The Sri Lankan Bureau of Foreign Employment will help 140 stranded Sri Lankan migrant workers, who arrived at the Kandahar Bridge in Saudi Arabia within the past few days, seeking transport home. Workers’ Welfare (First Secretary) Sri Lankan Jeddah Consular General, W. A. C. Perera said yesterday (10) that there were over 260 migrant workers who had arrived at the Kandahar Bridge awaiting their passage back to Sri Lanka.

The Kandahar Bridge is the land mark in Saudi Arabia for pilgrims who lose their way during their trip to Mecca, Chairman of the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau Kingsley Ranawaka said. Such pilgrims have their airfare paid for by the Saudi government and are flown back to their countries free of cost. He said the Sri Lankan migrant workers arriving at the Bridge were making use of this. Under such a situation they don’t have to pay their employer a penalty for the sum spent on having them temporarily migrate to Saudi Arabia, neither do they have to pay the fine for over staying their visas nor do they have to pay to renew their visas, he explained.

He said from 2007 to September this year the Consular General’s Office in Jeddah had sent back over 6,200 local migrant workers who had either over stayed their visas or had escaped from their places of employment. Sri Lankan migrant workers are not the only ones who seek refuge at the Kandahar Bridge. Pakistanis, Indians and Indonesians, who are in similar situations too take refuge at the Bridge. He said that hopefully the SLFEB and the Consular General would be able to fly them back by Saturday (14).

In 2008 a total of 4,030 Sri Lankan workers in Saudi were deported by Saudi immigration authorities. This year till May there were 1,229 deported from Saudi.

The workers are installed at a makeshift camp close to the Jeddah Consular General’s office where they are kept till they are given a temporary visa and air ticket to fly home, he said.

The Saudi Government however has expressed its concern regarding the situation as they fear that Sri Lankan’s and other foreign nationals involved in criminal offenses too are amongst those seeking refuge at the Kandahar Bridge.

As a precautionary measure the Saudi Government has commenced finger printing migrant workers who arrive and depart from the country.