Future uncertain

Sri Lankans evacuated from Yemen not sure what the future holds for them:

by Manjula Fernando

Sri Lankan returnees from Yemen are facing an uncertain future due to sudden loss of employment, while the crisis in the oil rich state continues to worsen despite a temporary lull in air raids last week.

More than 50 Sri Lankans returned to the country recently after the escalation of conflict, following aerial bombardments on Houthi rebel targets to curtail their advances. The overnight attacks were carried out for four weeks in Capital Sanaa, where most of the Sri Lankans were working. The bombardment by the Saudi lead coalition forces was suspended for twenty four hours on Wednesday.

The Sri Lankans, who were evacuated from the hotspot and brought back to the country just prior to the Sinhala and Tamil New Year, had been working in Yemen for periods ranging to 20 to 10 and 15 years. “We are uncertain of our future. Going back to Yemen is a distant dream,” bemoans Saman Mendis from Galle, one of the evacuees.

“I was working there for the past six years, I say that is the best place for expatriate workers and it is sad that we had to flee the country that way,” he says.

According to Mendis although the Capital was overrun by Houthi rebels some months ago, Sanaa remained peaceful and the foreigners were not harassed by the locals. “We didn’t feel intimidated or afraid. The locals were not aggressive towards the foreigners. But when the air raids began we started to feel unsafe,” he recall.

Chinese Embassy Deputy Head of Mission Ren Faqiang with family members of returnees

The attacks were limited to identified targets away from civilian structures but the unnerving sound of distant bombings kept them awake all night, he recalls.

Including Mendis, most of those who returned, were employed by a local company identified as Automotive Machinery Trading Centre (AMTC), which served as the sole agent for Toyota vehicles in Yemen.

The company, reputed for respecting labour rules did more than just let them escape. They ensured safe land transfer to the Yemeni port city Hodeida, from where they boarded the Chinese ship to cross the red sea to Djibouti on April 7 and funded air-passage for some.

Those who worked for AMTC received their proper dues. But they were the lucky few. The others like Erhard D. Balendram from Dematagoda returned empty handed. Balendram had joined a Restaurant in Sanaa just two months prior to the violent retaliation. And returning home was a difficult decision he was compelled to make. And if the decision was hard enough, many like Balendram had to pay up for their return airfare from Djibouti. Amidst the rush, those who did not have enough were compelled to loan money from those who had.

“We were told that the money can be reimbursed. But now we realise that it is not an easy process,” claims one of the returnees.

Saman Mendis

A group of 30 returnees called over at the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau (SLBF) on Tuesday to claim compensation. Another reason for their visit was to see if they could claim the insurance dues.

“We have gone through the proper channel. We have registered with the SLBFE and had obtained the insurance cover mandated by the Bureau,” points out Mendis, adding that they filled some forms at the Bureau on Tuesday giving their details and were now waiting for a response.

He says they do not know how long it will take for the situation in Yemen to settle down and is uncertain whether they would be able to return to their work places at all. “In the meantime we have to feed our families and send the children to school,” he saying, leaving unsaid the uncertainty that have begun to colour the future.

Some of the returnees were working in oil plants, machinery repairing factories, tea trading companies, as in airline companies as pilots.

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Saudi Govt may compensate

Mangala Randeniya

Deputy DG, Spokesperson SLFEB Mangala Randeniya, refuted Mendis’ claim that all returnees from Yemen had left Sri Lanka through the proper channel

“According to our records 36 of them have not registered with us,” he affirmed, pointing out, “We facilitated their expatriation jointly with the Foreign Ministry on humanitarian grounds but handing out compensation until their re-employment is not a possibility.”

Randeniya confirmed the registered expatriate workers can claim their insurance dues if they funded their own return airfare from Djibouti. According to him the return airfare well exceeded the insurance cover.

The SLBFE is collecting the details of the returnees for future reference. “We may need it in case there is a compensation scheme sanctioned by the UN, Saudi Government or Yemeni Government in the future, a similar arrangement like we had after the Kuwait war,” he said.

The returnees were compelled to flee their work places due to the action by the Saudi led coalition forces; there is a chance that the Saudi Government may compensate those affected.

The spokesperson also said that, 99.9% of the recent travellers overseas on job visas do get registered with the SLBFE. But those who fall short of fulfilling the mandatory pre-departure requirements still leave the country without their knowledge. Mainly the unskilled female domestic workers, victims of human trafficking, fall into this category. Some workers depart for jobs on visit or education visas.

The mandatory pre-departure requirements for female workers are, family background report by the Divisional Secretary, pre-departure training certificate by the SLBFE, job agreement, job visa and minimum age certificate introduced after 2007 (for Kingdom of Saudi Arabia over 25 years, any other middle eastern country over 23 years and any other country over 21 years).

Nearly 300,000 Sri Lankans register with the Bureau to leave the country for foreign jobs each year.

The Bureau has no record of the workers who leave the country without following the proper procedure, thus Government is not liable to look after them. However, Randeniya said the this was still a major humanitarian burden on the Bureau. Currently some 60 people are sheltered in a Kuwaiti Safe House, awaiting repatriation. “None of them have registered with the Bureau at the point of departure but are now seeking our help to get back.”

In this backdrop the returnees from Yemen may be compelled to look for other avenues of redress.