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Ethera Api to handover petition to Prez on migrant workers stranded in Kuwait

15 Feb 2021

The Ethera Api organisation which is affiliated to the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and represents Sri Lankan migrant workers, is signing a petition to be handed over to the President, Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, and Kuwaiti Ambassador calling for their immediate intervention on behalf of the affected Sri Lankans in Kuwait, The Morning learnt. The collection of signatures for the petition is being done by the Kuwaiti Branch of Ethera Api. Speaking to The Morning, Kuwait-based Ethera Api activist Indika Supun said that this petition lists seven demands. The demands are as follows: 1) The allocation of funds from the Rs. 4 billion Kuwait Compensation Fund and the insurance cover charges taken from the workers, to develop a proper programme for Covid-19 pandemic; 2) Repatriates to be selected according to the order, following the priority list of the Embassy; 3) Repatriate persons who are suffering from illnesses or other serious problems at the expense of the Government; 4) Allow workers to be self-quarantined at homes if they do not test positive after the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test; 5) Allow Covid-19-positive migrant workers to receive government quarantine facilities; 6) To provide immediate solutions to the existing problems of the Embassy and to provide the necessary facilities to intervene in the problems faced by Sri Lankans living abroad; and 7) Mediate to obtain a general amnesty period for those without valid visas in the Middle East in order to travel to Sri Lanka. “We don’t see a proper involvement from the Government concerning the migrant workers in Kuwait”, Supun claimed. According to him, there are around 120,000 Sri Lankan migrant workers in Kuwait, 18,000 of who are staying without proper visa even though they came to Kuwait under the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) registration. “The Kuwaiti Government issued an amnesty allowing visa violators to leave Kuwait during the period from 25 April to 30 April 2020, without paying fines. Sri Lankan migrant workers were allowed to depart without paying travel costs where the Kuwaiti Government provided tickets for them.” According to Supun, the Sri Lankan Embassy in Kuwait was not supporting this process, as the officers did not attend to the airport-related procedures, claiming that the Sri Lankan Government did not allow workers to come to the country during that period. “A total of 460 Sri Lankan migrant workers were repatriated from Kuwait. They had passports, but what about the workers who had no supportive documents? Around 2,000 workers did not have passports or any legal document. These documents should be provided by the Sri Lankan Embassy in Kuwait – which they did not provide.” Speaking to The Morning last week, State Minister of Regional Co-operation Tharaka Balasuriya said that the Ministry is doing their best to make sure that the workers are looked after.  Meanwhile, SLBFE General Manager Mangala Randeniya said that the National Operations Centre for Prevention of Covid-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO) is still discussing this matter.  


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