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| Tuesday, 13 July 2004 |
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Lambs to the slaughter, for dinars and riyals The news item(DN June 22) of another Sri Lankan workingwoman killed in the Middle East is not something unusual for us, these days. Though the circumstances in this case seem to be different to what is highlighted here, it still reflects the darker side of the lives of many of our women working in that part of the world. It is said that the money sent from the Middle East, earned by our female workforce alone, now amount to as much or even exceed that, which is earned from certain traditional exports. Yet, all of us, the authorities concerned, you and I, leave them in the lurch at the hour of their need. It is no secret how they treat their own women, in these countries of extreme male dominance. And what about the fate of poor women from countries like ours, many barely able to express themselves in English, who are virtually grabbed and enslaved as soon as they land. Many of them work under untold hardships, are underpaid, abused in all sorts of manner and some are even murdered. Kept silent with harsh promises of revenge, they sweat and slave in quiet agony until sacked or finally gather up enough courage and escape, with nothing but empty hands, bruised bodies and souls. And, for some, the ordeal does not end, even after they return home. Firstly, they have to face the unsavoury prospect of dealing with their ungrateful and unfaithful husbands, who have turned to other adventures, spending the hard-earned money of their spouses and leaving their children in total neglect. Secondly, they have to bear with the unceremonious and scornful attitude that many in our society have towards them, thus adding insult to their injury. All because they just happen to be the innocent victims of a social disparity, a result of incompetent management of socio-economic affairs by our political leadership, all along. Now, what are we doing about all this? In spite of all bureaus, services, agreements and lots of fanfare about what is done, we keep hearing and seeing many cases of victims of abuse by their foreign masters and, the actual number of such incidents could be much higher than we care to think of. Do we have a system to trace the whereabouts of all these people and details of their employers and is it not a matter of concern for our authorities, whether all these people are in a position to communicate with their diplomatic missions, whenever they need to? Our diplomatic officialdom in these missions would come up with many reasons as to why these things cannot be done. They would probably say that the sheer numbers of such employees and the ignorance itself of these people would make it an impossible task. Yet, is it not one reason among others, why they are there for, to make these things possible with the help of the authorities back at home? They should realise it themselves or be made to realise that looking after their own people working in foreign soil is also a part of their duties. And our politicians should not forget that the wellbeing of their people working overseas, in particular of our female workers employed by private individuals in these countries, is as important as foreign aid and good relationships. Or they must be prepared to pay a bigger price far exceeding these aids, the traumatic sociological consequences arising out of many a devastated family member, setting off a chain reaction affecting perhaps whole generations of these families. It is a big social issue that must be addressed comprehensively and sorted out soon, foreign exchange or not. It is one thing to go abroad and earn, when one can look after oneself in all circumstances, yet another thing to see innocent and helpless, dazzled with promises of gold by many of those unscrupulous agencies, unwittingly offering themselves to become Lambs to the slaughter. LAKSIRI WARNAKULA, via Email 'Sightings over Sri Lanka - International Space Station (ISS)' I am a licensed Amateur Radio Operator (Radio Ham) holding Call Sign 4S5SS, as well as a keen enthusiast of Astronomical happening around us. I regularly log into NASA website to monitor the movement of International Space Station (ISS) and keep informing my fellow radio hams as well as friends whenever ISS is over Sri Lanka. I would appreciate and you too may agree, if your paper can give notice to your readers whenever ISS is over Sri Lanka, which might help students as well as general public interested in astronomy and space travel. The following sightings are authentic and downloaded from NASA website by me. Satellite Sighting information for Colombo, Sri Lanka The following ISS sightings are possible from July 01 - 13 Satellite LocalDuration Max elev Approach Departure Date/Time (Min) (Deg) (Deg-Dir) Deg-Dir) ISS Thr. July 08/ 08:17 PM 2 44 11 above SW 44 above SSW ISS Sat. July 10/ 07:40 PM 5 57 12 above SW 11 above NNE ISS Mon. July 12/ 05:57 AM 5 47 11 above NNW 11 above SE Only days with sighting opportunities are listed Sena Fernando, Colombo 5 There must be a secret ballot in UNP! It seemed like a spluttering afterthought when the UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe 'came clean' with his acceptance of full responsibility for its defeat on April 2 albeit in the second week of May! Perhaps it was after a meditative reflection about the requirements of leadership; such as having a full sense of responsibility whilst in the office of Prime Minister and soforth? There were at least two sizzling manifestations about Wickremesinghe's capacity for leadership and clarity in the two years of premiership: (1) When the United States agreed to his request for a 'big loan' in 2003, he went over to their side (Washington) and then made an astonishing speech supporting the American's criminal invasion of Iraq at the United Nations before returning triumphantly with the cheque for Rs. 4 billion (courtesy of CitiBank Group at very low interest). Isn't this a virtual 'sale' of principles and honour? What of Sri Lanka, in the meantime? (2) Within the first stages of negotiation with the LTTE in the Peace Process (at London, etc. etc.) it was Milinda Moragoda who represented the UNF Government and then there was astonishing progress! Peace had virtually broken out: and the Tamil negotiators even came up with an 'Irish-based' draft accord. But, all of a sudden, Ranil Wickremesinghe waded in and everything got mired. Whom does he represent, in fact? If the UNP is to have a future based in credibility, then they must throw out the stale leftovers of the JRJ mealticket and memories of the Referendum and of resignation signed by MPs in blank, etc. There must be recognition of the rights of all persons! (Even the party members?) There must be a change for the better. ROHAN JAYAWARDANA, Dehiwela |
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