A group of 17 Sri Lankan migrant workers who say they
were expecting to be working in Gulf countries but were
unknowingly taken to Erbil in northern Iraq, has just been helped
to return home voluntarily by IOM.

The migrants, all of whom had signed contracts for jobs as
domestic or textile workers after paying nearly US$2,000 each to an
employment agency, said they that they
were flown to Erbil instead and kept in a house
undergoing renovation where they were left by their Sri Lankan
agent with another agent.

The migrants said it was nearly two weeks before they
realised they were in Iraq. Their appeals to be sent home were met
with threats, including being sent to Baghdad if they refused to
stay and comply.

According to the men, they were kept imprisoned in the house for
a month with no food, heating, sanitation or proper accommodation
facilities. It was only when being moved to another location
recently that they saw the UN office in Erbil en route. They
managed to get to the office where they made their situation known
and were referred to IOM.

The Organization has since been providing the migrants with food
and shelter in a safe house and organized their paperwork so they
could leave the country and return home.

“The men were very keen to go home despite the
difficulties awaiting them there. They were clearly upset
at the situation their recruitment agency back home had
put them in," said IOM’s Vincent Houver, responsible for
the evacuation of third country nationals from Iraq. Since 2003,
more than 6,000 foreigners in difficult situations have been
evacuated from Iraq by IOM under a programme funded by the US State
Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration
(PRM).

Yesterday, the migrants arrived safely in the Sri Lankan
capital, Colombo, having been accompanied through their return
journey by IOM staff. The Organization is also providing the
men with onward transport assistance within the country as well as
reintegration help.

The increasing violence and lack of security in Iraq has led to
higher prices being fetched for migrant labour, encouraging
smuggling activities and abuse by some recruitment agencies.

Partly in a bid to help recruitment agencies in Asian sending
countries have a better understanding of the international and
national norms and standards relating to placing migrant workers
aboard, IOM is today beginning a three-day training and networking
workshop in the Philippines capital, Manila. 

For further information, please contact:

Vincent Houver

Tel:  +962 79 622 89 55

E-mail: "mailto:vhouver@iom-iraq.net" target="_blank" title=
"">vhouver@iom-iraq.net

Priyantha Kalatunge

IOM Sri Lanka

Tel: +94 11 533 3432

E-mail: "mailto:priyanthak@iomsrilanka.org" target="_blank" title=
"">priyanthak@iomsrilanka.org