Lessons from Rizana’s case
All Sri Lankans will be praying
for 19-year-old Rizana Nazik, who is on death row in Saudi
Arabia, as the Deputy Foreign Minister Hussein Bhaila arrives in
that country today on a mercy mission.
Rizana is facing execution under Saudi Arabia’s strict Sharia
laws for the alleged murder of her employer’s months-old infant.
Rizana has maintained that she confessed under duress and that
it was an accident, not a pre-meditated murder.
Whatever the truth may be, the fact remains that Rizana was a
minor when the offence was committed two years ago. Most
countries do not carry out the death penalty for crimes
committed while the convict was still a minor.
With due respect for the laws and regulations of Saudi
Arabia, we hope the legal process now initiated there will lead
to clemency for Rizana. The Sri Lankan Government and the Asian
Human Rights Commission are making every effort in this
direction.
Rizana’s pathetic case highlights the perils that migrant
workers face in the Middle East. Rizana is from a poor family in
Muttur in the East, a region which is only now emerging from
decades of conflict.
Poverty has driven thousands of Lankans, mostly women, to
seek employment abroad at salaries they can only dream of here.
In many instances, they get duped by dubious foreign job
agencies who sometimes resort to completely illegal methods to
send people abroad.
Rizana herself is a prime example. Rizana was only 17 when
she went to Saudi Arabia for employment, which can only mean
that a passport has been obtained using a fake/forged birth
certificate that indicated an age above 21. This in itself is a
grave offence.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa has directed the Foreign
Employment Bureau to ban this agency and take action against its
owners. Taking action against one agency alone will not solve
the problem. Indications are that many other agencies, both
licensed and non-licensed, are engaged in this kind of scam.
Another factor, again highlighted by Rizana’s plight, is that
most of the migrant workers are unskilled and untrained. Rizana
was completely ill-prepared for a task such as baby sitting and
indeed, no 17-year-old girl could be expected to. Language is
another barrier.
Most migrant workers know only their native language (Sinhala
or Tamil). With no knowledge of Arabic or at least English, they
face an uphill task in communicating with their employers and
understanding their instructions.
The State must immediately intervene to close all rogue job
agencies, strictly monitor the legally recognised agencies and
ensure that all migrant workers leave only with the knowledge
and approval of the Foreign Employment Bureau. Training for
operating household appliances should be made compulsory for
would-be domestic workers. Crash courses in Arabic and English
should be offered.
In the long term, the Government should explore the
possibility of sending more skilled workers and professionals
for foreign employment and expanding the labour market to new
countries. This will help earn more foreign exchange and respect
for Lankans overseas.
We must not lose sight of the fact that expatriate
remittances prop up the economy substantially. They must be
given all facilities and the Lankan State and its missions
abroad must do more for their welfare. |