Feature Stories Archive
A beneficiary receives a canoe from IOM at the assistance handover ceremony in Batticaloa, on the east coast of Sri Lanka, 300 km from the capital Colombo
By Passanna Gunasekera
A group of young former combatants recently received canoes, outboard engines, water pumps and tool kits from IOM at a ceremony in Batticaloa, on the east coast of Sri Lanka, 300 km from the capital Colombo. The equipment, funded by United States Agency for International Development (USAID), was to help them start new livelihoods as fishermen, farmers or the owners of small businesses.
With the war over and the security situation now calm in the northern and eastern provinces of Sri Lanka, former members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikel (TMVP) - the rebel factions who fought a separatist war in Sri Lanka for almost three decades - are trying to integrate back into civilian life. Read the rest of this entry »
By Passanna Gunasekera
Decades of war, years of displacement and the security restrictions imposed on fishing, almost paralyzed Mannar’s principal source of livelihood -fishing-. However, one year after the conflict has ended, the economic landscape of the fishing village seems to have changed. More and more fishermen from the local fishing community of over 1000 fishermen as well as displaced populations returning to their village of origin are taking to the sea once again, thereby resuming their traditional livelihood.
Fishing accounts for more than 50% of livelihoods in Mannar. Deep sea fishing is very popular and economically considered to be more profitable. Industries related to the fisheries sector such as ice storage facilities, canoe manufacturing, out board motor repair workshops and dry fish production also provide employment opportunities to the population in Mannar. Thus taking into consideration its vitality to the local economy the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) is looking into ways of reviving this industry in the former conflict zone. Read the rest of this entry »
By Passanna Gunasekera
In a small community in the suburbs of Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo, Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim families were busy preparing to perform house warming rituals in their newly constructed permanent houses.
Five years after the tsunami that killed thousands, washed away homes and belongings, damaged infrastructure and tore apart communities, 25 tsunami-affected families moved into permanent houses.
The permanent housing project, funded partly by the Governments of Sri Lanka and Netherlands, provided safe housing with improved living conditions to some 70 tsunami-affected IDP families living in transitional shelters and willing to relocate to the suburbs. The permanent houses included a living room and a verandah, two bedrooms, a kitchen, a permanent toilet, access to a water source where necessary, internal wiring for electricity and infrastructural improvements including road, drainage systems and land. Read the rest of this entry »
On a bright Tuesday morning in late September, Vakarai – a sleepy fishing village located about 300 kilometres east of the capital Colombo on the eastern coast of Sri Lanka – bustled with activity.
By Passanna Gunasekera
By accepting a job in a salon in the Middle East Amawathi*, a diploma holder in beauty culture and hair styles, tried to take the economic reins to her hands when an accident left her husband partially paralyzed. But fate decreed. She ended up as a housemaid in a different country with much lesser pay. “I worked long hours without food and my employer was still unhappy and asked me to work in a massage parlour. And as I disagreed to most of the advances and to work in the parlour I was locked for hours”, she says trying to shrug off the pain within.
Assisted by her friends and relatives, she returned home with shattered dreams and barely the clothes on her back. “As I did not receive any salary and never could recover the money I spent to go abroad this was like falling from the frying pan to the oven,” says Amawathi. On her return to Sri Lanka Amawathi wanted to set up a salon and continue the trade she has been engaged in before her departure.
With IOM’s support she rented suitable space in the town and bought required equipment and material. “The first month itself I earned around LKR 12,000 and this was encouraging,” she says. The business has expanded to include dressing of brides, make up and selling of cosmetics. Amawathi now looks forward to receiving business development training organized through IOM.
Mentally abused and sexually harassed, 37-year-old Rani returned to the country through one of the Sri Lankan missions in the United Arab Emirates with nothing earned for a year of hard labour. “I was denied food, rest and any contact with home and they sent me to work from one house to another,” describes Rani. After a year, I ran away to our embassy to seek help,” she adds.
To help Rani rebuild her life, IOM not only coordinated with the government and acquired land, but also constructed a permanent house. “Things are falling into place gradually, but what makes me feel ecstatic is having my daughter back with me after years of caring by the child probation department”, she concludes.
The majority of Sri Lankan migrant workers are women, many of whom work as housemaids, primarily in the Arabian Gulf. Some migrate legally, others go in search of jobs through irregular channels, falling prey to trafficking and smuggling rings. IOM, with funding from the US and UK Governments, supports Sri Lankan government’s efforts to curb this phenomenon.
Through several of its programmes, IOM supports the repatriation and reintegration of trafficked victims including medical and livelihood support and vocational training. Local and international NGOs such as Women in Need (WIN) and the Salvation Army partnered with IOM to provide counselling, legal and temporary shelter for victims of trafficking and violence. IOM has assisted these organizations; to build the capacity of their staff through awareness workshops, trainings and study tours, exposed them to international best practices, equipped crisis centres and maintained WIN’s temporary shelter for victims by arranging medical checks and by supporting the operation of a 24-hour helpline.
In addition, IOM has also trained over 1000 Sri Lankan law enforcement officers in victim identification, protection and prosecution of traffickers through a series of nationwide workshops, assisted the Sri Lankan government to establish a counter human trafficking database unit to ensure the collection of data on cases of human trafficking and enhance information sharing among stakeholders on the topic and conducted islandwide awareness campaigns on safe migration.
“Not only was I sent to a country different to what was promised but also to a different trade”, says Jeewa* relating her horror story of having to work as a sex worker in the Middle East. Unable to bear the suffering, Jeewa returned home through the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) - but not alone, with a child growing in her womb.
Upon her return, her parents rejected her and she was lodged at a relative’s house. Jeewa felt hopeless. She heard about the services provided by IOM, and soon after received a new sewing machine, bolts of material, baby clothing, and vitamins. “This will keep me happy until I deliver my baby,” she concluded.
When 29-year-old Nimala* from North West Sri Lanka left for the Gulf in 2008, all she could think about was a better life for her ailing mother and younger brother . Never did she imagine she would have to return, mentally and physically sick. “For nearly a year, I worked very hard despite all this my employer and his wife burnt me, chopped off my long hair, tortured and harassed me - until I lost my mind”, explained a distraught Nimala.
She did return to Sri Lanka but in a critical condition. She heard about IOM through the SLBFE and sought livelihood assistance. IOM paid rent for space and provided equipment including a refrigerator, an oven and a blender to open a café, close to the city “This means a lot but most importantly the assistance has given my family hope - hope for survival,” Nimala explains. The family hopes times will only be better once the café opens and they earn an income.
There are many Amawathis, Ranis, Jeewas and Nimalas among the stock of women who fall victim to traffickers when leaving for employment overseas. Through the US and UK funded counter-trafficking projects, IOM has assisted many of these women to safely return home, heal and rebuild their lives. *Names have been changed to protect identities.