When things in the middle-east have erupted in the past, it never occurred to me that this could affect my countrymen (well, in this case mostly women) from Sri Lanka. Yet, the escalation in violence in Lebanon with the Israelis conducting daily bombings has also caused a huge amount of difficulties to Sri Lankan migrant workers in the region. The problems faced by these workers are compounded by their working conditions, with employers often refusing to release their salaries and/or withholding their passports and other travel documents. This means that the Sri Lankan migrant workers (mostly domestic servants) are left without the financial and legal means to get away from the bombing. Even those who are able to leave must still run the gauntlet of roads subjected to aerial bombardment and even the Sri Lankan Embassy in Beirut is warning workers to avoid traveling by lorry since these have been targeted by the Israelis.
One significant result of this situation (which has the potential to have a positive long-term impact) is the media attention given to plight of migrant workers - particularly the sometimes harsh working conditions they have to endure and the seeming indifference of the officials supposed to watch out for their welfare. An article by Monica Smith brings these issues to light in a very clear manner.
Hopefully this situation will create enough pressure on government officials in both Sri Lanka (and the countries importing the workers) to put in place measure to protect the rights and welfare of the young men and women who travel overseas to work. As a group these people are a significant economic force, earning valuable foreign currency that is sent back to Sri Lanka to support their families. However, whilst the majority of workers are able to 'live the dream' of using their foreign earnings to raise their families out of poverty, there is a significant minority who end up in a nightmare of verbal/physical abuse and financial misery. It is high time those responsible for creating the nightmare situations - the abusive employers and uncaring government officials - are brought to account.
July 28, 2006
July 20, 2006
Tina - Good Girl!
This is the dog that has been adopted by my in-laws in Kandy, Sri Lanka. Her name is Tina and I guess 'random breed' would be the only way to describe her parentage!
She arrived at the house after Uthpala and I left Sri Lanka and despite many attempts to get pictures of her, nobody had a chance to take them and e-mail them to us until today. Luckily my parents are visiting Sri Lanka at the moment, so taking a couple of digital snaps and sending them over was no problem.
Tina has just had an operation, hence the homemade cardboard collar. However, Uthpala's mother tells us that Tina is too mischievous and has already got around the collar and messed up her stiches!
Uthpala and I are both looking forward to seeing Tina in person when we go to Sri Lanka in December :-)
She arrived at the house after Uthpala and I left Sri Lanka and despite many attempts to get pictures of her, nobody had a chance to take them and e-mail them to us until today. Luckily my parents are visiting Sri Lanka at the moment, so taking a couple of digital snaps and sending them over was no problem.
Tina has just had an operation, hence the homemade cardboard collar. However, Uthpala's mother tells us that Tina is too mischievous and has already got around the collar and messed up her stiches!
Uthpala and I are both looking forward to seeing Tina in person when we go to Sri Lanka in December :-)
July 12, 2006
Lazing in the Park
London is enjoying another mini-heatwave at the moment, so I took advantage and decided to walk from work to Paddington Station through Hyde Park / Kensington Gardens. As the sun comes out, so do Londoners, and the park was full of people taking some time out and catching some sun.
Took a whole bunch of random pictures on the way (just click the pciture to see the others in the set).
The journey to Paddington was in order to take the train to the airport so that I could say goodbye to my parents who are taking advantage of their retirement to take a long break in Sri Lanka. Lucky them! Uthpala and I are hoping to spend some time there in December, but until then, have to make do with the British Summer :-)
Took a whole bunch of random pictures on the way (just click the pciture to see the others in the set).
The journey to Paddington was in order to take the train to the airport so that I could say goodbye to my parents who are taking advantage of their retirement to take a long break in Sri Lanka. Lucky them! Uthpala and I are hoping to spend some time there in December, but until then, have to make do with the British Summer :-)
July 02, 2006
Sporting and Parlimentary Antics
What an up and down weekend on the sporting scene. Football was an absolute disaster for England who were unable to score against Portugal in the 120 mins of normal (and extra time) play in their World Cup quarter final. The penalty shoot out looked like it was going to be close until England missed a couple in a row. Final score, Portugal wins 3-1 on penalties and a nation retires to the pub to drown its collective sorrow. Cricket was just as dismal for England, but an excellent result for Sri Lanka who sealed a 5-0 series whitewash with some excellent batting from Sanath Jayasuriya and Upul Tharanga. Set a challenging total of 322 to win by England, with Marcus Trescothick returning to form by contributing a century to this total, Sanath and Upul set off with gusto. Within 10 overs Sri Lanka had surpassed 130 runs and from there it became a simple stroll to victory, which was achieved despite losing both openers around the 280 mark. English cricketers and fans will be asking a lot of questions about their ability to rebuild before meeting Pakistan next week, and more crucially before defending the Ashes against the Aussies and taking part in the World Cup next year. The only silver lining in British sport this weekend was Andy Murray's straight sets victory over Andy Roddick. An excellent performance but it remains to be seen if the young Scotsman will be able to progress to the final stages of the tournament.
I came across a very entertaining and informative article about the state of Sri Lankan politics by Namini Wijedasa today. Apparently MPs in Sri Lanka are about to vote themselves a pay hike, which in itself is pretty normal procedure in any parlimentary democracy. However, what is unusual in Sri Lanka is the higher than normal level of ineptitude our parlimentarians display at running the country. A recent call to observe a minute of silence in the house to remember those who died in a bus bombing in the north of the island descended into an all-out brawl that resulted in the session being suspended because one group of MPs felt that similar respect should be paid to all those who have died in Sri Lanka's ongoing troubles. Thankfully the MPs cooled off enough to change the motion to be one that observed a minute of silence to all the dead and things could move on. This is just one example of the type of behaviour that Sri Lankan tax payers are subsidising, and will be asked to pay even more towards in the near future. You can read Namini Wijedasa's full article at www.theacademic.org.
I came across a very entertaining and informative article about the state of Sri Lankan politics by Namini Wijedasa today. Apparently MPs in Sri Lanka are about to vote themselves a pay hike, which in itself is pretty normal procedure in any parlimentary democracy. However, what is unusual in Sri Lanka is the higher than normal level of ineptitude our parlimentarians display at running the country. A recent call to observe a minute of silence in the house to remember those who died in a bus bombing in the north of the island descended into an all-out brawl that resulted in the session being suspended because one group of MPs felt that similar respect should be paid to all those who have died in Sri Lanka's ongoing troubles. Thankfully the MPs cooled off enough to change the motion to be one that observed a minute of silence to all the dead and things could move on. This is just one example of the type of behaviour that Sri Lankan tax payers are subsidising, and will be asked to pay even more towards in the near future. You can read Namini Wijedasa's full article at www.theacademic.org.
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