Duped deceived

Premawathi's return after 15 years and the continuing saga of exploitation in the ME:

by Naalir Jamaldeen

K.R. Premawathi, a resident of Nochchiyagama in Anuradhapura went to Saudi Arabia as a housemaid 15 years ago. Like many women seeking to build a better future for their family, she thought a few years in the Middle East would help her earn enough money to build a nice house and provide a good education for her two children.

K.R. Premawathi

But what actually transpired was something quite different. Not only did her hopes disintegrate into mere nothing, she also become one among many Sri Lankan women who literally 'fall off the face of the earth' once they enter their employer's domain in the Middle East.

For, from the day Premawathi left Sri Lanka 15 years ago until she returned two weeks ago, no one had heard from her, no one knew what had happened to her, and despairingly for the family, they didn't even know whether she was dead or alive.

Reality

"I had no connection with the family until I returned to the country," said a somewhat relieved Premawathi, underlying a reality that is frequently experienced by many families who waved goodbye to a mother, sister or daughter, setting off to work as a housemaid in the Middle East.

A mother of two, a daughter who is now 21 years, and a son now 20 years, Premawathi, was sent to Saudi Arabia by a recruitment agency, whose credentials she didn't bother, or even know to check.

She was recruited to work for a family, and although the extent of the work was not described, they had agreed to pay her a salary of Saudi Riyal 400 a month in addition to food, clothing and accommodation. Although this was the agreement the reality was quite the contrary.

"My employer gave me food, clothing and accommodation facility. But I was not paid my salary - the Saudi Riyal 400 agreed upon by the employer," said Premawathi, explaining that although she was looked after well, she had to serve eight persons in the house, look after the children and cook meals.

"My working place was located nearly 500 kilometres away from Riyadh and I had no connection with other Sri Lankans in Saudi Arabia. The employer was also not keen to speak to other Sri Lankan migrant workers like me," she said.

Conditions though not ideal were bearable, until things changed and her employer destroyed her bank account details, ensuring she had no way to send any money home. Making matters worse her passport was also retained by her employer.

Salary

Minister Thalatha Athukorale presented Rs 1.8 million cheque to K.R. Premawathi.

"The employer promised to pay my entire salary when I returned to Sri Lanka after the completion of the contract period. But she failed to do so," said Premawathi, explaining that she worked for the matriarch of the family during the first three years of her stay and the next 12 years, she worked in the daughter's house.

Premawathi said she had explained her family situation and the obligations she had towards her family. "I told them I needed to send money to ensure my children's education and for their day-to-day expenditure.

I told them I had taken up the job and left my family behind because of poverty," she said, claiming her pleas had been ignored by her employer, who had maintained that she had to relatives in Sri Lanka and therefore had no responsibility either. "The madam cautioned me that I was lying. I was not given the phone calls that came to me from Sri Lanka," she recalled.

The work was tough, the hours inhuman. "Normally I would go to bed only at around 3.00 or 3.30 a.m. and at most I could sleep for only one or two hours per day," she recalled.

Premawathi lived under these harsh, inhuman conditions for 15 years and was able to return to Sri Lanka only after the Ministry of Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare and the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) intervened on her behalf. Three weeks earlier, another housemaid, a resident of Anuradhapura and identified as Danawathi, was also found to be in the same state as Premawathi. She was also brought back to Sri Lanka after the intervention of the Ministry.

Compensation

At a media briefing to announce Premawathi's return, Minister of Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare, Thalatha Athukorala, handed over a cheque worth Rs 1.8 million to Premawathi, which was both compensation and months of salary owed to her.

Premawathi , happy to be reunited with her family, hopes to use the money she received to redeem the paddy land she was forced to pawn to get the funds to go abroad and start a small business with the balance.

After commissioning the cheque to Premawathi, Minister Athukorala cautioned those looking to go abroad for employment, especially those from rural areas in the Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa Districts, to be more cautious when submitting their passport to foreign employment agencies. "Due to various reasons innocent women in remote areas are misguided by certain elements in the name of foreign employment agency," she said. Minister Athukorala also reiterated the need to stipulate a minimum wage for housemaids. "Now a housemaid who works in Middle Eastern countries receive less than Rs 35,000 per month, which is not sufficient to run the family and to save for the future. Sometimes, the women who leave the country with thousands of hopes return empty handed. This situation must change," she said, pointing out that if the economic background of the family is positive, the women will not leave the country for employment.

She also said the number of migrant workers have increased in the recent past and that the primary during of her ministry and the SLBFE was to look into their well-being. However, she pointed out that the ministry and the SLBFE can only help those migrant workers who secure foreign employment through agencies registered at the SLBFE.

"The foreign employment agencies must closely watch what is happening to workers in their place of work, whether the conditions are suitable and if it is not the SLBFE or the Ministry can take certain actions to protect their privileges," she said, acknowledging that foreign employment was one of the main sources for foreign income for the country.

Errant

Minister Athukorala also acknowledged that errant foreign employment agencies were operating in the Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa Districts and drawing in women such as Premawathi and Danawathi, who then end up in trouble. She said the special unit of the SLBFE will take necessary steps to nab such foreign employment agencies, but also cautioned women who are seeking to go abroad for employment to make sure the agency is registered at the SLBFE, before agreeing to anything. "Then the innocent women can be saved from being victimized," Athukorala said.

When questioned about the number of women suffering the same fate as Premawathi in the Middle East, the Minister said she was not aware of the exact numbers but confirmed they had received complaints from at least three percent of the women working as housemaids in the Middle East.

"I assumed duty two months ago. We were not aware of Premawathi's problem, but no sooner we came to know of it we took immediate steps to bring her back and get her compensation for the loss she underwent for the past 15 years, " Athukorala said.According to Athukorala, the SLBFE had been set up in 1985 and registration of migrant workers had begun in 1994.

Urban

"A foreign employment agency is opened in each city, every month. After sending a group of workers sometimes certain agencies close shop in one or two months. Such incidents take place in a major scale in Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa Districts. The possibility of such incidents are very low in urban areas. For instance, a person who resides in Nochchiyagama doesn't know much about things in Anuradhapura. Such incidents occur from time to time in those areas. We have taken steps to identify errant foreign employment agencies and to take legal action against them," Athukorala said.

Pix Courtesy: Ministry of Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare