The Covid-19 pandemic hit Sri Lanka in more than one way.
In addition to dealing with the collapse of the national economy, the decline in foreign tourist arrivals, Covid-19-related deaths, disruption of people’s day-to-day activities, and the massive cost of testing, quarantining and treating the Covid-19 infected, the authorities are struggling to bring back the Sri Lankan migrant workers stranded abroad due to the Covid-19 pandemic and related travel restrictions.
Even though the process of repatriating stranded Sri Lankans, especially migrant workers, began a couple of months ago, various parties continue to level allegations against the Government and the authorities, claiming they have failed to give adequate attention to the Sri Lankan migrant workers, and that the repatriation process should be expedited. In addition, a number of aspects of this process – identifying Sri Lankans who need to be given priority when repatriating, bearing the cost of flight tickets and PCR tests, and mandatory quarantine after arriving in Sri Lanka – were questioned by many parties.
In addition, quarantining Sri Lankan repatriates in hotels, a step taken by the Government to address the rapidly increasing number of people in state-run quarantine centres, was also criticised by many, due to this being a paid service, and also allegations of the hotel charges being exorbitant.
Sri Lanka’s repatriation process
To look into Sri Lanka’s existing repatriation process, The Morning spoke to the country’s foremost state-run institution dealing with matters of foreign employment, the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE).
According to SLBFE Deputy General Manager and Spokesperson Mangala Randeniya, the SLBFE, in collaboration with topmost government officials and institutions, is currently looking into expediting the repatriation of Sri Lankan migrant workers, with a focus on improving the facilities of state-run quarantine centers.
Randeniya said that decisions pertaining to Sri Lankan migrant workers willing to return to the country are taken by the Sri Lankan Embassy in the relevant country. He added: “Decisions pertaining to Sri Lankan migrant workers that need to be given priority are taken by the embassies after assessing the requests made by either Sri Lankans themselves, or the authorities in the relevant country. The embassy carefully considers the reasons they have given as to why a certain person needs to be repatriated urgently.”
According to Randeniya, when repatriating Sri Lankans, priority is given to people based on two types of requests, i.e. personal requests made by Sri Lankan migrant workers that are willing to come back to Sri Lanka, or institution-level requests made by authorities in the relevant countries regarding Sri Lankans that need to be repatriated.
He added: “Personal requests are usually made to Sri Lankan embassies based on personal reasons including but not limited to, a domestic reason in the country they reside in, personal reasons, and various situations in Sri Lanka that are of concern to them, such as family concerns.”
According to Randeniya, whether a personal request is made or not, certain people are being repatriated based on institutional decisions and/or requests as well. He explained that requests made by authorities in foreign countries are also taken into account when repatriating Sri Lankans.
Among these Sri Lankans are those detained in prisons and detention camps due to various legal issues. He added that usually the administration of these camps, prisons, or police inform the Sri Lankan embassy in the relevant country from which the Sri Lankans need to be repatriated.
“Sometimes these foreign authorities come forward to do PCR tests and provide the flight tickets for the Sri Lankans they want repatriated, and the embassy, after discussing with Sri Lanka’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, National Operations Centre for Prevention of Covid-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO), and the aviation authorities, takes steps to have these Sri Lankans repatriated,” he added.
Situation in quarantine centres: the decisive factor
He went on to say that when repatriating Sri Lankans, irrespective of the nature of their repatriation, Sri Lanka’s situation, i.e. the situation in quarantine centres in Sri Lanka, is a decisive factor. Randeniya emphasised that the capacity and facilities available in the quarantine centres, especially state-run quarantine centres, is the main factor that matters as far expediting the repatriation process is concerned.
He stressed: “The SLBFE is ready to extend any support for this endeavour. When it comes to increasing the number of Sri Lankans being repatriated, the capacity of quarantine centres matters even more than flight tickets or flights.”
He went on to say: “Embassies in relevant countries are usually informed of space and facilities available in the state-run quarantine centres – which provide services free of charge – as well as hotel quarantine centres – which provide services for a payment – for those who are willing to be quarantined at hotels. The embassies, depending on their (Sri Lankans willing to come back) preference, repatriate people to be quarantined in either state-run quarantine centers or hotel quarantine centers.
“That is the process that is being followed currently. The NOCPCO is currently discussing these matters with experts as well as authorities. If it is possible to improve the facilities and increase staff members, as well as developing other services in quarantine centres further, it would be possible to expedite the repatriation process.”
He added that the SLBFE, as the foremost state institution tasked with dealing with the grievances of Sri Lankan migrant workers, has already informed the relevant authorities, including the President, Prime Minister, and the national Covid-19 task force, of the need to improve the facilities of quarantine centres. He stressed that the SLBFE had expressed willingness to take necessary steps to address the situation, including giving the SLBFE training centres to be used as quarantine centres.
Meanwhile, government news portals recently said that the Minister of Labour Nimal Siripala de Silva had instructed the authorities to set up nine new quarantine centres covering the nine provinces, in a bid to expedite the repatriation of Sri Lankan migrant workers. He also acknowledged that the lack of facilities in quarantine centres was the reason why the repatriation process could not be expedited further. In addition, the Minister had further instructed the SLBFE to look into the grievances of Sri Lankan migrant workers unable to purchase a flight ticket to return to the country, and to assist them financially.
Repatriation process needs improvement: migrant workers’ groups
Meanwhile, former Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) MP and Ethera Api organisation President Sunil Handunetti said that requiring repatriated Sri Lankans to be quarantined at state-run quarantine centres and/or hotel quarantine centres is unnecessary, and that they can be quarantined at their own homes, the same way those living in Sri Lanka are quarantined.
He added: “Prior to being repatriated from various countries, Sri Lankan migrant workers are usually subjected to PCR tests, and PCR tests can be conducted upon their arrival in Sri Lanka as well. They can be sent to their homes after a couple of days, based on the results of their PCR tests, if they test negative for Covid-19.
“If other Sri Lankans are quarantined at their homes, Sri Lankan migrant workers can also be quarantined the same way. Why is it necessary to keep in a hotel a person who can be sent and quarantined at home? Some of these migrant workers receive very little leave – if a person who has a one-month long vacation is sent to quarantine for 14 days, that person has to go back to work in another 14 days. Also, they have to pay for everything starting from their flight ticket, and then the cost of being quarantined in a hotel.
“This (repatriation process) has become a business. Even though the airports were reopened for tourists, Sri Lankan migrant workers waiting to come back to Sri Lanka have to go through the Sri Lankan embassy in the relevant country, and also endure the whole process of being quarantined depending on the space available.”
When asked what sort of improvements have been made to the repatriation process as a result of the authorities’ discussions held recently regarding expediting the repatriation process, he added that so far no change has been made.
Meanwhile, Community Development Services (CDS) Executive Director Andrew Samuel stated that Sri Lankan migrant workers should be repatriated without charging any money, and that currently a huge amount is charged from them to be repatriated. “Many have said to us that they had to mortgage their properties to find adequate money to come, and some had lost their jobs,” he noted.
Repatriation of South Asian migrant workers in the face of Covid-19
According to a recent Reuters report, around 40 million South Asian migrant workers are employed in foreign countries, mainly in the Gulf Region. Among them are migrant workers from India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan.
Even though repatriating a country’s migrant workers in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic could be a solution to certain issues concerning their health, researchers from around the world caution that countries should take steps to deal with the challenges it may pose, as far as the country’s economy and health situation is concerned.
Last year, when the Government of Nepal had suspended scheduled international flights, Nepal’s Supreme Court issued an interim order to the country’s Government to use the country’s foreign employment welfare fund to repatriate Nepali workers living abroad in highly vulnerable conditions.
Foreign media outlets, quoting Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry, said the country was expecting to bring back around 29,000 citizens in several stages taking into consideration the limited quarantine facilities the country had. Moreover, the country’s Government had announced an emergency aid, and also a loan to support their lives after being repatriated.
Indian media recently pointed out that when repatriating migrant workers, especially unskilled workers, the Indian Government may have to face challenges in assisting them to find jobs within the country, due to rising and persisting unemployment, and the unavailability or lack of the type of jobs they are skilled in.
The Thomson Reuters Foundation said that receiving so many of them at once threatens to overwhelm fragile public health systems and a dwindling job market in the region, which is home to a fifth of the world's population. Nilanjan Ghosh, Director at the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation (ORF) think-tank, had told the Foundation: “You have a whole lot of people who are unemployed, who cannot be absorbed in the economic system... and at the same time governmental subsidies and aid or benefits may not be reaching all of them.”
Migrant workers of other countries in the region, especially India, also reported similar instances where India migrant workers employed in the Gulf Region were forced by their employers to agree to “voluntary resignation”, even though they were terminated. The Indian media further reported instances of Indian migrant workers having to come home without their salaries.
A country’s migrant workers are not mere employees that go abroad to make a living – they have a special role as far as the country’s economy is concerned, especially in the South Asian region. Sri Lankan migrant workers too have tremendously contributed to shape the country’s economy by sending home billions of rupees every year, and they are revered as heroes. It would not be an exaggeration to state that migrant workers are a sector of our economy that Sri Lanka cannot afford to lose.
Their plight is not limited to merely being stranded in foreign countries. They are also facing a number of other issues, such as a lack of funds to pay hotel quarantine centres, not being paid by their employers, losing jobs due to Covid-19-related workplace decisions, and the inability to afford proper healthcare facilities until their repatriation.
Activists working for the rights of Sri Lankan migrant workers recently claimed that a number of Sri Lankans, who have lost their jobs and are rendered homeless due to the Covid-19 pandemic, are waiting for their repatriation. Even though discussions are in progress to expedite the repatriation process, activists who directly work with Sri Lankan migrant workers keep claiming that the repatriation process has a number of shortcomings that need to be addressed.
In conclusion, it appears that migrant workers’ issues should also be conveyed to the authorities properly so they can take steps to further improve the repatriation process. A mutually beneficial collaboration between the two parties can make the repatriation process more fast and effective.
Migrant workers in perpetual limbo?
08 Feb 2021
Migrant workers in perpetual limbo?
08 Feb 2021
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