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| Wednesday, 7 April 2004 |
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Malady of migrant mothers by Tharuka Dissanaike It was buried in an avalanche of election and Karuna-related news. The shocking story was accorded 'lead' status in just one single Sinhala newspaper- everyone else relegated it to the back pages. A young girl who ran away from home, a chance meeting at a bus-stand and a heinous crime. Gang rape at a shadowy 'gym' in the heart of Galle town by boys whom the newspapers prudently described as hailing from 'some leading schools'. The girl is just 13 but she carried the complaint forward and even picked out the perpetrators in an identification parade. But to me the fact that leaped out of the print was that the girl's mother is a migrant worker and is presently abroad. Maybe that was also because, in that single day, there were at least two other stories that involved children whose mothers are employed abroad. One was an attempted suicide and another on a girl who was raped and made pregnant by her own grandfather, her guardian. Then there was the story of the abortion clinic that was 'raided' by the Police in Ja-Ela. The clinic apparently was favoured by migrant women returning from employment to rid themselves of unwanted pregnancies that occurred during their foreign work. The police had stated in this article that employment agencies often provide advice and help to these women who have become pregnant by routing them to such clinics. How does one weigh the good and the bad of migrant labour? Without doubt, the ability to procure foreign employment has empowered women, giving them a chance at earning their money and re-shaping their destiny. It has brought in large amounts of foreign exchange into the country and provided a solution for some part of the unemployment problem. But on the other hand, this wave of foreign-employed women have left in their wake a rather diabolical social problem - often associated with the families that are bereft of a mother. Social workers say that children of such women show a tendency to be shy and withdrawn in school, bullied by their colleagues, often falling backward in their studies. Some unfortunate children are subject to physical and sexual harassment from the father or other relatives who act as guardians. Many children who run away from home or attempt suicide share the common problem of a 'middle-east mother'. Many infants given up for adoption are children born to these women while serving their employment abroad. In one year, there are at least 1,200 complaints of harassment (sexual or physical) from those employed abroad. Tragically the year of 2001 also recorded 156 accidental deaths of migrant women while in employment. Although the Foreign Employment Bureau tries to prepare the women for such eventualities, the reality of working in an alien culture, among unknown people, is quite different to classroom lectures on how to use condoms and electric blenders. A women-only political party (that unfortunately was not popular among the voter) campaigned for more rights for migrant women workers - especially an ability to exercise their vote. Without the vote, there is no voice nor political recognition for over 300,000 women employed abroad. There is little redress for the issues they face. It would be difficult to arrest the problems by curtailing such employment. As long as the government is unable to provide viable income avenues to these women, they have little option but to seek the 'middle-east gold' even at the cost of families and their own well being. The government can, in the meanwhile, provide for more facilities for migrant workers in the form of more social welfare and better care for children and families through the education and health system. |
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