Stranded Lankan women in Oman

Decades ago when he was the finance minister implementing J.R. Jayewardene’s open economy, Ronnie de Mel once said that Sri Lanka’s was a female dependent economy. He urged that the country then, as well as to a large extent now, largely relied on its women workers to bring home the bacon. Never was a truer word spoken. The women plucking tea on the plantations, those working in the garment factories that sprang up in those days to help move a traditionally crop dependent economy into a new industry and those who ventured forth to the Middle East to work as domestic servants, often under harsh conditions, contributed massively to an economy long atop a tea, rubber and coconut tripod.

Although the years have moved on to a new millennium, much of that remains true to this day. That is why the country is dismayed about the horror story that emanated from Oman last week that some 90 Lankan women are stranded in that country and seeking repatriation assistance for reasons that are all too common. Many of them have entered Oman, often from elsewhere in the Middle East, with visit visas they hoped to convert into work visas. They have fallen into the hands of unscrupulous job agencies both in their own countries as well as overseas. Confronted with reality they must cough up big money to cover visa fees, overstay penalties, air fares, agents’ fees and costs of recruitment. Their families barely managed to scrape-up what was required for wives and daughters to seek an El Dorado and are now unable to meet new demands to get them back home.

There have been reports, true or false has not yet been firmly established, about a sex trafficking aspect to this case. The CID has been brought into investigate and a senior police officer who has appeared over national television seemed to confirm that there is no smoke without fire. The Sri Lankan Embassy in Muscat, like other missions elsewhere in the Middle East confronted with similar problems, had set up a safe house to cater to the stranded women. Disturbingly, a mission official in Oman has been suspended and is being brought back to Colombo for further investigation of allegations made against him. Though nothing has been proved or firmly established, all this implies lack of supervision from a senior level in the mission. It is well known that housemaids employed overseas are frequently harassed by employers, sexually and otherwise, and such instances have been publicized. It’s sad but true that such occurrences are not uncommon within the country too; but it is not often that the smelly stuff hits the fan.

Given prevailing poverty in the country and increasing desperation about making ends meet, prospects of overseas employment are becoming increasingly attractive to growing numbers including professional segments. This is manifest in the queues outside passport offices. Many people, often educated and fluent in the English language attempt to get into developed countries offering better prospects on student visas. The intention is not to study but find paid employment. The continuing pursuit of such avenues is an indication of a fair success rate. While educated professionals and the better-off will find ways of fending for themselves when they gain admission to other countries, poor women improperly and illegally in the Middle East are in a perilous situation as indicated by what has happened in Oman. It was reported a few months ago that the government, as an urgent cost cutting measure, had decided to shut down labour and welfare sections in a number of missions in West Asia and recall their staff. Given that there are hundreds of thousands of housemaids and blue collar workers in these countries, there were protests. How far this measure was implemented we do not know.

What we do know is that despite their best efforts, the regulatory authorities have not been successful in stamping out foreign employment rackets. There are numerous cases of agencies charging money and not delivering as promised and delaying refunds or not making them at all. Undoubtedly people do go to dubious agencies and get cheated just as they were cheated by finance companies and other deposit takers. Suckers are born every minute as the popular cliché goes. Undoubtedly the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) is serving a useful role. But the fact that job seekers with visit visas are frequently going abroad hoping to change status at their eventual destinations is common. Despite widespread knowledge of risks and dangers, desperate people persist in taking the plunge. Would it not be possible to erect an effective barrier at least at the immigration counter at the airport? Doing so will not be as easy as making the suggestion. But this is something to which the concerned authorities must give serious thought.

The SLBFE already has an airport presence. It is not difficult to judge who is a tourist and who is a job seeker. But the authorities have no legal muscle to stop people with visas traveling. Complicating the whole business are the mudalalis sending couriers to carry back easily salable goods on which tidy profits can be made.