Daughter pleads for mother's safety

Mother alleged to be undergoing torture in Saudi Arabia:

Vineetha Manel Gamage

Sivalingam Gandimathie

Nadeesha Kumari, a 16-year-old girl of Galpatha, Horana is appealing for the safe return of her mother, Sivalingam Gandimathie, 30, who is alleged to be undergoing torture and other ill-treatment at the hands of her employer in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Nadeesha has appealed to authorities to help ensure the safe return of her mother to Sri Lanka.

Gandimathie, a mother of four, had proceeded to Saudi Arabia on August 30, 2009 through an agency in Colombo.

She had been assigned to a residence in Riyadh as a housemaid.

Nadeesha says her father, Palani Subramaniam looked after her and her three other siblings Nadeesha Kumari,14, Ajith Kumara,12 and Dilrukshi,10 working as a labourer in an estate. Since he did not receive any financial support from the mother after sometime, he found it difficult to raise his family and committed suicide four months ago in desperation as he had not received any information about her.

Now they are under the care of their grandparents H Sivalingam,78 and M Siththamma,60 with much difficulty. Siththamma said her daughter Gandimathie had sent some money to her husband about six months after her departure. Siththamma said her daughter who used to speak over the phone to her son-in-law once in five or six months stopped calling altogether.

When she last spoke, she alleged that her employer was cutting the line off whenever she tried to speak over the phone and she was undergoing harassment and ill-treatment daily. Siththamma said her son-in-law, Gandimathie's husband, who was distressed over the plight of his wife Gandimathie, took his own life four months ago.