Sunday Observer PLUS

Rizana's life still hangs in the balance

By Ananda KANNANGARA

"We have no other option of saving our daughter Rizana's life unless Allah shows mercy on her. I believe he will come to my daughter's rescue even at the last moment", Rizana Nafeek's father Abdul Salam said.

Born on February 4, 1988 in Muttur as the eldest daughter to a family of four girls, Thambi Lebbe Abdul Salam who does not have a permanent employment but engaged in cultivation. He also earns money by selling firewood.

Unlike other families in the area, they do not have expensive household items in their wattle and daub house, which is in a state of collapse.

Rizana arrived in Riyadh on May 5, 2005 to work as a housemaid at the residence of Naif Jiziyan Khalaf Al-Otaibi in Dawadami. The town is located 390 km west of the capital Riyadh.

She got the job in Saudi Arabia through an application, processed by a foreign job recruitment agency in Maradana, Colombo. The agency operates under the approval of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment.

In an interview with the Sunday Observer, Salam who was in a state of shock worried over the fate of his daughter said, that he never even imagined his daughter's life would one day hang in the balance!

"She was good in her studies, but could not continue due to financial constraints. The situation at home worsened to such an extent, she had to abandon her education and find a job in a foreign country.

Her dream was to build a new house and help out her family members.

"But, sadly all her dreams are in shatters ending up in a jail Rizana's passport declares her date of birth as February 2, 1982, while her birth certificate indicates her correct date of birth which is February 4, 1988.

Prior to her departure to Saudi Arabia she was told by the job agent that she will have to do normal household chores and no mention was made of the employers four-month old infant.

The incident was supposed to have happened when she was bottle-feeding the child, when the parents were out of sight. While feeding Rizana had realised that the child was unconscious and had tried to revivive him by rubbing his chest, neck and the face.

As there was no response she shouted for help.

However after a few minutes the baby had died. The lady promptly handed over Rizana to the Police, accusing her of strangling the baby.

During the past few days a large number of media personnel visited Sahadinagar, Muttur in the Eastern Province to talk to the grieving father Thambi Lebbe Abdul Salam.

According to latest reports from Saudi Arabia, Rizana's death sentence has been endorsed by the Supreme Court in Riyadh. The death sentence was originally handed over by the Dawadami High Court, for the murder of the infant in 2005.

Rizana's mother who was beside him in tears, thanked President Mahinda Rajapaksa for his quick response to their plea.

"We must thank President Rajapaksa for his appeal to His Majesty the King Abdullah bin Abdul Azeez of Saudi Arabia, seeking clemency for my daughter Rizana," the weeping mother said.

"We were reluctantly compelled to send our daughter Rizana abroad to get over our miseries. We were subjected to terrorist attacks some years ago, but were also victims of the tsunami, she said".

On her first appearance in court she was able to seek the help of an interpreter, assigned by the Sri Lankan Embassy in Riyadh. In her evidence she explained in her own language the circumstances under which the child died that fateful day.

Although the judges who heard the case put across to the father of the dead child to grant a pardon on Rizana considering the fact that she was an underaged female employee, the court's request was turned down.

As a result, the court had no other option but to confirmed her the death sentence by beheading. The sentence was announced on June 16, 2007.

It was also reported that Rizana's parents had travelled to Saudi Arabia to seek a pardon from the child's parents, but they had refused to meet them.

Meanwhile, when contacted Chairman, SLBFE Kingsly Ranawaka said the Bureau had done their best to save her life, for the past several years.

"I hope President Mahinda Rajapaksa's request for clemency from the King of Saudi Arabia would give the consolation not only to her family, but also to all the people in the country, he said.