INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
women who were taken to Oman on the promise of jobs in the Arabian country.The Foreign Affairs Ministry in Sri Lanka had directed to the CID
the complaints it had received about the unfortunate situation of Sri Lankan female domestic workers in Oman.Initiating a probe in this
regard, a three-member team of the CID, led by the director of Human Trafficking, Smuggling Investigation and Maritime Crime Investigation
Division, flew out to Oman on October 03.The investigation officers, who recorded statements from a total of 45 Sri Lankan women who are
sheltered at a safe house belonging to the Sri Lankan Embassy in Muscat, uncovered that they had arrived in Oman on tourist visa
They also revealed that these women had fled houses they were employed at over various reasons including the harassment they were subjected
to.Further, it was revealed that the women in question are stranded in Oman as their employers have taken possession of their
passports.Eight of them had been brought to Oman unlawfully
Meanwhile, another woman had been auctioned off for prostitution by a female representative of an employment agency in Sri Lanka.The
2.5 million.To make matters worse, an officer of the Sri Lankan Embassy has sexually harassed the women who are sheltered at the safe
house.Further probes into the matter disclosed that this sex trafficking ring had been operated by a group of officers of the Immigration -
Emigration Department through the representatives of employment agencies in stationed in Sri Lanka and Oman.Their target had been
underprivileged local women facing financial difficulties.Multiple attempts to arrest a women known as Asha Dissanayake, who is directly
involved in this set trafficking ring, had been to no avail and she remains in hiding.Speaking to Ada Derana on the matter, senior official
of the Foreign Employment Bureau explained that out of these 45 women, 43 are stranded in Oman without means to make the trip back home as
they had arrived there on tourist visa, intending to convert it to work visa.Meanwhile, the services of the embassy official who is accused
of sexually harassing the stranded women, were suspended yesterday.The Sri Lankan Embassy in Muscat, in a statement, stated that present, at
least 90 Sri Lankan female domestic workers are stranded in Oman seeking repatriation assistance
They are unable to afford the repatriation-related expenses such as visa, overstay penalty, air ticket, agent fees, and the cost of
recruitment demanded by their respective sponsors.The embassy said it has also sought the assistance of the International Organization for
Migration (IOM) to assist such victims.
This article first appeared/also appeared in https://adaderana.lk
