After execution, Sri Lanka to phase out maids going to Saudi
(Reuters) – Sri Lanka will gradually stop allowing women going to Saudi Arabia to be housemaids after a Sri Lankan was executed in the country over the death of an infant in her care, the Colombo government said on Thursday.
The Indian Ocean island nation recalled its envoy to Saudi Arabia in response to the beheading on January 9 of Rizana Nafeek, who was sentenced to death in 2007 accused of killing her employer’s daughter while she was bottle-feeding.
The government said it would raise the minimum age for female domestic workers to be eligible to seek employment in Saudi Arabia to 25 years from the present 21 with an eye on eventually stopping such employment altogether.
“Gradual phase-out is the idea,” said government spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella. “We can’t stop it overnight. It’s a gradual process and increasing the age limit is part of that.”
A third of the two million Sri Lankan maids working abroad are in Saudi Arabia, according to the country’s foreign employment bureau.
Expatriate worker remittance, the top foreign exchange earner in the $59 billion economy, hit a record $5.43 billion in the first 11 months of 2012, higher than its annual peak of $5.14 billion hit in 2011, central bank data showed.
Many households in the Middle East are highly dependent on housemaids from African and South Asian countries.
In some cases of reported domestic abuse, maids have attacked the children of their employers after they were mistreated themselves. In the case of Nafeek, the Saudi Interior Ministry said, the infant was strangled after a dispute between her and the baby’s mother.
Reuters
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Well, may not be a blanket ban. But well done, it gives the message necessary. If all other countries sending maids to Saudi Arabia, they will almost instantly find how how to modernize their law book.
Let us see how many Human Right Organizations and NGOs now will appreciate what the SL government had done.
The creation of more opportunities locally will assist in stemming the flow of womenfolk into risky work environments like overseas domestic markets.
With projects such as the Hambantota Harbour and Mattala Airport, economic opportunities are likely to rise significantly in 2013 onwards. With growth already at 7%, we are heading towards significant economic upturn that will eliminate the need for seeking opportunities in high risk environments.
hi all, stop sending housemaids, cut the cost of Govt, Ministers cost, minimize the ministries and their unwanted cost to balance the budget (generating revenue from housemaid it is par of shame to Mr. Ministers)
Perhaps, older women trained in care of young children and use of modern house appliances, should only be allowed to work in Saudi Arabia, with immediate effect. Any Agency which flouts the law and cheats by giving a false age should be heavily fined, sentenced to prison and never allowed to open an Agency again.
We should not send at all housemaids but instead skilled labor such as electricians, plumbers, masons , carpenters, doctors, engineers etc. But still some training on Arabic language, law, and how to send money should be given before leaving the country.
We should be shameful to live any more at the cost of unskilled innocent rural Sri Lanka housemaids’ bloods,sweats and tears.
Rizana Nafeek also paid for SLBFEs insurance and what did SLBFE did for Rizana. I hope nothing. The staff of SLBFE recieving salaries with that so called insurance paid by those house maids like Rizana. The money they are recieving is the blood,sweats and tears of those innocents. soone or later all of them will pay the price for that. If not by them, their family members or their children will suffer.
Dayaratne Bandara.
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Agree with Maurice in Blog 3.
With the economy progressing at rapid pace with the assistance of Mahinda Chinthanaya Idiri Dekma and rural resuscitation programs under Divi Neguma, opportunities are bound to increase significantly in 2013 onwards.
With support from Chinese loans, infrastructure, agricultural and tourism development will provide ample opportunity.
With the appointment of Dr Lakshman Jayaweera, the renowned entrepreneur from Australia as the BOI chief, industrial development is also anticipated to grow 2013 onwards.
Mahinda Chinthanaya Idiri Dekma will uplift the lives of rural folk eliminating the need for foreign employment.
first of all decide why these maids going for ? because of poverty, just try to arrange some thing to these people to have a permanent income
corniche u r right , i agree , cut the bleddy cost of those ministers and as well as mp’s unwanted shits , these buggers are the main gainers of our inland revenues.
we pay , these pigs eat.
Hello Ashik and Corniche,
Not only Ministers waste the money but the officials and government institutions. 40% of fuel is used for government vehicles. Government officials (most) use their duty vehicles for private purposes and families.
How many government officials get duty free vehicle permit but they sell it. Government official always point their fingers to politicians for waste, corruption and mismanagement but which is not the real case that not only politicians are responsible.