RIYADH, 3 March 2004 — Officials of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) at Colombo airport are allegedly harassing Sri Lankan expatriates returning to the Kingdom.

The complaint was relayed to a visiting delegation from the SLBFE at a discussion at the residence of Sri Lankan Ambassador Ibrahim Sahib Ansar on Tuesday. The visiting team headed by the Deputy General Manager of the SLBFE R. W Pathirage is on a tour to identify the problems of the island’s workers in the region.

The president of the Sri Lankan Expatriates Society in Riyadh, Conrad De Lima, told the delegation about an expatriate worker’s wife who was stopped from boarding at Colombo airport because the officials mistook her for a domestic worker who had not registered with the SLBFE. All expatriate workers must register with the bureau, and unless they have they are not allowed to leave.

Several other cases of Kingdom-bound passengers being stopped from boarding by SLBFE officials in Colombo airport have been reported. A doctor’s wife from Dammam, who was returning to the Kingdom with her children, was also sent back home by the SLBFE officials.

A Sri Lankan who was working for a diplomatic mission in the capital was refused permission to board the Riyadh-bound Sri Lankan Airlines flight. “Luckily, he had a few more days to go before his visa expired,” Conrad said.

A Sri Lankan worker in Bahrain, who had a similar experience with SLBFE officials at Colombo airport, has filed a fundamental rights case in the Supreme Court of the island.

From April 1, the missions in Riyadh and Jeddah have been authorized to collect the registration fee here instead.

Registration with the bureau means free insurance cover worth about SR15,000, medical insurance for family members in Sri Lanka, housing loans at reduced commissions, scholarships for children of workers and repatriation of dead workers.