165 migrant workers to return today

Rasika Somarathna

Close on the heels of more than 100 beleaguered Sri Lankan migrant workers from the Middle East returning to the country yesterday, another batch of 165 are scheduled to arrive today, in accordance with a decision taken by the Government to clear all safe houses in the region.

As a result of recent initiatives by Minister Keheliya Rambukwella and the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau, relevant Governments in the Middle East region has agreed to repatriate all runaway Lankan workers who are been housed in detention camps.

According to sources these migrant workers have sought refuge in Safe Houses (Middle East), citing various kinds of abuse by both employers and local authorities.

It is also known that the SLFEB is spending vast sums of money to sustain these safe houses and according to one official the Bureau is spending around Rs. 150,000 daily, to provide food for the inmates in addition to other expenditure which is considered to be very high.

According to the SLBFE with the new arrivals, the safe house in Kuwait which housed 225 Lankans (which is believed to be the largest batch in the region), would be cleared.

Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau sources said all other Sri Lankans who are being kept in various safe houses in the Middle East would be brought back in the near future.

It is estimated that there are more than 1000 Sri Lankans, who have sought refuge from the respective embassies, citing various reasons. These include harassment, non payment of wages, abuse by employers and agents, termination of employment due to illness, workers who have been duped by employment agents etc.

It is also believed that the respective embassies has inadequate facilities to cope with the exodus, resulting in very poor quality facilities for the Lankans who seek refuge from the authorities in their hour of need.

According to sources this latest move by the Ministry of Foreign Employment and Welfare and the SLBFE would help these beleaguered workers, who have already undergone untold sufferings in their effort to seek greener pastures abroad.

The SLFEB also added that a mechanism was been formed to bring back all Sri Lankans who seek refuge from respective embassies without delay.

According to sources, as a result of Minister Rambukwella’s recent initiatives with respective countries a permanent solution to the problem is in the offing, which would boost the morale of workers who seek greener pastures in the Middle East.