Colombo – Abuse of Sri Lankan migrant workers abroad has resulted in sickness, death and suicides, according to IOM, the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE), a state body which looks after the welfare of migrant workers and their families, and Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Health.  

In 2010 the SLBFE dealt with 313 reports of deaths among Sri Lankan migrants, 18 suicides and thousands of incidences of harassment and sickness. More than 94 per cent of the complaints were from people who migrated to West Asia, including the Middle East.

A study of 1,100 returned migrant workers commissioned by the Ministry of Health and IOM in 2011 also indicated one in six had experienced some form of abuse in their workplace.

As a result of the findings, the SLFBE and IOM are this week holding a training programme for 80 senior SLBFE officers working at Colombo’s international airport and at a shelter for abused migrants.

The workshop follows recommendations from Sri Lanka’s IOM-backed Inter-Ministerial Taskforce on Migration Health, which called for an improvement in addressing health issues throughout the migration cycle.

The main topics addressed by the training will be how to respond to migrants suffering from anxiety, depression and trauma, and the importance of rehabilitation, referral and counselling services.

In addition to the training and curriculum development, the SLFBE and IOM have also published a series of educational leaflets to help migrants to make informed choices about migrating, and to stimulate discussion among family members on the consequences and health impacts for those left behind.

Over 100,000 leaflets in Tamil and Singhalese were printed for distribution among labour migrants undertaking pre-departure/orientation courses at SLBFE training centres located around the country.

IOM is working closely with the government to advance the migration health agenda in Sri Lanka while a comprehensive national migration health policy is being developed.

“We are very pleased to see several recommendations already being put into practice that are improving health services for migrants,” IOM Sri Lanka Chief of Mission Richard Danziger.

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For more information please contact Richard Danziger, IOM Colombo, Email: rdanziger@iom.int