RIYADH, 26 October 2004 — “I am thrilled to go home and meet my husband after three years.”
This was Preethika Priyanganie’s last wish that went unfulfilled. She was one of the four killed in a road accident that occurred when a bus carrying 37 Sri Lankan women workers collided with an oil tanker in Aflaj, 350 km away from the capital, on Sunday.
The 22-year-old Preethika’s wailing sister, Priyanthika Kumari who escaped with minor injuries in the accident told Arab News that her younger sister came with her to the Kingdom in December 2001 just after her marriage.
“She had lots of hopes and her only dream was to spend the rest of her days with her family,” a tearful Kumari said.
“I have bought toys for SR500 for my two children, they will be happy to play with the toys,” deceased Thilakshi Priyardarshini Perera was reported to have told her mother Princy Silva over the phone.
Her sister, Neeta Gangani told Arab News that her sister had spoken to her mother on Oct.10 to tell her of her arrival.
Priyadarshini was married to Sugath Priyantha, a carpenter and they have a ten-year-old daughter Rameshika Hashani, and five-year-old Rasinda Hashan. They are a poor family living in a small house at Panadura, 20 km away from Colombo. Their only hope was to live happily and peacefully raising their two children.
Her mother, Princy Peiris (51), was looking after her two children. The deceased Priyardarshini was the second daughter in the family. She studied up to her GCE Advanced Level and did well at the Methodist High School, Moratumulla. The youngest daughter Nishani Rangika in the family and her cousin Dharshanee Priyanka accompanied Thilakshi when they left Sri Lanka for Riyadh on Nov. 4, 2001 .
Most of the passengers who were traveling in the bus blamed the driver for the accident. Priya said that the driver was looking feeble and sick when he was at the wheel. “The other passengers asked me to sit in the front seat to ensure that he does not fall asleep. He overtook a vehicle and he did not go back to his lane since he was so sleepy. We all shouted to tell him of the oncoming vehicle, it was too late when he woke up,” Priya recalled.
The dead were Preethika Priyanganie — 699, Wekadawela South; Tangalle, T. Priydarshini Perera — 1/10 Susantha Mawathe, Panadura, Anula Neelakanthie Dathumawathe — Tikiriwewa and Anushika Dilrukshi- Udukekirwela — Weeraketiya.
Speaking to Arab News over the phone, the chairman of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment, SLBFE, Karunasena Hettiarachi, said only one of the four victims will be paid a compensation of 350,000 rupees (SR14,000) since this female worker was registered with the SLBFE. The other three workers did not renew their registration. It is a statutory law in the island for its overseas workers to register themselves before their departure to overseas work stations. This could be renewed at the Lankan missions abroad once in two years.
“However on a sympathetic ground, I shall talk to the minister of labor and try to get some form of compensations to the next-of-kin of the other three deceased,” he said.
“It is always good to register with the SLBF so that the registered persons or their families could avail themselves of the various services and facilities of the bureau in circumstances of this nature,” he said.
The Sri Lankan Ambassador Ibrahim Sahib Ansar told Arab News that the four dead bodies are currently at the morgue at Riyadh Central Hospital and arrangements are being made to send them to Colombo on a Sri Lankan Airlines flight. According to the envoy, some of the 37 Sri Lankan women were home-bound and the others were coming to Riyadh to go to different workplaces in the capital.
They were recruited from Sri Lanka three years ago as hospital cleaners to work in Najran, for Al Majal Al Arabi Establishment in Riyadh.
