The hapless housemaid

The tragic story of a housemaid who worked in Abu Dhabi reported in The Island on Wednesday and Thursday reveals the exploitation of poor Sri Lankan women at its bestial worst.

The poor woman who had been treated brutally by her employer, assaulted repeatedly, had sought assistance from her employment agency which had asked her to seek assistance from the Sri Lankan embassy. On her way to the embassy in a taxi, she had been abducted by the taxi driver and raped by him and two others. On her complaint to the Abu Dhabi police the rapists had been charged in court. She had been staying at the embassy while the trial was proceeding but there she had fallen into greater difficulty. She alleges that she had been raped by a Sri Lankan diplomat and following her complaint to the ambassador, she had been forcibly sent back home. Because of her being sent back she was unable to collect the two million rupees awarded to her by the Abu Dhabi courts, she alleges. Now she seeks relief from the Minister of Labour, Mr Mahinda Samarasinghe.

This is just one of the daily tragic stories we hear about our poor women, who in an attempt to break out of the bonds of poverty seek employment in the Middle East, knowing very well the harsh, cruel and degrading experiences they will have to undergo. Many Asian countries have banned their women from seeking employment in Middle Eastern countries because of the degrading conditions of employment but Sri Lanka cannot afford to protect their women in such a manner because the income of housemaids constitutes one of the main props of our economy. The traditional props of our economy — tea, rubber and coconut have undergone change. Now its tea, garments and housemaids.

These housemaids and manual workers who labour in the desert sands are far more important to us than the qualified professionals working in the west. While professionals tend to build their bank balances in foreign banks and buy property with the intention of staying back in those countries, the poor workers send their few hundred dollars earned back home. The Central Bank report says: ‘Foreign exchange remittances from migrant workers have been the country’s largest net foreign exchange earner and the share of foreign complement of housemaids has been vary high’. According to Central Bank statistics these Middle East workers had brought in US$ 931 million from January to August this year alone.

Besides the cruel and degrading treatment they have to undergo abroad, the social costs back home are tremendous. Neglect of children, philandering husbands who make merry from the income sent back by their wives etc. at times result in placing them in a much worse plight than they were in before they went abroad.

It is unlikely that any government will prevent our women seeking employment in the Middle East. What can be done is to provide protection and facilities for these women. These embassies should be staffed by responsible professional diplomats not political appointees most of whom are of very dubious backgrounds. The Foreign Ministry should take very seriously the allegations that have been made by the housemaid referred to earlier. A high level investigations should be conducted and the public made aware of the findings. Such exposures can be deterrents. This is not the first instance of complaints being made by Sri Lankan women about sexual harassment and rape by some Lankan diplomats or embassy staff.

There are supposed to be Labour Department offices in some capitals of the Middle East with the objective of looking after the interests of our workers but very little is heard about what is being done in these offices.

The woes of housemaids do not end with their landing at Katunayake. At this so called international airport despite ‘security measures’ taken there are the parasites (aptly called Kakkas) abound. Two weeks ago a returning journalist heard the loud wails of a housemaid who had been duped at the duty free complex and there were no officials seen moving to help this hapless woman.

There are frequent reports of returning women being abducted, raped and robbed by drivers of vans they have hired to return home. It is indeed a crying shame that this so called ‘international airport’ does not have a taxi stand where taxis line up as in such other airports. It is a telling indictment on the PA as well as the UNF government that they cannot free the airport of thugs who run a so called taxi service. Today, such thug has become a VIP holding high office. The fact that the most high security zone cannot be cleared of thugs and touts speaks volumes of the corruption of those responsible for administration of this area.

All these gross injustices perpetrated on housemaids have been exposed in the media before. They are continuing and there is little doubt that it will happen in the future as well. Our callous and corrupt political leaders are responsible.