SL domestic helpers demand for freedom

25 January 2011 02:48 am

Dozens of Sri Lankan domestic helpers protested at their embassy in Amman, Jordan on Monday, demanding that the government allow them to leave the country.

Some of the 96 workers have called the embassy home for over a year, others a few weeks. All have fled their employers due to unpaid salaries or abuse, according to the embassy.

Sri Lankan Ambassador Andrayas Mohottala said the embassy has been working with the government to secure workers’ rights and allow them to leave the Kingdom. Facing fees due to expired residency permits, the women cannot afford to leave the country, he said.

“We succeeded in some cases, but in many others we are still waiting for a waiver from local authorities to exempt them from the residency fees so they can be sent back to Sri Lanka,” Mohottala told The Jordan Times on the sidelines of the demonstration yesterday.

A committee formed by the government to look into the workers' cases interviewed 73 of the domestic helpers and recommended that 22 be sent home after all financial obligations are met, he added.