Children of 'migrant' mothers risk abnormalities

Rafik Jalaldeen

COLOMBO: Mothers who had gone for overseas jobs risk their young offspring developing certain negative behavioural patterns which affect their lives, a research study revealed.

According to the study 22.1 per cent of children under the age of five whose mothers have left for overseas jobs showed loss of appetite and around 20 per cent of all ages demonstrated increased temper tantrums, Senior Assistant Secretary Child Development and Women's Empowerment Ministry Kanthi Gunatilleke said.

Save the Children organisation conducted the research study under the theme "Left Behind, Left Out" to gauge the impact on children whose mothers have left for overseas employment .

A recent study of "Left Behind, Left Out" shows that impact on children and families of mothers migrating for work abroad conducted by the Save the Children in Sri Lanka, exploded certain myths surrounding female migration and its impact on children.

The study highlighted the negative impact of the mother's absence on children's behaviour and education. Migrant mothers children performed noticeably worse in schools than children from the same socio-economic background but who share the company of their mothers, Gunatilleke said. "The highest proportion of children obtaining lowest score for Mathematics, First Language and English were children of migrant mothers", she added.

More than two thirds of the care givers are old families such as grandmothers who have their own social and medical needs. "If children had care givers over 60 years they (children) were more likely to suffer from behavioural problems feel incapable to communicate with care givers," Professor Savithri Gunesekara said.

According to Prof Gunesekara more than 600,000 women are believed to be working abroad often to support the welfare of their children and eradicate poverty. Migrant workers both male and female in the Middle East alone bring in about 60 per cent of Sri Lanka's total foreign remittances.

"The Ministry will be working towards establishing a co-ordination mechanism to ensure the well-being of children of migrant mothers," Gunatilleke said.