In the aftermath of Ariyawathie, Rizana:

Is Lalitha's plight different?

By Manjula FERNANDO

Lalitha was in her late 50s according to the testimony of her husband.

Living in one of the dilapidated shanties in Grandpass theirs was a family stricken with absolute poverty.

Despite her age and failing health, Lalitha made up her mind to go as a housemaid to Saudi Arabia looking for the Riyals that might help build a solid roof over their heads and help them out of the sad plight.

She had undergone three surgeries by then for some complications in her reproductive system. She was barely fit enough even to attend to her household chores but pathetically driven by an urge to stand on their own feet, she never thought twice when the idea came to her mind. The 'Middle East' job which promised a handsome income with pleasing terms sounded inviting.

So, last August, Lalitha and her husband approached a well-known job agency in Colombo 10 (Maradana) which specializes in sending unskilled workers to the Middle East. In connivance with the Agency a passport with fraudulent entry of details of her year of birth as 1969, when she suddenly turned 20 years younger with her medical conditions that would stand in the way from going to Saudi omitted.

The job agency fixed Lalitha at a house owned by a Saudi national who was to be her employer for the next couple of years. This itself was a violation under Sri Lanka's foreign employment laws.

The Foreign Employment agencies in Sri Lanka who dispatch workers to the Middle East are required to operate through a job agent in the host country. This is a mandatory rule to safeguard the workers' interests.

Lalitha arrived in the unknown land, uncertain and unsure of what to expect. This over aged lady as unskilled as she is and clueless with the modern day appliances, was expected to look after a huge house with 15 occupants. No matter how strong her resolve to help chase away her family woes, this was too much for her.

The irate sponsor did not treat her compassionately. Within a few weeks Lalitha called her husband begging him to get her back home. She was being ill treated and she feared retribution.

However, the sponsor was careful not to take it out on Lalitha the way Ariyawathie was punished with nails. Instead when he realised that she was a liability, he quietly handed her over to a 'Service Agency'. There was no Saudi agent to intervene in the case.

It was at the service agency that Lalitha faced a brutal experience.

According to the sworn testimony of her husband who showed up at the Consular Division of the Foreign Ministry recently, the man who owned this 'service agency' was using victims like Lalitha in the flesh trade.

They are forced to become prostitutes to pay for their stay.

Lalitha called her husband with horrific tales. She had not talked about her own situation but had begged her husband to get her home immediately. The husband feared that she may have fallen victim to the sex hungry who has no regard for caste, creed or age.

The husband pleaded with Foreign Ministry officials for help to bring his wife home.

Sri Lanka is known for its low quality but irresistibly cheap labour among Middle East employers. Despite our high literacy rates and envious social indicators we are nothing more than an unskilled, cheap domestic aides producing country in the Middle East job market.

Highly organized and politically backed impenetrable rings of bogus job agents sell whoever they get their hands on. Overage, under age, physical unfitness or medical flaws do not disqualify a person at the eligibility tests of these unscrupulous agents.

"Anything goes" is their motto. As long as the desperate job seeker could walk and breathe, he is fit to attend to the numerous needs of a rich Sultan in a dessert mansion surrounded by two dozens of children, many wives and a host of household aides.

No one could miss the groups of frightened housemaids lamenting at the check-in counters at Bandaranaike International Airport, unable to fill in departure forms. It is no secret that a good number of them are illiterate and cannot even write their names.

They can only give their thumb impression. Just imagine how they could find their feet around an unknown land and where technology reigns.

On the other hand, the Middle East sponsor may well have informed the job agent the requirements of his household. He expects a middle aged, physically fit and skilled domestic aide to attend to household chores. Bogus agencies do not bother to evaluate requirements. They just amass cheap labour and ship them in bulk to be distributed randomly.

In most instances the flowery agreement signed between the agent and the domestic aide will be expeditiously revised once they reach the destination. Workers will be compelled to sign a second agreement which dictates a longer term of service and lesser salary.

Workers will be clueless of the changes since the agreement will be in English and Arabic only.

  Deaths reported this year up to November

		Saudi	Kuwait	Qatar	Jordan	Lebanon	Oman

Natural Deaths	45	39	17	11	3	3
Not Specified	14	5	11	1	1	-
Murder	2	-	-	-	-	-
Accident	40	11	9	2	3	2
Suicide		3	5	1	1	2	1

(Source: Foreign Ministry)

The moment the employer realises deceit, what would be the consequences? Tragically, often than not, it will be harassment, sometimes it may cost one's life.

Desperation led by poverty compels our mothers and daughters to take off to the unknown. Even as they feel their hearts being ripped off with grief, they whisper in the ears of their loved ones a thousand promises of a better life, before taking off. More often than not they are unaware of the risks that come along with the job. They are aware only of the beautiful stories narrated by a village friend or a neighbour who just returned from a job as a domestic aide - of the comforts and wealth that is awaiting them.

The mismatch between the employer and the employee is said to be the main cause why our domestic aides become victims of harassment and torture.

Ariyawathie and Rizana were classic examples of such traumatic circumstances. Are we to let this cruelty continue and tarnish the image of our nation? This is not all; according to the Foreign Ministry the actions of bogus job agents have damaged the goodwill between Sri Lanka and the Middle East, straining bi-lateral ties.

Going by media reports especially in the vernacular press, it is not hard to imagine that many workers who trot to Saudi Arabia fall victims to harassment. A spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry said this figure should be tallied with the population of Lankan workers there.

Over half a million workers are currently in Saudi Arabia, 47,000 in Oman and 133,000 in Qatar. Saudi is also in need of additional hands since it is the largest country in the Arabian peninsula, occupying a land area of 2.1 million sq km. Sri Lankans work all over the country.

Bogus job agencies mushroom all over the country. They are run by powerful individuals. As a result, if the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau black lists an agency over misconduct, the next day the owners will re-register the unscrupulous entity with a more impressive name, and it will be business as usual.

It is also claimed that these job agencies which are a mafia of its own, operate under the auspices of officials who should be in fact assisting job seekers.

It is the duty of the authorities to probe these allegations and ensure the unskilled Middle-East worker who contributes to swell our national income does not return in a wheel-chair or wooden coffin.

Through Sri Lanka's mission in Saudi Arabia Lalitha was traced to where she was held after being abandoned by her wealthy sponsor. She is now safely accommodated in a State run deportation centre, till her exit permit and travel papers are processed.

The Foreign Ministry spokesperson said her repatriation will take over a month since her employer refused to facilitate her return thus compelling them to resort to the lengthy process of official repatriation.

SLBFE Chairman Kingsley Ranawaka says the Government has already brought in tougher laws to shut out bogus foreign employment agencies.

He said, "Last year we amended the Foreign Employment Act, introducing severe punishment to bogus agency operators. Under the new law, offenders will be imposed a Rs. 100,000 fine or a jail term upto four years or both, revising the earlier Rs. 20,000 fine."

"The process for new agency registration has also been changed to ensure that old ones will not re-appear under a different guise. For a new agency to apply for a licence the application must accompany a police, CID or NIB report. Once they obtain the licence the new agent will be announced via paper ads so that people can make objections against any new licence holder."

"We are also in the process of introducing a web-based-system where job agencies and sub-agents will be connected to the SLBFE and our foreign missions via the Internet to facilitate monitoring their operations.

"Through this web-based-system the SLBFE will monitor the process until the recruitments are over.

Along with these new measures every prospective worker must be issued a profile of their sponsor including his identity and income details. Only if these requirements are met will the agent be issued permits to send recruits out of the country.

With regard to the malpractices over employment agreements the agencies have been required to sign them in the presence of an SLBFE official.

They will not be allowed to alter these later on. This law is now in operation."

There are 900 registered recruitment agencies in the country. Over 125,000 unskilled domestic aides constitute the biggest proportion of 250,000 foreign employees who leave for the Middle East every year.