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| Sunday, 6 April 2003 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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No danger to our expatriate workers in Kuwait, Jordan by Chamikara Weerasinghe Minister of Foreign Employees' Welfare, Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, assured the safety and welfare of migrant Sri Lankan workers in Kuwait and Jordan, and said they were not in any danger, as the US-led war on Iraq had not upset civilian life in those countries. The minister responding to questions about the situation of Sri Lankan migrant workers in the Middle-East, reiterated that arrangements had been made to strengthen the protection of migrant workers and added that they would be deported from Kuwait to Sri Lanka via Saudi Arabia in the wake of an emergency situation. More than 200,000 Sri Lankans are employed in Kuwait and Jordan, with 90 percent being women. An official delegation from the Ministry of Foreign Employees' Welfare, headed by Minister Abeywardena recently visited Kuwait to ascertain the situation of the Sri Lankan migrant workers. Co-ordinating Secretary, T.L.D.S. Wijewardena, who was among the delegation, said that the Sri Lankan Ambassador to Kuwait had been instructed by Minister Abeywardena, to reserve a building, to accommodate 36,000 migrant workers in an emergency situation, if Kuwait is drawn into the war. "However, so far no complaint had been received from any Sri Lankan in Kuwait that they wanted to leave that country because of the war," he pointed out, adding that the situation was quite normal and that SriLankan AirLines had already resumed their flights to Kuwait. "The ministry has also set up a unit in Colombo to constantly monitor the situation in Kuwait," he said explaining that Sri Lankan embassies in Kuwait and Jordan were sending situation reports every six hours to the unit. |
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