Protecting our workers abroad

Doctors at the Kamburupitiya Government Hospital yesterday carried out a landmark operation which has never been performed on a civilian in Sri Lanka before. They removed most of the 24 nails cruelly inserted into L T Ariyawathi's body by her Saudi employers during the last five months.

No one has still got over the shock of hearing about the brutal manner in which her employers treated her, after she complained that she was overworked. There is widespread anger and resentment that she has been subjected to such a cruel punishment.

When she left Sri Lanka five months ago, having completed all legal procedures such as the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau registration, Ariyawathi had high hopes. She wanted a better life for her and her family. She hoped to realize that dream with the funds that she would be saving and sending home.

Alas, it was not to be. Her employer was cruel beyond words. A harsher punishment is hard to imagine. It is just a miracle that she survived.

Although this case is particularly shocking, this is not the first time that such cases of harassment and degrading treatment have been reported from the Middle East. Many Sri Lankan women who had left for the Middle East as domestic workers have been at the receiving end of such 'punishment' meted out by the employers. In fact, there had been a few cases of mysterious deaths of our workers. In one particular instance, vital body organs were missing from the body of a woman flown back to Sri Lanka, suggesting a sinister link to the illegal trade in body organs.

The authorities must pursue Ariyawathi's case until the Saudi authorities take action against the perpetrators. She must be given full legal, medical and psychological support. It is thus heartening to note that the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau, the External Affairs Ministry and our embassy in Saudi Arabia are actively pursuing all legal angles in this case to ensure justice for Ariyawathi.

This also reminds us of the case of Sri Lankan teenager Rizana Nafeek, who was initially sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia for allegedly smothering her employer's baby. Unlike Ariyawathi, she has gone abroad more or less illegally, on documents that falsified her age, through a rogue foreign job agency. Nevertheless, the Sri Lankan Government and the Asian Human Rights Commission have taken up her case at the highest courts in Saudi Arabia and we earnestly hope that her case too will be resolved favourably.

What this incident brings to the fore is the acute need for a more pro-active role by our embassies in the Middle East to protect these innocent workers. There are several Government departments and agencies that should work together to make it a reality. Among them are the External Affairs Ministry, the SLBFE and the Labour Ministry.

Each embassy should have more welfare officers to look after our workers abroad. More safe houses should be secured for women workers, so that they have a place to stay for a few days if they somehow escape the grip of a brutal employer. There should be a bigger emergency fund for the repatriation of such victims and to meet their legal or medical costs.

There should be a better follow-up mechanism to check the welfare especially of women workers in the Middle East. There is little knowledge of what happens once the domestic worker is assigned to a household, especially if it is in a remote area. Our embassies should work closely with the authorities of the respective countries to ensure the well-being of our workers every step of the way.

The Government has taken several commendable steps such as prohibiting mothers with children aged five or under from going abroad for employment. There should be a long-term view and strategy on this whole issue. As Sri Lanka progresses rapidly to become a leading Asian nation, there will be little need to send our workers for manual labour abroad. Instead, we will be able to send skilled and professional labour abroad. In the meantime, the authorities must do everything in their power to ensure the safety and welfare of our workers overseas.