Massive problem of to be expatriated Sri Lankan employees in Saudi

Parents of Sri Lankan housemaid Rizana who was executed in Saudi Arabia for a criminal offense she was accused of committing while being an under-aged girl who migrated to Saudi Arabia due to poverty of the family by way of a forged passport

Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau (SLFEB) sources say that 70 Sri Lankans are in a jail in Damam for offenses like overstaying. Some of them have been granted permission to leave the country.

SLFEB further says that the government of Saudi Arabia has agreed to provide temporary jobs for 5000 Sri Lankan expatriate worker until they are duly expatriated. These workers have left their workplaces on various reasons violating their service agreements. They have been registered in the Sri Lankan embassy in Saudi Arabia and awaiting expatriation.

Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau says that the government of Sri Lanka is facing difficulty in bringing back them to the home country. However, 30 to 35 of these expatriate workers are brought home, the bureau says.

Over 600,000 Sri Lankans are employed in Saudi Arabia. The majority of them are housemaids. Remittances from two million strong expatriate workers are one the major sources of foreign earnings of the island nation.