Diddled, deserted and distrusted

• Migrant workers relate their tale of woe

By N.Dilshath Banu

The plight of 17 migrant workers who had gone to seek employment in Dubai but were taken to Iraq instead, was brought to light last week revealing the shockingly tale of human trafficking parading as providing foreign employment.

Seventeen men -12 from Batticaloa, 4 from Vavuniya and one from Trincomalee - all living in dire circumstances were trying to go abroad to earn a better living. They had reportedly paid Rs. 200,000 each to the agent who promised them employment which paid around Rs. 65,000 per month.

“I used to go fishing, but it’s difficult to continue that occupation after the tsunami. I contacted a sub-agent in Trincomalee in June last year. He said jobs with good pay were available in an aluminium factory,” said 27-year-old B.Pushparaja from Trincomalee.

After obtaining his passport and visa, Pushparaja, along with others in the group each received US $500-$750 (Rs. 50,000 – Rs. 75,000) from the local agent, who said this amount had to be given as commission to the person representing the Agency named Global Business Supporters, Dubai, meeting them at the Dubai Airport.

The men were supposed to be flown to another part of Dubai, by the foreign employment agent named Akram.

“It was a small airport and once we landed, we were taken by bus. It seemed like a developing city but coming from a different country, we didn’t know the difference between Dubai and other West Asian countries,” Pushparaja said.

According to Pushparaja, they were taken to a half-built building undergoing renovation. They were told by Akram to lodge there for some time while he got suitable jobs for each one of them. After three days Akram left, leaving them with another man and never came back.

“We were put into a huge hall with no furniture. Two buns and cheese with a small bottle of water were given to each of us,” Sandrakumar Anandaraja (26) from Vavuniya said.

A few days after a month had elapsed, two of the members were taken for some job in a shopping mall still being renovated.
“While we were travelling, we saw shop name boards denoting the place as Irbil. We asked a passer-by and to our surprise, he said Irbil was in Iraq,” said 32 year-old-Pradeepan from Batticaloa.

All of them had argued saying they did not want to stay in Iraq and asked for their money back to go home.

Their employers hit them with the butt end of guns and told them the agent had ‘sold’ them for $1,500 and they had to do what the employers wanted.

However, when the men insisted they wanted to go back home they were taken to an abandoned building.

“It was an open hall with no covering, apart from the roof. There were no buildings or people close by. After a week we sneaked out and reached a UNHCR building,” S.Yogasekaran, another victim from Batticaloa said.

Soon they were referred to the International Organization of Migration (IOM) and subsequently they were flown back to Sri Lanka on February 5 to face yet another ordeal. When the returnees were taken to a hotel near the airport to spend the night before being screened the next morning, the hotel manager had alerted the police to the presence of the group. Seeduwa police then took this group into custody.

OIC Saman Sisira of Seeduwa Police said the police received the call and took the group into custody.

“Similar tactics could be used by the LTTE. A few persons could be sent abroad by illegal means and when they are caught they would be sent back escorted by a mediation agency like the IOM. After they are set free at the airport, an LTTE operative in the group would have an easy route to his intended target,” he said.

The release of the 17 men came after the Chief of Mission of IOM in Iraq sent a letter to Sri Lankan Ambassador in Beirut, M.M A. Farouque, stating these 17 men were victims of trafficking.

After the formal inquiry and an assurance from the Colombo office of IOM these stranded migrant workers went back home, after they were released on police bail.