Hundreds of Lankans sent for employment as domestic drivers to Saudi Arabia have ended up as shepherds, Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council Opposition leader Ranjan Ramanayake said yesterday.

Mr. Ramanayake who claims to have first hand knowledge of working conditions of Sri Lankans in the Middle East and who had been a frequent traveler to those countries told The Island last week that about 350 Sri Lankans were living under a bridge in Jeddah in a place called Serphina with out adequate food and other facilities.He also said they were people who were either chased out by their employers without salaries or deserted their employers unable to cope with the work load and inhuman conditions under which they have been forced to work.

Yesterday, Ramanayake said that it has now been found that many of the women folk found in Serphina were pregnant and unless the Foreign Employment Bureau took immediate action to fly them back to Sri Lanka their situation would be more pathetic in the next few months.