Close the info gap

Tuesday, 10 July 2012 00:31 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The issue of a Sri Lankan man arrested in Saudi Arabia for allegedly worshipping a Buddha statue took a new twist on Monday when reports indicated that was in fact not the reason for which he was taken into custody. However, the real reason for the detention and the Sri Lankan officials plan ahead remain insecure and uncertain, causing much heartache to the worker’s family.

According to Arab News, reacting to previous reports, a senior official from the Sri Lankan mission had said the whole story was “totally fabricated” and “had nothing to do with idol worship”.

The report noted that the diplomat, who had met Thungasiri in jail, said that he had been booked on “some other charges” by Police in the Ummul Hammam District. The report does not elaborate on what these charges precisely are and makes no attempt to clarify what conditions in which the worker is being held.

However, it does point out that according to the official, Thungasiri, who works as a driver, had visited another Saudi’s house to resolve a dispute involving a housemaid there. He had said the maid was his relative and during the dispute Police arrested him. In his statement to the embassy, Thungasiri said his Saudi sponsor had nothing to do with the case and had surrendered his passport and other documents to prison authorities for his deportation.

The report goes onto quote the unnamed diplomat making grave statements regarding religious freedom in Saudi Arabia, which given the fact that around 500,000 Sri Lankan migrant workers are estimated to be in that country makes sense, but does not really address the issue at hand.

On one hand, locals, including the family of the detained man, cannot be blamed for believing that he was arrested on religious issues since Saudi Arabia does have a regime that is bolstered by rules that are unfamiliar to average people from Sri Lanka. For example, several months ago a female Sri Lankan migrant worker was in danger for “casting a spell” on a child and since allegations of sorcery do exist in that country, the news that a man was arrested for worshipping an idol could also be accepted. Moreover, even an underage Sri Lankan girl has been condemned to death, with the issue dragging on for years. Such situations certainly provoke panic and expectations of the worst possible scenario.

On the other hand, Sri Lankan officials both here and abroad have consistently failed to provide adequate services for beleaguered migrant workers, especially in the Middle East, and since little has emerged as to exactly what charges the Sri Lankan citizen has been arrested under, there seems to be an information void that needs to be filled urgently. At the very least the wife and children of the detained man need to be made aware of the true nature of his arrest and the steps taken by the Sri Lankan authorities to clear his name.

Given the large number of Sri Lankans in Saudi Arabia, it is disconcerting that a grapevine for information has not been established by the embassy with local officials. As always, it can only be hoped that the authorities get their act together before another serious sentence or misunderstanding is the result. Establishing a better information service in case of emergencies such as this is certainly one way in which protection of local migrant workers can be promoted.