Lebanon workers...

Bombed out maids try the Cyprus alternative

by Vimukthi Fernando

Determined, that's what they are. Broad smiles on their faces, they are ready to go home. "I am happy to be alive," says P.D.K. Seetha Irangani, a 40 year old mother. She had "never been so happy sitting in a bus in Sri Lanka," she jokes, as she prepares to go to Kandy, to be with her loved ones.

Irangani's dream of a debt free life and a house of her own, came crashing down on July 12, when Israel bombs fell in Beirut, Lebanon where she was employed for nine months.

"Some of us lost everything. Others did not face that misfortune and all of us are happy now that we are here," says Irangani. She is one of the migrant workers who returned from Lebanon through the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau (SLBFE).

The return trip to Sri Lanka, is "unforgettable," say the returnees. For, Y.G. Chitra, who had been in Lebanon for the past 12 years, it had been a harrowing experience which had been lightened by the kindness of officials at the embassy and SLBFE and Caritas Lebanon, a humanitarian agency who assisted them.

"They were very kind and helpful. I need to mention this officer in the embassy (in Lebanon) who accompanied us on our journey to Syria. He is a young father, whose wife has had a baby only a week ago. In spite of that, he was willing to risk his life in the journey and perform his duty in seeing a safe passage for us," says Chitra.

"I was fortunate to have good employers. They thought of my safety even before theirs. They provided me with everything I needed and dropped me at the embassy. But, not all of us have that kind of experience. The journey to Syria was so fearful that I was praying all the time.

I could only breathe a sigh of relief after reaching this (Katunayeka) airport. There are people who would like to come back to Sri Lanka, but cannot be contacted, since all communication has been cut off. There are some who are held back by their employers.

But, not all are willing to come to Sri Lanka, many would still stay back and are willing to work in other parts of Lebanon. Most of the Sri Lankans are trying to go to Cyprus," says Chitra. An SLBFE official says, "there are over 90,000 Sri Lankans employed in Lebanon.

However, so far only a little more than 3,000 had expressed willingness to come back through the embassy." When questioned about Sri Lankans' willingness to go to Cyprus, she said that the SLBFE does not encourage travelling through Cyprus. "It is very difficult to get work visa in Cyprus and the returnees coming through Cyprus do not get an opportunity to get out of the vessel they are in," she explained.

The SLBFE in collaboration with Sri Lankan Airlines and Qatar Airways had flown back 1,852 returnees from Lebanon by July 31, 2006. The SLBFE hopes to provide return packages for all who are willing to come back. "We receive over 200 queries daily from the relatives of those who are employed in Lebanon," says the official.

Meanwhile, relatives in Sri Lanka run from pillar to post in their anxiety to find information of their loved ones employed in Lebanon. Gamini Edirisinghe a 40-year-old father from Bandarawela, says that it is the fourth day he spent on the road, trying to get information about his wife.

"When I go to the Battaramulla office they want me to come here (Piya Sevana, at Katunayake, where an SLBFE branch office is located). Now that my wife is not with the group, they want me to go back to Battaramulla. We are poor people. I missed so many days of work, I do not know how to find food for my children in the next few days," he laments.

"We get many queries when we come to meet the returnees," says Sr. Mary Kathleen, who heads the Women's Development Desk at Caritas Sri Lanka, an organisation involved in providing humanitarian assistance. They had been in constant contact with their partners in Lebanon in finding information about Sri Lankans. "We have received information about 34 people," she says.

In collaboration with the SLBFE, Caritas assisted those workers who have returned. "We meet the returnees at the airport and provide them with refreshments. We have been providing transport to different destinations - mainly in the North and East, medical facilities for the returnees and pocket-money, Rs. 1,000, for those who need assistance," she says "We have been discussing the situation with our partners and they are willing to support the government in the long term, as well," she adds.