Kuwait green pastures turn grey
Young woman returns home in wheel-chair:
M. A. R. MANUKULASOORIYA, Hiriyala group
correspondent
BOGAHAPITIYA: A 26-year-old mother of one who flew to foreign
soil with the dream of standing on their own feet returned one year
later in a wheel-chair.
The tragic story of H. M. Indika Malkanthi of Malsiripura unfolds as
she decides to go abroad for employment to earn money to put up a house
of their own.
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PATHETIC: Malkanthi, unable to walk or stand on her own. -
Pictures by M. A. R. Manukulasooriya, Hiriyala group corr. |
Her husband did not have a permanent job and he went all over in
search of odd jobs just to support his family. They have an
eight-year-old daughter who is schooling.
With his meagre income they found it difficult to build a solid
future for the daughter which ultimately pushed Malkanthi to go abroad
for employment. Through a foreign employment agency in Colombo, she went
to Kuwait on July 2, 2006 with the consent and the blessings of her
husband.
According to Malkanthi the house owner was a police officer and his
wife was a cruel woman. She had an affair with an outsider and she was
always suspicious that Malkanthi had sneaked about that affair to her
husband. She had assaulted Malkanthi several times.
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FAMILY: Malkanthi with her husband and daughter. |
One day when Malkanthi was at the window on the second floor, this
woman pushed Malkanthi out of the window.
She fell down and was unconscious. Neighbours took her to hospital.
Malkanthi gained consciousness after three days. She had been under
medical treatment for six months. Severe damages were caused to her
spinal cord and her legs were badly injured.
Officers from the Embassy and Police had visited her at the hospital
and had taken down her statement, Malkanthi said.
She returned to Sri Lanka on June 28, 2007 with a wheel chair and a
little money received from her householder. She cannot walk as her
spinal cord is damaged. Both her legs are fractured. She can stand up
only with the help of someone. She is bed-ridden.
“I have to spend nearly Rs. 5,000 per month for medical treatment. I
have to go to the clinic at the Teaching Hospital, Kurunegala once a
month. I brought this matter to the notice of all the authorities, with
no avail. I kindly request President Mahinda Rajapaksa to look into my
condition and direct the authorities to extend a helping hand,”
Malkanthi told the Daily News. |
