RIYADH, 20 October 2006 — The Sri Lankan Embassy here has opened a round-the-clock help desk for expatriate workers who may seek embassy assistance when in distress, the country’s ambassador A.M.J. Sadiq told Arab News yesterday.
“This is being done as a follow up to the three-day Sri Lankan ambassadors meeting held in Colombo under the aegis of President Mahinda Rajapakse,” Sadiq said, adding that the mission will remain open 24-hours for runaway housemaids and that they would be given shelter at a safe house which is run by the mission with the assistance of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment ( SLBFE).
The embassy’s labor secretary supported by the two labor welfare officers have been entrusted to carry out the new 24-hour program under the direct supervision of the envoy. Hitherto, the mission had made arrangements with the diplomatic police to receive runaway maids after office hours and hand them over to government-run welfare centers.
The new 24-hour service will be of immense benefit to housemaids in distress reporting to the mission, especially during the current Ramadan holiday period. Housemaids, who have disagreements with their Saudi sponsors, have a tendency to flee their homes during the latter part of the holy month since many Saudi sponsors to leave the Kingdom during the Ramadan holidays.
Most of these maids run away from homes due to disagreements with their sponsors and non-payment of salaries, the ambassador said, pointing out that the mission settles most of the disputes by negotiating with respective sponsors.
The others are repatriated home either through funds provided by the maids or by the SLBFE, he added. The mission receives an average of 10 runaway housemaids daily, a figure that increases in coming days because of the Ramadan holidays. The envoy said that the new service will be available throughout the year and that there are some 550,000 Sri Lankans in the Kingdom of which 80 percent are domestic aides.
“President Mahinda Rajapakse made a comprehensive speech outlining the duties and obligations of Sri Lankan ambassadors who are serving abroad and it is our duty to design programs and activities of the mission in accordance with his vision and mission,” said Sadiq, who returned to the Kingdom after attending an ambassadors’ conference held last week in Colombo.
Sadiq said the embassy will work with renewed vigor to look after the interests of expatriates in order to promote economic cooperation with Saudi Arabia, particularly in the fields of trade, tourism, investment and in the exchange of high-level visits.
During his stay in Colombo, Sadiq said that he met with some prominent businessmen in the capital who have shown interest in joint venture projects with Saudi businessmen. “This is a good way of attracting Saudi investments to the island,” he stressed.
He added that he is also negotiating with the Saudi Foreign Ministry in cooperation with its Saudi mission in Colombo for an exchange of high-level political and business visits.
“These efforts will be intensified soon after the Ramadan holidays,” he added. He also has plans to organize programs in cooperation with Sri Lankan Airlines to promote the island as a tourist destination. He pointed out that the Saudi tourists are heavy spenders and they look for South Asian destinations for their holidays. “We have plenty of attractions to offer for Saudi tourists but hitherto we have not harnessed this lucrative market effectively,” he added.
