COLOMBO – Parliamentarian Imthiaz Bakeer Markar urged the government to prioritize the return of more than 50,000 Sri Lankan migrant workers who are without work and facing a daily struggle to live in foreign lands.
In his first speech in the current Parliament, the Opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP said Parliament should, without dividing themselves along party lines, appeal to the government to take action in this regard.
He read out parts of a letter sent by a migrant worker who claims to be very sick and appeals for help.
The worker also charges that “only the rich and influential are getting the chance to come home.”
Bakeer Marker, noting that workers who supported hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankans were now facing much hardship, deemed it a a major tragedy and said, “It is not right for us to look for various reasons why we should not bring these people home.”
He proposed the issue be given high priority, and said Parliament should request the government these people be looked after while they are overseas.
“Their personal safety and security, food and other necessities must be provided in the countries they are living in and be brought back home as quickly as possible without undue delay,” he said, adding, “As a just and civilized society we have a responsibility for all our citizens whether they live here or overseas.”
More than a million migrant workers labouring in many foreign lands send their earnings, amounting to millions of dollars home, and nurture this country, he pointed out, adding that because of the Covid pandemic, many of the working were facing difficulties in continuing their jobs and have appealed to the government to bring them back.
“We have seen in the media the state some of them have been reduced to. They have no shelter, no food or medicine,” Bakeer Markar said, adding, “I make this proposal not from a partisan political standpoint but for humane reasons.
He also noted, “Having our people suffer under inhuman conditions in these foreign lands is tarnishing the image of our country,” and called on the government to coordinate the resources available to the United Nations, the Red Cross and other aid agencies to help these people. He also observed that Sri Lankans in those countries were doing what they could, but asked, “How long can they sustain such aid?”
Bakeer Marker proposed the government prioritize their return according to their needs and situation. “There are pregnant women, older people, those who are sick, we can prioritize based on their needs,” he said, pointing out that there were funds available to repatriate these people.
He also noted that all these migrant workers were registered with the government and were charged Rs 18,300 each. “These monies have been deposited,” he said, adding that Sri Lanka had also got money from Kuwait, which have been deposited and earning interest. These funds can be used to help the migrants, he reiterated.
-ENCL/economynext.com