Overstaying foreigners

OUR front page lead story today focuses on the concerns expressed by Immigration Officer Parakrama Fernando on the growing number of foreign overstayers in Sri Lanka.

These individuals, mostly from the Asian region, he says sneak into the country exploiting the ‘on arrival visa facility’ and get themselves employed in various fields and sectors.

Some arrive on tourist visas and go missing. It is also revealed that many of them are involved in illegal activities and even crime. As much as 400 illegal aliens had been rounded up last year, most of them employed in massage parlours, casinos, hotels and construction sites.

In the latest detection some eight illegal Asian migrants were found working in paddy fields down South, which is an indication the extent to which this breed have swamped over this country.

It is accepted that with liberalisation the face of Sri Lanka underwent many a transformation.

The surge in development activities and modernisation saw a heavy influx of foreigners to the country, so much so one recalls seeing even our zebra crossings on the roads painted by foreigners, a task well within the capability of our locals.

That was a time when the country was witnessing a construction boom and foreign workers were almost ubiquitous not only in the cities but also in the main towns where development activity was taking place.

In fact there were even foreigners domiciled here to offer their expertise on new methods in agriculture in a country steeped in the agriculture tradition.

These were however a different breed altogether who brought their skills and expertise which Sri Lanka needed very badly at the time, in the infancy of its development drive, unlike the variety now making incursions into the country.

What needs to be seriously considered is the impact the presence of these overstaying foreigners are going to have on the country not just by way of lost job opportunities to our locals, but also the social fabric and other aspects.

It is no secret that today we have many unsavoury characters having a toe hold in many an enterprise and important spheres. We are already grappling with the questionable conduct of certain INGOs while the tsunami too saw a steady influx of foreigners into the country without let or hindrance.

India too which suffered from the catastrophe declined any foreign presence for very good reasons. In addition, the ethnic conflict too brought its own quota of foreigners to the country.

While Sri Lanka is known for the hospitality of its citizens, one cannot turn a blind eye to the malfeasant influence of the wrong type of foreigner entering the country as exposed time and time again. While opening our doors to foreign visitors, the authorities would do well to keep close tabs on the entrants with a view to spot undesirables.

Although we need tourism, this should not detract from our duty to keep Sri Lanka unspoilt and unsullied through the wrong kind foreign visitor.

Many Third World countries particularly in the African continent are today suffering the consequences of opening their doors liberally to foreigners. The Government should therefore step up vigilance.

The Immigration Department should be strengthened and given additional powers to rope in all illegal immigrants and prevent the country from being thought of as a safe haven for undesirables.