No migrant workers ‘trapped’ in Kuwait safe house, repatriation process underway: Manusha

By Nuwan Senarathna 

MP Manusha Nanayakkara addressing the media while  holding a copy of Namal Rajapaksa’s tweet - Pic by Shehan Gunasekara

Responding to a tweet by MP Namal Rajapaksa on migrant workers located in a safe house in Kuwait who were unable to return to Sri Lanka, MP Manusha Nanayakkara said that politicians should not gain political mileage out of migrant workers.

“It is unacceptable behaviour from a politician like Namal Rajapaksa, but this is absolutely incorrect: there are no migrant workers trapped in a Kuwait safe house,” Nanayakkara told reporters at Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE).  

Rajapaksa yesterday tweeted that he was informed by Sri Lankan ambassador to Kuwait B. Kandeepan that 30 migrant workers were stranded in a safe house and were unable to afford to purchase airline tickets. In the tweet, Rajapaksa also called on the public to help to bring migrant workers back to Sri Lanka. 

However, Nanayakkara said SLBFE had already taken measures to bring home the 30 migrant workers, who were located in a safe house in Kuwait.  He noted SLBFE had already purchased airline tickets, and that the migrant workers would arrive in Sri Lanka within the next few days.

“How can anyone say those migrant workers were stranded, when at the moment the SLBFE is on the job? We have taken all the measures which are necessary to bring them back to Sri Lanka, therefore I think it unfair to make such statements at a time when we are aware of the situation and actually working on it,” he added.

Meanwhile, Telecommunications, Foreign Employment and Sports Minister Harin Fernando tweeted that he had a telephone conversation with Ambassador of Sri Lanka in Kuwait B. Kandeepan. According to Fernando, during the conversation, Ambassador Kandeepan had only spoken about the challenges he was facing on repatriation of irregular and overstayed migrant workers. 

Fernando further stated that SLBFE has always addressed the issue and made the necessary arrangements to bring down migrant workers, adding that there was no authenticity in Rajapaksa’s tweet. 

Nanayakkara said SLBFE had been able to reduce the number of migrant workers who arrive at safe houses run by SLBFE. According to Nanayakkara, 10970 migrant workers had arrived to seek the help of a safe house in 2010, and that number had come down to 2384 in 2018.

SLBFE runs 11 safe houses, located in Abu Dhabi, Cyprus, Dubai, Jeddah, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Riyadh, and Malaysia. 

He noted 1140 migrant workers located in safe houses had been able to return to the country in 2018, adding that the number of migrant workers who had been brought back to the country was reduced during the last five years.