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Who cares for Sri Lanka’s main foreign exchange earners?
View(s):Some 300,000 Sri Lankan migrant workers left for West Asia and Lankan migrant workers remitted as much as US$ 6.8 billion (Rs 884 billion) last year.
Saudi Arabia is one of the main destinations which attract Sri Lankan labour. But, these migrant workers -mostly those seeking employment as house-maids undergo severe difficulties in securing employment.
After paying thousands of rupees to job agents they undergo further humiliation and difficulties when applying for their visas.At Horton Place in Colombo 7 people queueing along the pavement to hand over visa applications has become a daily sight. It is a common sight to see hundreds of these would-be migrants queueing to obtain the visas.
With no arrangements made for their comfort some of them can be seen taking shelter at nearby bus stops, awaiting their turn to submit applications. Ms Sameera Withanachchi from Matale said she and her sister had arrived in the morning and were awaiting their turn to hand over the application. She said they had been waiting for more than two hours and their mother was waiting for them seated at a nearby bus stop. ”There should be better facilities for the people who come here to hand over the applications’, she said.
The young and the old waiting to hand over their applications
A common and humiliating sight… would-be migrant workers treated with disdain and disrespect
A security officer speaking to a group of job seekers
Roasting in the sun or being drenched in the rain, they await their turn