Naalika Tarangani’s house is a monument to all that the Gulf stands for in Asian households.
Cans of Tang, empty brown cartons, a blue Nivea tin, dolls in poly wrap and teddy bears with tags. The tiny room is crammed with souvenirs her savings could buy, and mark her out as one with a successful stint abroad.
For fifteen of the last 24 years, she has lived in two different countries over four different contracts. She first went to Kuwait in 1993, followed by two tours in Dubai, and then spent another five years in Kuwait before coming back home to Sri Lanka. She is not yet sure if this is it for her.
“I was just 19 years old the first time I went. There were 24 members in the family I worked for; in a 4-storeyed house. I was the only maid. But I had no choice but to continue, as I needed the money.”
How she was treated and what she endured changed little over the decade. There was a nominal rise in her salary, but most importantly, she learnt to speak up – to demand at least some of her own terms of employment.
The children, 6 and 9 years old, were very badly behaved. They would hit me.
Rather telling that the situation for domestic workers has remained stagnant to a large degree, even in a country that had recently passed legislation specific to these workers.
“Though paid on time, I was never allowed out. For the last five years I was with the same employer, never allowed to come back. Even if I went outside the gate to throw garbage, they will watch me. I was not allowed to talk to others. Initially, there was no proper meals. But I put my foot down. Told them clearly that I can’t work that way. They allowed me to prepare my own food. Because I threatened to complain to agent. I was paid 60KD first, then it increased to 75KD.”
She never got a day off, working till 3 a.m. and up again by 6 a.m. “There were six people initially, then the married daughters came back with their families so there was more work.”
Dilshani Nugawela, whom we spoke to earlier, says the majority of complaints received were from female migrants and more than half from those working in Saudi. As she mentioned earlier, there are 10 Foreign Employment Bureua officers covering Saudi alone, while other destination countries have just one each. The Gulf’s largest country continues to be the biggest challenge, with a flood of regular cases and few avenues for resolution.
She shares some figures on the complaints received. In May 514; 535 in June; 619 in July; 805 in August, 608 in September; and 623 in October.
“These complaints were of regular migrants alone, as only those registered with the bureau can file a complaint. Evidence shows at least 170 irregular migrants attempted to file a complaint,” she says.
Most complaints are about salary non-payment, a family's loss of contact with a relative abroad, and harassment. Death continues to be largest the complaint from families of male migrants.
“This is because men go to do construction work, with little training and ill-equipped for the job,” she explains.
At the end of the pre-departure training, there is a family day where the Bureau gives information to family members of migrants. Often it’s the husband who attends these sessions. But migration puts pressure on family relationships. So they are not there to follow through, she says.
