders. Many of them died in camps due to the lack of special care. There are many cases of mental sickness as well.

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"We tell them to stay with us until their families are properly settled," says Jasinda. "Often the families have land but no house because they are not resettled properly. It’s dangerous for elders. But they want to go and die in their place."

All photos by Nina de la Preugne