The
agony of waiting
Mystery
deepens in organ case
Heads
will roll says minister
The government on Tuesday
ordered a full probe on the death of Somalatha Satharasinghe
whose body was sent home sans her organs late last month and
threatened action against errant officials.
"Heads will roll ... we are taking this matter seriously,"
noted Labour and Employment Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe
who said a two-member government delegation flew to Kuwait
on Tuesday to ascertain the cause of death and submit a report.
He said allegations made by relatives of the victim that her
organs have been removed, as part of a human organs-sale racket
would be probed. "The Kuwaiti ambassador here has promised
all cooperation in the matter." He said the ministry
has for long not been happy with the performance of the two
labour attaches and the two labour welfare officers attached
to the Sri Lankan mission in Kuwait -(FS).
By
Kumudini Hettiarachchi
Waiting and waiting. Waiting for answers for many
questions, the most crucial among them being - what was the
cause of death? That's what the grieving son, brothers and
sisters of Somalatha Satharasinghe who went as a housemaid
to Kuwait but allegedly died on July 13 are seeking to find
out.
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Son
Yohan with his mother's photo. Pic by Athula Devapriya
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The
circumstances of the death of hapless Somalatha - whose body
was brought back to the country sans several organs - too
become more and more mysterious, with subterfuge, lies, a
cover-up and foul play seeming to be a part of this tragedy
which began on July 13. A Sri Lankan couple who reportedly
owe her money, have been playing a major role, with even Kuwaiti
Embassy and Foreign Ministry staff allegedly claiming that
Somalatha had given her written consent for the donation of
her kidneys, when no such document existed.
"My
elder sister went to Kuwait on May 22, after all the medicals
were done, on a ticket and visa sent by a woman called N.D.
Jayanthi Kusumalatha and her partner Sarath. The medicals
were normal. It was nothing unusual, this was about the fourth
time she went. Somalatha's husband died when their son was
just nine months old and she looked after Yohan," says
Swineetha, her voice breaking with emotion.
Somalatha
had been sent earlier too by Jayanthi, who had at that time
borrowed Rs. 80,000 from her there and promised to return
it later, but never did, alleged sister Swineetha, a teacher
now living in Kelaniya, though orginally from Amparai. In
fact, when Somalatha went this time to Kuwait she stayed with
Jayanthi until she found a job as a housemaid.
The first
hint of something amiss came when they heard from Jayanthi
that Somalatha, 42, had fainted while working and was taken
to hospital. That was on July 10 and Somalatha had supposedly
taken ill three days earlier. From then on there were many
telephone calls to and fro between Kuwait and Amparai and
Kuwait and Colombo, with Jayanthi even requesting that a relative
be sent over to attend to Somalatha. By that time Somalatha
was on life-support machines, the anxious relatives in Sri
Lanka were told. However, the faxes with the relative's passport
details were apparently not received by Jayanthi, Swineetha
explained.
Suddenly
on July 13, they heard that Somalatha had died. One call told
them she had died in the morning, the other that it was in
the night. Though distraught, the discrepancy in the time
of death made them suspicious. Amidst all this, the death
certificate clearly indicates that the date of death was July
12.
"Jayanthi
told us that there was no suspicion over my sister's death.
There were no marks or scratches on her body and her body
would be sent home in three days," says Swineetha. But
they waited in vain.
The relatives,
meanwhile, immediately informed the Kurunegala job agent through
whom Somalatha went with the help of Jayanthi, the Sri Lanka
Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) and the Foreign Ministry,
in an effort to get her body back for the last rites. On July
24, they heard from the Foreign Ministry that Somalatha had
agreed to donate her kidneys and signed the consent papers.
If her son, Yohan Daminda Nelumdeniya certified his acceptance
and faxed a document, the Kuwaiti authorities could go ahead
with the removal of the kidneys and he would get Rs. 1 million
from the patient who would get them transplanted.
"Even
an official from the Kuwaiti Embassy called us and urged us
to do so. But we wanted to see our sister's written consent,"
says Swineetha. "The discussion about the removal of
the kidneys came several days after my sister's death. Was
that possible, we asked the officials. On our insistence that
we be shown our sister's document, we were then told that
she had given her consent verbally."
The obvious
follow-up question was - How had Somalatha who had been unconscious
since July 7 given her verbal consent? With the mystery over
Somalatha's death deepening, the next of kin were now desperate
to get her body back. Seeing their agitation, the Foreign
Ministry's Director General of Consular Affairs Gamini Kariyawasam
had told them that if they were suspicous of the death, they
could make an official complaint and the ministry would pass
it on to the Kuwaiti Embassy for investigation.
Ultimately,
when the body came the relatives found to their horror that
not only had the kidneys been removed but also the bladder,
the corneas and a major part of the brain.
More
than one and a half months later, what they still don't know
is what she died of? According to the death certificate registered
on July 16, the direct reason for death is put down as "case
is still under investigation".
For officials,
Somalatha maybe just another statistic among the 850,000 migrant
workers who give of their sweat, blood and tears to fill Sri
Lanka's coffers with foreign exchange, but she is the beloved
mother of Yohan and loving sister of Swineetha and the others.
They
have every right to demand answers which will help them come
to terms with Somalatha's death, allay fears of foul play
and also lay her spirit at rest.
No
word for three long years
"Please find my wife
and bring her home," was the pitiful plea of M. Thiruchelvam
whom The Sunday Times met on the doorstep of the Legal Aid
Foundation in Hulftsdorp, while the media focused on the bizarre
case of Somalatha Satharasinghe.
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Pic
y Ishara S. Kodikara
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His
32-year-old wife, Ariyasami Shakthi went to Saudi Arabia on
passport M 0592736 on November 5, 1999 to work as a housemaid.
Nearly three years have passed and not a word have they heard
from her.
A woman
who had never worked in a local house before and couldn't
write even a word of Tamil, grasped the chance to go abroad
for the simple need of money. A other of two children, a son
of eight and a daughter of six, she and her husband had just
started building a little home of their own. "The house
was half-built and we were in debt," laments Thiruchelvam
whose meagre earnings as an attendant at the Trincomalee Hospital
were and still are hardly sufficient to feed, clothe and school
their young family.
There
were no options for pretty Shakthi. The Middle East job lured
her. She would work hard and bring back money to complete
their home and also pay back the debts. The story keeps echoing
from the far corners of poverty-stricken Sri Lanka, be it
the North Central, the Southern or the Central Province.
What
hopes, what expectations. Now the husband and children have
only shattered dreams and pleas, urgent pleas that she be
found. Though Thiruchelvam had given Shakthi many self-addressed
envelopes to get someone to write a line, not a word have
they had from her.
They
waited a few months, then went in despair to the Bureau of
Foreign Employment (Complaint No. CN/189/0005), the Foreign
Ministry and also the job agent. That was in early 2000. Still
her husband keeps coming to Colombo hoping for some bit of
news and is sent from here to there and there to here. Each
time he was supposed to get an answer from the Bureau, the
officer who was handling the case had been moved elsewhere.
An address of the house she is supposed to be working in along
with a phone number had been given but calls there bring only
curt replies that there is no such person.
What
do they do? Keep going from place to place - another number
without a face for the officials.
Many
calls by The Sunday Times to Deputy General Manager of the
Bureau, L.K. Ruhunuge yielded no response.
Does
anyone care? No one does for, though mouthing platitudes about
how valuable they are on political platforms and airconditioned
seminar rooms, these poor housemaids and other unskilled workers
are expendables. They just do not wield the power, the money
or the influence to get the wheels of government and officialdom
moving to ensure their basic rights.
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