The fraudulent and the gullible

The media frequently highlights instances of prospective overseas job seekers being duped by bogus job agencies.There have been scenes where the victims have lain seige to these employment agencies and staged demonstration ala the Golden Credit Card and Sakvithi depositors.

It appears that fraud is on the march in this country. Only the other day a prospective lady doctor was fined by Courts for producing forged references from an overseas Medical University to enlist with the Sri Lanka Medical Council.

What consequences would have ensued had she succeeded, can only be imagined. How many such imposters do we have in our midst wearing the patina of respectability, no one will know.

It is time that a serious effort is made to grapple with the incidents of fraud in our society - not just swindles done by job agencies but big time rip offs such as the VAT scam. But the sleight of hand duplicity by the rogue job agents are serious enough for the Government to come down hard on these operatives irrespective of the influence they wield.

Time and again we see these sudden outbreaks of protests after gullible sections have been defrauded. Yesterday, we reported how the detection of two such bogus job agencies had led to the arrest of 80 rouge agents who had swindled millions from unsuspecting clients.

What is more they have been posing as licensed agents of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) having in their possession its official seals and receipts, which of course were forged.

It would not be out of place to suggest to the SLBFE Chairman to conduct an inquiry to ascertain if there has been any collusion from within his organisation in this regard. Two suspects had in their possession copies of receipts worth over Rs. 1.5 million and as reported this was only the tip of the ice berg. The SLBFE Chairman says they had launched an investigation into the matter.

In earlier instances too investigations were promised but from the frequent reports of similar swindles that unravel we are not sure if these investigations have had the desired results.

First and foremost, one needs to probe deep into the racket since it is obvious that for such bogus agencies to operate with impunity even thumbing the nose at the SLBFE, there necessarily has to be an organised ring at work with high connections. We have often seen how big detections such as these have been hushed up in the past not to believe otherwise.

Today, these illegal job agents operate with impunity knowing they can get away with their misdeeds in the same way bootleggers do with nary a care for the law. One recalls how some unscrupulous persons made fortunes by sending people for jobs in Italy through perilous journeys by sea.

It was no secret that this project too had the blessings of politicians unmindful of the risk to the lives of the desperate job seekers. No big issue was made by the parties concerned because this formed a lucrative source of employment and arrested the problem of rampant unemployment in the coastal areas of the North Western Province which today, has an affluent landscape due to the riches brought in by these segments.

This, however, is no excuse for allowing illegal operatives to thrive. The call made by the SLBFE Chairman for all prospective job seekers to cross check their sources with the Bureau before committing themselves is a wise move.

There was a time when employment agencies mushroomed willy nilly with the advent of the Middle East job boom. There was hardly any mechanism to control these job agencies at the time with the overwhelming demand particularly of housemaids.

Now with the demand for more skilled workers and the professions, these job agencies have moved into the big league demanding enormous sums from their clients.

But not all of these job seekers receive the jobs promised and a majority of them are even left stranded at the other end as often reported in the press.

Now with the global economic crisis taking a heavy toll on jobs even in the well known employment destinations it is just as well to warn all prospective job seekers abroad to be cautious before accepting lucrative offers and demands for massive down payments.

Saying that, it is also the duty of the SLBFE to rein in these bogus job agents preying on the gullible who are sometimes forced to part with all their worldly possessions to meet the massive fees demanded. The country is already witnessing enough agitations and demonstrations by those who been stripped of their lifetime savings without adding to the cacophony.