SRI LANKA
Sri Lanka is one
of the APMRN's new networks along with Bangladesh and India.
The coordinators are Associate Professor Ramanie Jayatilaka
of the Sociology Department, University of Colombo, Colombo
(email: ramaniej@itmin.net) and Shamini Attanayaka, Lecturer,
National Institute of Social Development, No. 191, Dharmapala
Mawatha, Colombo 07, Sri Lanka. Tel.: 0094-33-2295721, Mobile:
0094-77-6365195. Email: shaminiattanayaka@yahoo.com.
Email list
of researchers on migration in Sri Lanka
sthetti@webmail.cmb.ac.lk
namalww@yahoo.com
poshithe@hotmail.com
kkaru@kin.ac.lk
ranga@actionaidlanka.org
mgrf@slbfe.lk
sarath@soci.ruh.ac.lk
gm@slbfe.lk
dhparana@sltnet.lk
shaminiattanayaka@yahoo.com
cenwor@slt.lk
Coordinators’ report for Sri Lanka: APMRN
Meeting, Singapore, 4 February 2005
Recent Events:
ASIAN LABOUR MIGRATION MINISTERIAL CONSULTATIONS IOM's Director
General, Mr. Brunson McKinley, declared opened a two-day Ministerial
level consultations meeting with Asian labour sending countries
in Colombo on Tuesday (01st April 2003). The aim of the meeting,
organized by IOM, is to provide a forum for Asian labour sending
countries to share experiences, discuss issues and identify
steps for follow-up.
Participating countries
include: Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan,
Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. Each delegation
is made up of the Minister responsible for foreign employment
and two or more officials. ILO officials are also attending.
The two day meeting
is expected to discussed issues pertaining to protection of
migrant workers and services to migrant workers, optimizing
benefits of organized labour migration and institutional capacity
building and interstate cooperation.
IOM will be hosting
a similar meeting with labour receiving countries in Cairo latter
this year and the out come of the Colombo meeting will be discussed
with the ministers of labour receiving countries in Cairo.
Facts: According
to a survey of returnee female domestic workers conducted by
the Migrant Services Centre in October 2002, more than 20 percent
of those interviewed suffered injuries or physical abuse from
employers. More than 50 percent who have returned were under
medical treatment for ailments like back pain, asthma, heart
disease and other complications.
The study, conducted
in 400 households in three Sri Lankan districts that provide
the bulk of migrant workers, also found that 24 persons were
subject to sexual abuse while in employment. Two of them became
pregnant as a result.
"Many returnees also
said that they have changed socially and psychologically as
a result of their foreign experience, that their families and
community failed to recognise it and it was an additional push
factor to re-migrate," it said.
In the sample survey,
about 27 percent said their employment experience had a negative
impact on the family with problems like divorce or separation,
social and health problems, husbands being addicted to alcohol,
children dropping out from school and depression among family
members.
But the survey also
found that annual incomes of migrant workers went up to 25,000
rupees (nearly 250 U.S. dollars) a month for 80 percent of those
interviewed. Many had previously been homemakers who were not
earning any money or were involved in small jobs.
Sri Lanka's migrant
workers are the country's highest net foreign exchange earner,
making some one billion dollars annually.
Statistics: There
have been bizarre cases of bodies of Sri Lankan domestic workers
arriving in sealed cofines in the recent past. Some of these
bodies have been found to be without the internal organs. The
number of reported deaths of Sri Lankan migrant workers last
year (2002), including Middle East countries were 233. Of them,
119 had been males and 114 female workers.
134 deaths were reported
as a result of natural causes and the balance were due to suicide,
homicide and road accidents.
Eighty one deaths
were reported from Saudi Arabia, where the highest number of
Sri Lankans are employed total around 350,000.
These deaths included
54 males and 27 females. There were forty three cases of natural
deaths, seven suicides, one homicide and 26 from road accidents.
Four others were accidents from other causes.
The second highest
number of deaths reported were from United Arab Emirates numbering
41. Of them 18 were males, while 23 were females of which 24
cases were from natural causes while there were 3 suicides,
10 road accidents and 4 other cases of accidents.
The third highest
number of 27 deaths were reported from Lebanon which included
a male and 26 females. These include 15 natural deaths, one
suicide, three road accidents and eight other accidents.
37 deaths were reported
from Kuwait which included 15 males and 22 females. Of them
22 deaths were due to natural causes while one suicide, five
homicides, six road accidents and three other accidents were
reported.
15 deaths were reported
from Qatar. All were males. Ten have died due to natural causes
- two from suicides, one road accident and two from other accidents.
The total deaths reported below 10 were from Jordan, Malaysia,
Cyprus, Oman, Italy, Maldives, Israel, Bangladesh, Korea, Yemen
and Russia.
